A crippled circus acrobat called Mike Ribble (Burt Lancaster) who was once a great trapeze artist -and the only the sixth to have completed a triple somersault before his accident- is torn emotionally between two ambitious young trapeze artists, one a talented young American and a less-gifted but gorgeous Italian . As Tino (Tony Curtis) joins the circus, and he insists on doing the climactic triple somersault , though Mike initially was hesitant on Tino performing the stunt , the latter eventually manages to convince him to teach him the dangerous 'triple' acrobatics . Along the way , the mean Lola (Gina Lollobrigida) , a tumbler , wants to get in on the act . High...High...High...Above Them All! - in excitement!- in spectacle! - in fire, flesh and fury!.The wonder show of the world!.It happens there in mid-air...in all its fire, flesh and fury! .One flies and one catches. Nobody gets in between !.
Carol Reed is an expert in realization of high-budget films with glamour where the greatness does not lack even a moment , here gets to make a nice tribute to the circus world and its surroundings . This hugely agreeable film is a faithful reflection of the title . This is tone of one the best Carol Redd films , here in all his epic glory , he is the great director of the greatness . It has a fantastic scenario , great circus movement , and even spectacular scenes for the time. The story is fine , wrought with romance , twisted love stories , and impressive frames with enormous pedigree. The film is a melodramatic and romantic tale with the classic triangular love story between Lancaster-Lollobrigida-Curtis and meshing drama with events offstage along with some really breathtaking scenes in the aerial trapezes . The movie based on the novel "The Killing Frost" by Max Catto is wrought with romance and glamour but is pretty simple as well . Burt Lancaster performed all but one of the trapeze stunts himself , only actor having worked in a circus before entering films, along with his usual colleague Nick Cravat who was his longtime friend, in fact stuntman Nick Cravat carried out some acrobatics . While real acrobat Willy Krause, a close personal friend of Burt Lancaster, was asked to do the spectacular stunts as well . It packs some patently faked ones with players in front of obvious blue real projection. This colorful and dramatic flick packs amazing shows and exciting final , including brilliant cinematography by Robert Krasker and rousing score by Malcolm Arnold. Extraordinary cast and good performances , especially from starring duo Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis , both of whom are top-notch under Carol Reed's correct direction . Furthermore , some scenes the actors perform their own stunts . While Gina Lollobrigida is extremely beautiful and enjoyable . Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis were good friends , in fact Burt with his production company : Hecht-Hill-Lancaster hired Curtis in some films , appearing together in "Criss Cross" (1949 ), "Trapeze (1956 ), "Sweet Smell of Success" (1957 ), and "The List of Adrian Messenger (1963 ). Support cast are frankly well , giving stunning acting , such as Katy Jurado , Thomas Gomez , John Pulleo , Minor Watson , Gérard Landry , Jean-Pierre Kérien and Sidney James.
The motion picture was compellingly directed by Carol Reed and it was an international hit , being the third highest grossing film of 1956. Reed once considered to the greatest British director , had his clay feet , mercilessly exposed by the auteurist critics of the 60s . Now stripped fo his old and inflated reputation it is posible to appreciate better his virtues. He has an interesting and long career , as Carol made historical bios: ¨Kipps¨ (1941) with Michael Redgrave and ¨The Young Mr Pitt¨ (1942) with Robert Donat. He did service and war effort fare through World War II, but these were more than flag wavers, for Reed dealt with the psychology of transitioning to military life . His Anglo-American documentary of combat , ¨The True Glory¨ (1945), won the 1946 Oscar for Best Documentary. With that under his belt, Reed was now recognized as Britain's ablest director and could pick and choose his projects. ¨Odd man out¨ (1947) with James Mason as an IRA hit man on the run did just that and was Reed's first real independent effort, and he had gone to Rank to do it . And , of course , his greatest hit was the classic ¨The third man¨with Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten . Rating : 7/10 . Worthwhile watching.
Carol Reed is an expert in realization of high-budget films with glamour where the greatness does not lack even a moment , here gets to make a nice tribute to the circus world and its surroundings . This hugely agreeable film is a faithful reflection of the title . This is tone of one the best Carol Redd films , here in all his epic glory , he is the great director of the greatness . It has a fantastic scenario , great circus movement , and even spectacular scenes for the time. The story is fine , wrought with romance , twisted love stories , and impressive frames with enormous pedigree. The film is a melodramatic and romantic tale with the classic triangular love story between Lancaster-Lollobrigida-Curtis and meshing drama with events offstage along with some really breathtaking scenes in the aerial trapezes . The movie based on the novel "The Killing Frost" by Max Catto is wrought with romance and glamour but is pretty simple as well . Burt Lancaster performed all but one of the trapeze stunts himself , only actor having worked in a circus before entering films, along with his usual colleague Nick Cravat who was his longtime friend, in fact stuntman Nick Cravat carried out some acrobatics . While real acrobat Willy Krause, a close personal friend of Burt Lancaster, was asked to do the spectacular stunts as well . It packs some patently faked ones with players in front of obvious blue real projection. This colorful and dramatic flick packs amazing shows and exciting final , including brilliant cinematography by Robert Krasker and rousing score by Malcolm Arnold. Extraordinary cast and good performances , especially from starring duo Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis , both of whom are top-notch under Carol Reed's correct direction . Furthermore , some scenes the actors perform their own stunts . While Gina Lollobrigida is extremely beautiful and enjoyable . Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis were good friends , in fact Burt with his production company : Hecht-Hill-Lancaster hired Curtis in some films , appearing together in "Criss Cross" (1949 ), "Trapeze (1956 ), "Sweet Smell of Success" (1957 ), and "The List of Adrian Messenger (1963 ). Support cast are frankly well , giving stunning acting , such as Katy Jurado , Thomas Gomez , John Pulleo , Minor Watson , Gérard Landry , Jean-Pierre Kérien and Sidney James.
The motion picture was compellingly directed by Carol Reed and it was an international hit , being the third highest grossing film of 1956. Reed once considered to the greatest British director , had his clay feet , mercilessly exposed by the auteurist critics of the 60s . Now stripped fo his old and inflated reputation it is posible to appreciate better his virtues. He has an interesting and long career , as Carol made historical bios: ¨Kipps¨ (1941) with Michael Redgrave and ¨The Young Mr Pitt¨ (1942) with Robert Donat. He did service and war effort fare through World War II, but these were more than flag wavers, for Reed dealt with the psychology of transitioning to military life . His Anglo-American documentary of combat , ¨The True Glory¨ (1945), won the 1946 Oscar for Best Documentary. With that under his belt, Reed was now recognized as Britain's ablest director and could pick and choose his projects. ¨Odd man out¨ (1947) with James Mason as an IRA hit man on the run did just that and was Reed's first real independent effort, and he had gone to Rank to do it . And , of course , his greatest hit was the classic ¨The third man¨with Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten . Rating : 7/10 . Worthwhile watching.