When I was about 12, I saw a fantastic movie at the Saturday matinee; "The Land Of The Pharaohs " . I saw it again as an adult, on TV. I was so disappointed. It’s really a cheesy movie. To add insult to injury, I had misremembered a major scene; when they fed all these guys to crocodiles. All you actually saw was separate shots of crocodiles and a couple of blokes being chucked off a cliff. What a gyp!
About a month ago, I watched a doco about the history of the circus in the US. Naturally, I then I wanted to see a circus movie. What better than the Cecil B DeMille 1952 opus “The Greatest Show on Earth”? It had Charlton Heston! -plus of course the real PT Barnum and Wringling Bros Circus, in its final days of glory.
Now, when watching, I’m conscious of the casual racism and ‘cultural appropriations’, as well as the general scenery chewing atmosphere. Even Jimmy Stewart as clown wanted by the law is pretty corny.
Recommended? Well of COURSE! It’s a Cecil B DeMille epic, in glorious technicolour! It’s worth seeing just for that. The problem is my jaded perception, not the film. Of COURSE you can go back!—As long as you are able to see with the uncritical eye of a child. Well, that’s my two cents.