1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio, Hello, 2 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: and welcome to This Day in History Class, a show 3 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:20,439 Speaker 1: that raises the curtain on everyday history and lets it 4 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:24,720 Speaker 1: take a bow. I'm Gabe Lucier and today we're heading 5 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:27,080 Speaker 1: under the Big Top to try to figure out why 6 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: The Greatest Show on Earth is often called the worst 7 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:40,919 Speaker 1: best picture in History. The day was January tenth, nineteen 8 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:45,560 Speaker 1: fifty two. Cecil B. Demill's The Greatest Show on Earth 9 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,639 Speaker 1: premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York. It 10 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,520 Speaker 1: was the second to last film the director ever made, 11 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: and it was nothing if not ambitious. The big budget 12 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: spectacle functions as a celebration of the great American circuit, 13 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: depicting all the high flying thrills of its many acts, 14 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: as well as the behind the scenes drama of its 15 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:11,399 Speaker 1: motley performers. The film's story centers on circus manager Brad Braden, 16 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:15,039 Speaker 1: played by Charlton Heston, and his desperate efforts to keep 17 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 1: his struggling show on the road. Along for the ride 18 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: is Braden's center ring star and sometimes girlfriend, trapeez artist 19 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 1: Holly As portrayed by Betty Hutton. She resents Braden's obsessive 20 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: devotion to the circus because it leaves little room in 21 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 1: his life for her, But she also knows he's unlikely 22 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: to change as he was born with sawdust in his veins. 23 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:43,320 Speaker 1: To help boost ticket sales, Braden hires the Great Sebastian, 24 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 1: a world famous trapeze star played by Cornell Wilde, who 25 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 1: insists he'd be given top billing. He and Holly butt 26 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: heads at first, but after their high wire war nearly 27 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: results in Sebastian's death, she soon finds herself torn between 28 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: her workaholic boyfriend and her new hot shot rival. Also 29 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 1: thrown into the mix are a flirtatious elephant trainer, a 30 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:10,160 Speaker 1: couple of scheming racketeers, and a warm hearted clown named 31 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:13,640 Speaker 1: Buttons played by Jimmy Stewart who secretly on the run 32 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: from the law. Although packed with sentiment and a fair 33 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 1: bit of intrigue, the story of the Greatest Show on 34 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: Earth is pretty bare bones. In fact, the narrative melodrama 35 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:26,679 Speaker 1: only makes up a fraction of the two and a 36 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 1: half hour movie. The bulk of the run time is 37 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,359 Speaker 1: actually devoted to footage of real life circus acts, which 38 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:36,639 Speaker 1: de Mill shot on location in Sarasota, Florida, where the 39 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:40,360 Speaker 1: Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus was spending its off season. 40 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: Paramount paid two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to secure 41 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: the naming rights and participation of the circus, and for 42 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: six weeks the performers mounted a private show there just 43 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: for Demil and his cameras. The filmmaker captured every kind 44 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,639 Speaker 1: of act and stunt you could think of, lion tamers, 45 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: tightrope walkers, acrobats, you name it. He also filmed the 46 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: wins and losses of the Midway, as well as the 47 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,640 Speaker 1: backbreaking labor of setting up and taking down the big top. 48 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 1: Most directors would have used just a small portion of 49 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: that b roll footage in the final picture, just enough 50 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: to add context or to establish a location, but not 51 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: to Mill. He frequently interspersed entire acts into his film, 52 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,639 Speaker 1: essentially putting the story on pause and allowing the circus 53 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 1: to take center stage. The result of this unusual format 54 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: is a film that often feels more like a documentary 55 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 1: or a travelog than it does of full fledged narrative. 56 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: Some of the behind the scenes footage even includes voiceover 57 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: from Demil himself. Where he breathlessly describes the sights and 58 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: sounds of the circus. 59 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 2: Take a listen, Wabino the circus, the piper whose magic 60 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 2: tunes read children of all ages from six to sixty 61 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 2: into a ten solo spun Candy who reckless bauchet and 62 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 2: mounting lockt whirling through a rhythm, excitement and grace of 63 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 2: daring and blaring, and dance of high stepping horses and 64 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:14,200 Speaker 2: high flying stars. 65 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 1: The director's grandiose narration makes clear his affection and reverence 66 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 1: for the traveling circus, but modern audiences aren't likely to 67 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,839 Speaker 1: feel the same way. Many of the acts glimpsed in 68 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 1: The Greatest Show on Earth would be deemed offensive or 69 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,919 Speaker 1: even illegal by today's standards. But even setting aside the 70 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: animal abuse and racist stereotypes, a day at the circus 71 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: just no longer carries the wide cultural appeal that it 72 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: did in the early twentieth century. In fact, the circus's 73 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 1: popularity was already waning in the early nineteen fifties. It 74 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,440 Speaker 1: was still a popular form of entertainment, but attendance had 75 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:54,600 Speaker 1: begun to shrink, and the advent of television wasn't doing 76 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 1: it any favors. In that sense, The Greatest Show on 77 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 1: Earth can be viewed as something of a farewell tribute 78 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: to traveling circuses, or at least to their glory days. 79 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 1: The medium had enthralled generations of children, including de Mill himself, 80 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: so in the twilight of both their careers, he wanted 81 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: to give the circus one last turn in the spotlight, 82 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 1: and as it turned out, the director wasn't the only 83 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: one feeling nostalgic. Audiences and critics alike praise the movie's 84 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: blend of spectacle and sentiment. It went on to earn 85 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 1: nearly sixteen million dollars at the box office, more than 86 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,840 Speaker 1: any other movie that year, and it won Best Picture 87 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 1: at the twenty fifth Annual Academy Awards. The Greatest Show 88 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: on Earth faced some stiff competition that year, including High Noon, 89 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: The Quiet Man, and Mulin Rouge. Many critics and film 90 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:49,480 Speaker 1: buffs now argue that any of those would have been 91 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:53,040 Speaker 1: more deserving of Best Picture, But looking back, it's not 92 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: hard to imagine why Academy voters made the choice they did. 93 00:05:57,200 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: Like de Mill, many of them likely had a soft 94 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 1: spot for the circus and shared his desire to pay 95 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:06,159 Speaker 1: homage to a source of joy from their childhoods. But 96 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 1: more than that, they probably wanted to pay tribute to 97 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: the director himself. De Mill had been making movies since 98 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 1: the Silent Era, but at seventy one years old, he 99 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,279 Speaker 1: had yet to receive an oscar and his pace was 100 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: clearly slowing. The academy likely wanted to recognize De Mill's 101 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,919 Speaker 1: decades long career and figured The Greatest Show might be 102 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: their last chance to do it. Of course, that turned 103 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: out not to be the case, as De Mill would 104 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: go on to make one final film before his death 105 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty nine, the biblical epic The Ten Commandments, 106 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:42,480 Speaker 1: once again starring Charlton Heston. Both of the director's final 107 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: films featured many of his calling cards, including larger than 108 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:50,840 Speaker 1: life set pieces, archetypal characters, lengthy running times, and cutting 109 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:55,159 Speaker 1: edge special effects. However, De Mill's Ode to the Circus 110 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:59,160 Speaker 1: hasn't enjoyed the enduring appeal of The Ten Commandments. Some 111 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: people watched the latter film every Easter, while most viewers 112 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 1: would likely have a hard time sitting through the Greatest 113 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 1: Show even once. Still, we shouldn't mistake changing tastes and 114 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: entertainment for bad filmmaking. Demill pulled out all the stops 115 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 1: to deliver the majesty and mystery of the Circus on 116 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 1: the big screen, and for the most part, he succeeded. 117 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: For starters, he shot the film and technicolor, ensuring that 118 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 1: the dazzling sets and costumes would look just as rich 119 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 1: and bright in the theater as they did in real life. 120 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: And while the circus acts alone provide more spectacle than 121 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: the average blockbuster, de Mill took things a step further 122 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: by including a gripping train wreck sequence at the film's climax. 123 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:46,720 Speaker 1: The circus train crash was achieved using detailed models intercut 124 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: with shots of live actors and trained animals escaping from cages, 125 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:54,560 Speaker 1: and though the special effects may look dated by today's standards, 126 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 1: at the time of release, plenty of viewers were left 127 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:00,760 Speaker 1: scratching their heads at how De Mill, a mast showman 128 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: in his own right, had pulled off such a technical feat. 129 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:08,240 Speaker 1: One such viewer was a young Steven Spielberg, and the 130 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:11,520 Speaker 1: film going experience not only stuck with him, it set 131 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: the course of his entire professional life. As the filmmaker 132 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 1: later explained, quote, I was maybe six or seven years 133 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 1: old when my father came to tell me, I'm going 134 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: to take you to see the Greatest Show on Earth. 135 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 1: He explained that there were going to be lion tamers 136 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 1: and circus acts, clowns and trapeze artists. And we walked 137 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,400 Speaker 1: into a dimly lit room. It felt like a place 138 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:36,960 Speaker 1: of worship, a synagogue, but I still didn't understand about 139 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,479 Speaker 1: the Greatest Show on Earth. There were seats, not bleachers, 140 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: all facing forward. There was a large red curtain, and 141 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:46,920 Speaker 1: it opened and there was an image, and I realized 142 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 1: that my father had not taken me to the circus, 143 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: but to a movie about a circus, the first movie 144 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:56,200 Speaker 1: I had ever seen, Cecil B. De Mill's The Greatest 145 00:08:56,240 --> 00:09:00,760 Speaker 1: Show on Earth. The feeling of disappointment lasted about ten minutes, 146 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 1: and then I was a victim of the drug called cinema. 147 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:07,439 Speaker 1: I was no longer in a church. I became part 148 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:12,680 Speaker 1: of an experience. Today, The Greatest Show on Earth works 149 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 1: mostly as a time capsule, a visual record of a 150 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,680 Speaker 1: bygone form of entertainment, but its cinematic legacy is more 151 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:25,679 Speaker 1: far reaching. As the spectacle than inspired future makers of spectacle, 152 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: The film continues to influence the tone and scale of 153 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:36,440 Speaker 1: American movie making to this Day. I'm Gabe Lucier and 154 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:39,679 Speaker 1: hopefully you now know a little more about history today 155 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:42,760 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you want to keep up 156 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 1: with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 157 00:09:45,559 --> 00:09:50,000 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show. And if you have 158 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:52,840 Speaker 1: any feedback you'd like to share, feel free to send 159 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: it my way by writing to This Day at iHeartMedia 160 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:59,960 Speaker 1: dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 161 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 162 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:05,880 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in History class.