The Big Show (1961 film)
| The Big Show | |
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| Directed by | James B. Clark |
| Produced by | James B. Clark Ted Sherdeman |
| Written by | Ted Sherdeman |
| Based on | I'll Never Go Home Any More 1941 novel by Jerome Weidman |
| Starring | Esther Williams Cliff Robertson Nehemiah Persoff |
| Music by | Paul Sawtell Bert Shefter |
| Cinematography | Otto Heller |
| Edited by | Benjamin Laird |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation |
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Release dates
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Running time
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113 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Big Show is a 1961 DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope drama directed by James B. Clark, starring Esther Williams and Cliff Robertson. This is the third variation of Jerome Weidman's novel I'll Never Go There Any More. The other two are Broken Lance (1954) a western version starring Spencer Tracy, and House of Strangers (1949) set in the big city starring Edward G. Robinson.[1][2]
The cast also includes Robert Vaughn, Margia Dean, Nehemiah Persoff and David Nelson, who was best known to audiences of the time for The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet television show.
This was Esther Williams' next-to-last movie, the final one being Magic Fountain (1963) with Fernando Lamas, whom she later married in 1969.[3]
Contents
Plot
Bruno Everhard (Nehemiah Persoff) is the rigid and uncompromising owner of a German traveling circus. His four sons and daughter all work for the circus, including as performers. Three of the boys, in particular Klaus (Robert Vaughn), resent the favoritism Bruno shows one son, Josef (Cliff Robertson).
To curry his father's favor, Klaus abandons his sweetheart, circus aerialist Carlotta Martinez (Margia Dean), to instead marry Teresa Vizzini (Renate Mannhardt), whose father operates an animal menagerie that Bruno would like to merge with as a result. Josef, meantime, has fallen in love with a wealthy American woman, Hillary Allen (Esther Williams), who wants him to quit the circus and begin a new life.
Bruno is defied by his daughter, who marries Eric (David Nelson), a soldier who wishes to try the trapeze. Teresa, distraught at learning why Klaus married her, commits suicide at the circus, stepping into the cage of man-eating bear.
Carlotta, too, is almost killed, due to a faulty high wire during her act. Negligence is charged and Josef accepts the blame, sparing his father from having to go to prison. The other brothers seize the opportunity to take control of the circus. Bruno attempts a comeback on the trapeze, but has a heart attack and dies.
Released from prison, Josef vows revenge. Klaus decides to kill his own brother, but steps too close to the bear's cage and is killed. Wishing there to be no more violence or retribution, Josef decides to leave the circus for good, and Hillary agrees to marry him.
Cast
- Esther Williams as Hillary Allen
- Cliff Robertson as Josef Everard
- Nehemiah Persoff as Bruno Everard
- Robert Vaughn as Klaus Everard
- Margia Dean as Carlotta Martinez
- David Nelson as Eric Solden
- Carol Christensen as Garda Everard
- Kurt Pecher as Hans Everard
- Renate Mannhardt as Teresa Vizzini
- Franco Andrei as Fredrik Everard
- Peter Capell as Pietro Vizzini
- Stefan Schnabel as Lawyer
- Carleton Young as Judge Richter
- Philo Hauser as Ringmaster
- Mariza Tomic as Fraustein
See also
References
External links
- Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). The Big Show at IMDb
- The Big Show at AllMovie
- The Big Show at the TCM Movie Database
- The Big Show at the American Film Institute Catalog
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