The Clown (1953 film)

The Clown
225px theatrical film poste
Directed by	Robert Z. Leonard
Produced by	William H. Wright
Written by	Frances Marion (story) Leonard Praskins (adaptation) Martin Rackin (screenplay)
Starring	Red Skelton Jane Greer Tim Considine
Music by	David Rose
Cinematography	Paul Vogel
Edited by	Gene Ruggiero
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates	January 16, 1953 (US)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$887,000
Box office	$2,099,000

The Clown is a 1953 American film drama starring Red Skelton with Jane Greer and Tim Considine, and directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The story is a remake of the 1931 film The Champ.

Plot

Dodo the Clown is a funny man with a serious drinking problem. His son Dink is amused by Dodo's act, but not so the circus owner who dismisses Dodo for having insulted a paying customer. Dodo also ruins a job audition by turning up drunk.

Dink asks if Dodo's old agent, Goldie Goldenson, can help. Goldie recalls the clown's great days from the Ziegfeld Follies so he promises to try. He also gives the boy $50, but Dodo doesn't want charity. Dodo does accept when an associate of Goldie offers a one-night engagement at the Ritz.

An enthusiastic Dodo goes to a pawn shop to retrieve his tuxedo plus a watch that Flo Ziegfeld gave him, which he presents to Dink as a gift. At the hotel that night, Goldie doesn't want Dodo performing because the part is that of a stooge, but Dodo goes through with the humiliation on stage.

In the audience are ex-wife Paula Henderson and her new husband, Ralph, a successful businessman. Ralph goes backstage, where he says Paula would like to spend some time with her son, whom she abandoned after the divorce.

Dodo is given $200 by Ralph and promptly loses it in a dice game, as well as the watch, which he took while Dink was asleep. The game is raided by the police and Goldie must bail him out. The disgrace makes Dodo realize that Dink would be better off with Paula and Ralph, so he makes the boy go live with them.

Goldie comes up with a great opportunity for a television show. Dink, unhappy with the Hendersons, is thrilled with Dodo's chance for a comeback, but while performing, Dodo gets dizzy and collapses on stage. When he dies, Dink obediently goes home with his mother.

Cast

• Red Skelton as Dodo Delwyn
• Tim Considine as Dink
• Jane Greer as Paula Henderson
• Philip Ober as Ralph Henderson
• Loring Smith as Goldie
• Philip Ober as Ralph Z. Henderson
• Lou Lubin as Little Julie

• Fay Roope as Doctor Strauss
• Walter Reed as Joe Hoagley
• Eddie Marr as television director
• Jonathan Cott as floor director
• Don Beddoe as Gallagher
• Steve Forrest as young man

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $1,539,000 in the US and Canada and $560,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $437,000.

References

Notes

External links

• The Clown at IMDb
• The Clown at the TCM Movie Database
• The Clown, reviewed at Red-Skelton