★ 6 / 10
**_Corny love triangle at a circus in France
Wuchak
**_Corny love triangle at a circus in France with Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida_** A disillusioned former aerobatics star functioning as a…
**_Corny love triangle at a circus in France with Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida_**
A disillusioned former aerobatics star functioning as a rigger at a Paris circus (Lancaster) is revived when a young prodigy from Brooklyn comes under his coaching wing (Curtis). Everything’s going great until an alluring tumbler worms her way into their act (Lollobrigida).
"Trapeze” (1956) comes in the tradition of "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952) and was a hit at the box office. But it’s way more one-dimensional by comparison in that the setting is stationary (shot at Cirque d'Hiver, Paris) and the focus is naturally on the trapeze gymnastics as opposed to other acts.
The three stars are the drawing factor and were all in their prime with Burt being the oldest at 42 during shooting; Tony was 30 and Gina 28. For those not in the know, Burt was a circus performer before entering the movie biz. He performed all but one of the aerial gymnastics stunts himself. Meanwhile the stunt double for Lollobrigida died after a 40’ fall during production, suffering a broken back.
Speaking of the shapely Gina, she’s obviously the highlight in the feminine department and the camera doesn’t fail to fully capture her beauty. Katy Jurado is also on hand, along with several peripherals.
While the flick’s enjoyable in its quaint way, it’s hindered by the aforementioned one-dimensional tone and, worse, the corny melodramatics of the love triangle. Plus Lola’s manipulations don’t exactly endear her to the viewer.
My favorite circus flicks are probably "Water for Elephants" (2011) and "Circus of Horrors" (1960), along with "The Greatest Show on Earth,” but "The Big Circus" (1959), "Roustabout" (1964) and "Circus of Fear" (1966), aka "Psycho-Circus," are also worth checking out.
The film runs 1 hour, 45 minutes.
GRADE: B-
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★ 6 / 10
Great role for Burt in Carol Reed's love
John Chard
Great role for Burt in Carol Reed's love tryst circus plot. Great curio piece with Burt Lancaster being a former circus performer, the film was something of a…
Great role for Burt in Carol Reed's love tryst circus plot.
Great curio piece with Burt Lancaster being a former circus performer, the film was something of a big success on its initial release. It's not hard to see why either, because it's a solid enough story backed up by great aerial sequences set to the backdrop of circus life. The love triangle between the three leads (our intrepid trapeze artists) that threatens to envelope them with disastrous consequences, is never less than intriguing, and of course we get led into a breath holding finale that achieves the desired effect.
Sadly for me the acting here lets the film down, Lancaster does "OK" and holds the film together, and I really liked Thomas Gomez as the money orientated Bouglione, but it is here is where the Tony Curtis detractors get their ammunition from. Curtis is very wooden and it's hard to believe this is the same actor from The Defiant Ones & The Boston Strangler. Katy Jurado is reduced to being a bit part player, and as the female lead, Gina Lollobrigida looks gorgeous but delivers her lines in unconvincing fashion.
This is good honest entertainment, with some exuberant set-pieces that raise the pulses, but ultimately it becomes bogged down by some less than memorable acting. 6/10
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★ 7 / 10
Swinging threesome
tomsview
I remember seeing "Trapeze" as a youngster in the mid-1950's. But watching it recently, many decades later, I was surprised at how well it has held up.Set in a…
I remember seeing "Trapeze" as a youngster in the mid-1950's. But watching it recently, many decades later, I was surprised at how well it has held up.Set in a circus in Paris, Mike Ribble (Burt Lancaster), a famous trapeze artist crippled in a fall, trains a promising young aerialist, Tino Orsini (Tony Curtis).They form a strong bond and aim for Tino to complete a dangerous triple somersault. However, beautiful, ambitious Lola (Gina Lollobrigida) manipulates her way into the act, and the ensuing love triangle proves more dangerous than any somersault.In the novel that the film was based on, "The Killing Frost" by Max Catto, Mike Ripple's feelings towards Tino Orsini are beyond mere friendship, and he resents the arrival of the woman not just because she is interrupting their training schedule. His jealously leads to murder at the end of the book. Now a gay theme was never going to get past the censor in a 1956 movie so the ending plays out differently, but there is an undercurrent.It was shot for the most part in the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris. The director Carol Reed and Photographer Robert Krasner, who worked together on "The Third Man", caught the high-flying trapeze work just as brilliantly as they had captured Harry Lime scurrying down those Viennese sewers.Burt Lancaster with his circus background did many of his own stunts, but Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida also did some: climbing tricky rope ladders and swinging from the platform - enough for you to believe they are really up there.Kate Buford in her book "Burt Lancaster: An American Life" relates how Burt Lancaster and Gina Lollobrigida did not get on, however it gave their performances bite. Lancaster looks amazing in this film; muscles, teeth and intensity. Curtis really was a star on the rise; he and Lancaster hit it off and starred together again in the brilliant "Sweet Smell of Success". But 'La Lollo' more than holds her own. She looks sensational with a full figure and a waist you could close your hands around.If I have a criticism, it is with the Malcolm Arnold's score. Arnold scored many British films in the 50's and 60's, and most of them sounded the same - he didn't change gears much for this one.Uninspired score aside, "Trapeze", with its powerhouse trio of stars and its authentic look, is a film I can happily revisit.
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6.8/10
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R.I.P. Gina Lollobrigida