The film on which Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis had their first, really major bust up – apparently Dean treated Jerry horribly, that even the crew felt bad. They managed to patch things up but the writing was on the wall after that. It might be coincidental, but this isn’t one of their best movies. It has a marvellous setting – a circus – and not a bad set up – Jerry gets out of the service and heads to the circus to be a clown but can only get a gig lion taming; army buddy Dean Martin tags along and winds up running a gambling concession). But the film coasts on that, really – that and the colour photography.
The main stories are a rivalry between Lewis and the bad natured clown, a a love triangle involving ringmaster/owner Joanne Dru and trapeze artist Zsa Zsa Gabor (in the Corinne Calvert part), and Dean Martin yet again playing a guy who gets a big head (he gets greedy for money, he doesn’t want to play benefit for little kids that Lewis does, but comes around after Lewis gives him a “aw gee you’ve changed speach”). Maybe that’s what prompted Martin to get annoyed – yet again he was the louse while Jerry was getting the sympathy, just like he did in The Stooge.
Jerry gets shot out of a canon, mucks around with elephants and does a lot of clown schitck. Gabor looks pleasing in tights and can’t really act, but is still more fun than Dru, who is a ball-busting whinger. Martin would be better off going with Gabor.
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