Directed by:
Frank CapraCinematography:
Joseph WalkerCast:
Joe Cook, Louise Fazenda, Joan Peers, William Collier Jr., Tom Howard, Dave Chasen, Alan Roscoe, Adolph Milar, Clarence Muse, Nella Walker, Edward Martindel (more)Plots(1)
A very early Frank Capra film which was based on Broadway comedian Cooks hit musical. Unfortunately, the studio didnt want to pay extra for the songs, so the film is without the musical numbers. The plot has Peers as the inheritor of her late fathers financially floundering circus. With the help of her manager, Cook, Peers tries to salvage the big top and bring in bigger crowds. The main focus of the film is on the comic antics of Cook and his sidekicks Dave Chasen and Tom Howard, whose laughs are derived from some fairly inventive slapstick and pun-filled verbal exchanges. Two spectacular set pieces pop up in the film, one a nasty rainstorm (the special effects crew turned the water on a little high during the shooting and almost washed away the set, allowing an elephant to escape), the other a climactic burning of the big top (Capra actually set fire to the tent and filmed the scenes in one take before the whole thing burned down) giving a realistic, exciting air to the film. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Joe Cook
USA
Louise Fazenda
USA
Best movies:
The Old Maid (1939)
Noah's Ark (1928)
Alice in Wonderland (1933)
Joan Peers
USA
Best movies:
Applause (1929)
Parlor, Bedroom and Bath (1931)
William Collier Jr.
USA
Best movies:
Little Caesar (1931)
Cimarron (1931)
Tom Howard
UK
Dave Chasen
Russian Empire
Alan Roscoe
USA
Best movies:
The Last of the Mohicans (1920)
The Death Kiss (1932)
Adolph Milar
Switzerland
Best movies:
Come and Get It (1936)
Man Hunt (1941)
Platinum Blonde (1931)
Clarence Muse
USA
Best movies:
Love Crazy (1941)
Double Indemnity (1944)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
Nella Walker
USA
Best movies:
Sabrina (1954)
Hellzapoppin' (1941)
20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)
Edward Martindel
USA
Best movies:
Children of Divorce (1927)
Lady Windermere's Fan (1925)
American Madness (1932)
Nora Lane
USA
Best movies:
The Fighting Seabees (1944)
Tyrell Davis
UK
Best movies:
Parlor, Bedroom and Bath (1931)
Dannie Mac Grant
USA
Best movies:
The Big Trail (1930)
The Champ (1931)
Platinum Blonde (1931)
Rolfe Sedan
USA
Best movies:
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Flesh and the Devil (1926)
Ninotchka (1939)