Monday, September 10, 2018

FILM #4


Posted by Chic Silber at 9/10/2018 12:39:00 AM

2 comments:

Roger Smith said...

Kathryn Grant was Mrs. Bing Crosby. Der Binger didn't want his wife up on the rigging, and only barely relented when he was shown her safety gimmicks. David Nelson and brother Ricky learned their flying act from Del Graham and Ernestine Clarke Baer, at Del's place in Thousand Oaks. Ricky soon moved on to his singing career, but David actually went into the catch trap for the movie. Actual circus people seen doubling were Fay Alexander, Del Graham, and Bobby Yerkes for the flying act. Gene Mendez did Gilbert Roland's high wire turns. Chet Juszyk had the cat act, and Barbette staged the production numbers. Eddie Dullem is also aboard with his big balloons in his drag walkaround. Eddie vented some wisecracks about Barbette's Spec being too lame for a big time movie, and the two had a lively exchange of viewpoints.

Frankly, I sided with Eddie on some of this. The picture has good exteriors of a circus lot, but when we're taken under the Big Top, there are no poles. Irwin Allen shot those interiors on a soundstage, and his concept of a Big Top was hung from sky hooks, which for me robbed us of the atmosphere DeMille had honored by keeping the real thing.

11 September, 2018 05:47
Paul Gutheil said...

More thanks Roger.

11 September, 2018 14:34

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