Circus

A circus is most commonly a traveling company of performers that may include acrobats, clowns, trained animals, and other novelty acts and the word also describes the performance that they give. A circus is held in a oval or circular arena with tiered seating around its circumference; in the case of traveling circuses this location is most often a large tent.

Circus music, films and plays

The atmosphere of the circus has served as a dramatic setting for many musicians and writers. The famous circus theme song is actually called "Entrance of the Gladiators", and was composed in 1904 by Julius Fu?ík. Other circus music includes "El Caballero", "Quality Plus", "Sunnyland Waltzes", "The Storming of El Caney", "Pahjamah", "Bull Trombone", "Big Time Boogie", "Royal Bridesmaid March", and "Pageant of Progress".

Related Topics:
Entrance of the Gladiators - 1904 - Julius Fu?ík

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Plays set in a circus include the 1896 musical The Circus Girl by Lionel Monckton, Polly of the Circus written in 1907 by Margaret Mayo, He Who Gets Slapped written by Russian Leonid Andreyev 1916 and later adapted into on of the first circus films, Caravan written in 1932 by Carl Zuckmayer, the revue Big Top written by Herbert Farjeon in 1942, Top of the Ladder written by Tyrone Gutheris in 1950 and Stop the World, I Want to Get Off written by Anthony Newley in 1961.

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Lionel Monckton - Margaret Mayo - Leonid Andreyev - Carl Zuckmayer - Herbert Farjeon - Tyrone Gutheris - Anthony Newley

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Following the First World War circus films became popular, in 1924 He Who Gets Slapped was the first film released by MGM, in 1925 Sally Sawdust (remade 1930), Variety, and Vaudeville were produced, followed by The Devil's Circus in 1926 and The Circus starring Charlie Chaplin, Circus Rookies, Four Devils, Laugh Clown Laugh in 1928. German film Salto Mortale about trapeze artists was released in 1930 and remade in the United States and released as Trapeze starring Burt Lancaster in 1956; in 1932 Freaks was released, Charlie Chan at the Circus, Circus (USSR) and The Three Maxiums were released in 1936 and At the Circus starring the Marx Brothers and You Can't Cheat and Honest Man in 1939. Circus films continued to be popular during the Second World War, The Great Profile starring John Barrymore was released in 1940, the animated Disney film Dumbo, Road Show and The Wagons Roll and Night in 1941 and Captive Wild Woman in 1943.

Related Topics:
He Who Gets Slapped - MGM - Charlie Chaplin - Burt Lancaster - Freaks - At the Circus - Marx Brothers - John Barrymore - Disney - Dumbo

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The film Tromba, about a tiger trainer was released in 1948 and in 1952

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Cecil B. de Mille Oscar winning film The Greatest Show on Earth was first shown. Released in 1953 were Man on a Tightrope and Ingmar Bergman's Gycklarnas afton released as Sawdust and Tinsel in the United States, Life is a Circus, Ring of Fear, Three-Ring Circus and La Strada an Oscar winning film by Federico Fellini about a girl who was sold to a circus wrestler; Fellini made a second film set in the circus called The Clowns in 1970. Films about the circus made since 1959 include B-movie Circus of Horrors, musical Billy Rose's Jumbo, A Tiger Walks a Disney film about a tiger that escapes from the circus and Circus World starring John Wayne.

Related Topics:
Cecil B. de Mille - The Greatest Show on Earth - Ingmar Bergman - La Strada - Federico Fellini - The Clowns - B-movie - John Wayne

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