christopher-underwood I've always had a soft spot for this film and am not absolutely sure what it is because it is not the sort of film that I usually have such feelings for. It is just possible I saw it in the cinema in my childhood in the late 50s but whatever it is, seeing it again is always a pleasure. Burt Lancaster, of course, is great and Gina Lollobrigida but there is something about the spectacle. Also whenever there is a circus sequence or some conversation, always in the background there is something else happening. There is a wonderful sense of being in a really busy, exciting place where almost anything might happen and that there is no rigid direction, although ironically there must have been to get it all so right. The actual trapeze sequences are fine and never overlong, these could easily have become boring but there is always just enough drama and conflict mixed in with the endeavour. The exterior scenes of mainly backstreet Paris are also wonderful and if created in the studio they are very well done. I stayed in the Rue Amelot in Paris some years ago and part of the circus building had been retained as a bar. It being August it was closed but always a pleasant reminder.

JohnHowardReid It's mighty hard to fit a three-ring circus within the confines of a postage-stamp screen. Cecil B. De Mille tried it with "The Greatest Show On Earth". I always had the feeling that something far more exciting was happening in the out-of-focus background or in the out- of-sight wings than the tin-pot drama unfolding within view.I was right. It took CinemaScope to fully uncover the thrills and excitement a circus has to offer. Mind you, CinemaScope in the eyes of an unimaginative director has little impact (don't see "Ring of Fear"). But in the hands of a great storyteller like Carol Reed, and with the talents of superb stylists like photographer Robert Krasker, composer Malcolm Arnold, and art director Rino Mondellini fully utilized, CinemaScope delivers a mighty punch. In the main, I thought the actors handled their chores engagingly and with charismatic aplomb. With one exception, they all made the script — clichéd though it may have been — come alive for me. That exception was Gina Lollobrigida who played the silly dialogue with far more seriousness than it deserved. But aside from her soap opera posturings, the acting was generally well-judged. Both Lancaster and Curtis, who often seemed to be doing their own stunts, came across appealingly, and there were some attractive portrayals from the support cast — from Thomas Gomez, Katy Jurado, even Minor Watson, and most notably from Johnny Puleo as the dwarf.

James Hitchcock Burt Lancaster started his career as a circus acrobat, and in "Trapeze" he gets to play a circus acrobat. This was one of a number of circus- themed films released in the fifties and sixties; others include "The Greatest Show on Earth", "The Big Circus" and "The Magnificent Showman". Lancaster plays Mike Ribble, a former "flyer". This does not mean he is a retired pilot; "flyer" is the name by which trapeze artistes refer to themselves. In his youth Ribble, only the sixth man to have performed the triple somersault, was a major star, but retired after being injured in an accident and now works as a rigger at a circus in Paris.Ribble is tracked down by Tino Orsini, an ambitious, up-and-coming young flyer who believes that he can become the seventh man to achieve the triple and asks Ribble to train him. Ribble, impressed by the young man's potential, agrees, and the two men form an act together, with Ribble acting as Orsini's catcher. Trouble arises, however, when the circus owner wants to add a third member, a young woman named Lola, to their act. Lola is less skilled as a trapeze artiste than either Ribble or Orsini, but she looks good in a skimpy costume so the owner thinks she will be good box-office. When both men fall in love with Lola the resulting tensions threaten to destroy both their act and their friendship.The film did well at the box office, but was not always popular with the critics; Bosley Crowther of the New York Times, for example, called the story "dismally obvious and monotonous" and said that Gina Lollobrigida as Lola "had only her looks to show". There is perhaps some justice in these criticisms. The love-triangle plot is trite and clichéd, and although that circus manager was undoubtedly right that Lollobrigida does indeed look stunning, she is all too obviously struggling with the difficulties of acting in a language not her own. (This was her first American film).In other respects, however, the film is a lot better than Crowther thought it was. Carol Reed is perhaps best remembered today for serious black-and-white dramas, especially films noirs like "The Third Man" and "The Man Between", but he shows there that he was also capable of handling more spectacular, crowd-pleasing entertainment. This is not Burt Lancaster's greatest film, but he gives a very competent performance and even performed some of his own stunts. (The studio, however, insisted on a stunt man for the more dangerous ones). There is a good contrast between the ageing Ribble and Tony Curtis's brash newcomer Orsini. The aerial action sequences remain thrilling nearly sixty years after they were filmed. The circus genre may have declined in popularity in recent decades, but "Trapeze" shows well why such films were popular in their heyday. 7/10

whpratt1 Enjoyed this great 1956 Classic film starring Burt Lancaster, (Mike Riddle) who gave an outstanding performance as an experienced trapeze artist. In real life, Burt left Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in his second year and decided to join a circus and traveled all around performing on the high wires. As Burt's movie career became successful, he had the opportunity to make this picture which he had longed to do for many years. Burt teams up with Tony Curtis, (Tino Orsini) who gave a great supporting role along with the beautiful Gina Lollobrigida, (Lola) who added her great charm to this picture and had two men fighting over her for her love. Thomas Gomez,(Bouglione) was the circus manager and gave an outstanding performance to his role as a man who ran his circus with an iron fist. This is a great picture with great veteran actors, enjoy.