With so much attention currently being paid to The Greatest Showman I have selected another circus film for my 'Oldies but Goodies' post this week.  The 1952 film, The Greatest Show on Earth, was based on the famous railroad circuses of the day and went on to win the Academy's Best Picture award for that year.  Directed by the famous Cecil B DeMille and starring Charlton Heston, Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde and Jimmy Stewart, this movie takes us behind the scenes of the famous Ringling Brothers - Barnum and Bailey Circus. What makes this movie so fascinating is that when you review the cast list it becomes apparent that most of the circus characters were true circus performers.  The story focuses on the circus manager, Heston, trying to keep the circus financially viable.  To do so he has to employ an arrogant and womanising trapeze artist, Wilde, to be his star attraction.  This impacts the manager's girlfriend, Hutton, who thought she would be the central trapeze artist as she is relegated to a lesser role. As the story progresses it becomes apparent that Heston cares more for the circus than his girlfriend. Hutton feels neglected and starts falling for Wilde's character but still wants the top billing so they both try more daring performances to prove there skill.  Eventually Wilde has an accident that prevents him from continuing to perform.  There are a whole lot of side stories revolving around who has romantic feelings about who and also there is the mysterious clown, Buttons (Jimmy Stewart), who never takes off his makeup. The climax of the film is a spectacular train crash that cripples the circus, brings out everyone's true feelings for each other and uncovers a couple of mysteries.  The true spirit of 'the show must go on' brings the movie to its close. Stephen Spielberg tells that this was the first movie he ever saw and influenced his desire to make movies.  Those who have seen his film 'Super 8' will recognise the influence of the train crash from this movie transferred to his. The love of circuses continued on TV as remember growing up  watching Bozo the Clown. I really enjoyed this movie and while I never was adventurous enough to ever consider running away to the circus it gave me a greater appreciation for how exciting the circus was 7 friends out of 10 https://youtu.be/2QswjButLfA  

Growing up in the 60's my first experience with courtroom drama was watching Perry Mason defending the innocent by uncovering all the hidden facts. The first courtroom movie that I remember was the classic '12 Angry Men' Made in 1957, the same year as the first series of Perry Mason, the film tells the story of a jury that has to consider the innocence or guilt of an 18-year-old boy accused of killing his father. If found guilty the boy would face a mandatory death sentence. 95% of the film is shot in the one room to which the jury has retired to consider their verdict. In considering the age of the movie, the first thing you notice is that to be judged by your 'equals' in the 1950's meant to sit before 12 white males. As the jurors enter the room, their flippant remarks and labelling of the male defendant, who comes from the slums, shows a wide range of bias, bigotry and lack of concern for the outcome they are to make a judgement on. What appears to be a simple decision of all voting guilty is thrown into disarray when juror 7, Henry Fonda, goes against the grain and votes Not Guilty. So begins a journey that requires each man present to consider their own status in life and whether there may be a reasonable doubt that the boy is guilty. There is no doubt that the movie has aged but the exploration of each jurors motivation helps each character develop. The decision to only identify each man by their juror number and with no background provided the viewer is free to identify with one or more characters based on their own views of morality and ethics. The room has no cooling and as the heat of the day grows and the men become more visibly uncomfortable the claustrophobic atmosphere helps build the tension. The use of close-ups as characters make statements also gives you a sense of how small the room is as tempers fray. While the movie has aged the premise is not much different to a number of documentaries shown recently that ask people to face their own intolerances such as refugees or indigenous communities. If the defendant was not an abused boy from the New York slums but an aboriginal or Muslim youth from the western suburbs of Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane I believe we would see 'our peers' struggle with a similar dilemma as the cast of this movie. One by one each character has to question their initial conclusion and determine whether the verdict of guilty should stand. While Henry Fonda is the star of the movie, the cast many of the respected male actors of the period with Lee J Cobb, Martin Balsam, Jack Warden, E.G Marshall and a young Jack Klugman of Quincy and…