Trapeze

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Carol Reed directs. Robert Krasker behind the camera. Malcolm Arnold scores. Bert Bates cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
• 2Made its money back 3.6× over at the box office.
• 370 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.
• 5Directed by Carol Reed, shot by Robert Krasker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Original score by Malcolm Arnold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 7Editor Bert Bates shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 8Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida carry the top of the cast.
• 9Marketing tagline: "High...High...High...Above Them All! - in excitement! - in spectacle! - in fire, flesh and fury!".
• 10IMDB entry: tt0049875 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

Robert Krasker

Original score

Malcolm Arnold

Editing

Bert Bates

Production design

Rino Mondellini

Makeup / hair

Louis Bonnemaison

Runtime

105 min · 1h 45m

Status

Released

Budget

$4,000,000

Box office

$14,400,000

Return

360% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

NR

IMDB

Trapeze (1956) ↗

Also by

Carol Reed

• 
  Laburnum Grove

  1936 · ★ 8.5
• 
  The New Lot

  1943 · ★ 8.0
• 
  Talk of the Devil

  1936 · ★ 8.0
• 
  The Third Man

  1949 · ★ 7.9
• 
  Follow Me!

  1972 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Odd Man Out

  1947 · ★ 7.3

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Trapeze (1956) trailer

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• John Chard2019-08-04
  ★ 6/10

  Great role for Burt in Carol Reed's love tryst circus plot. Great curio piece with Burt Lancaster being a former circus performer, the film was something of a big success on its initial release. It's not hard to see why either, because it's a solid enough story backed up by great aerial sequences set to the backdrop of circus life. The love triangle between the three leads (our intrepid trapeze artists) that threatens to envelope them with disastrous consequences, is never less than intriguing, and of course we get led into a breath holding finale that achieves the desired effect. Sadly for me the acting here lets the film down, Lancaster does "OK" and holds the film together, and I really liked Thomas Gomez as the money orientated Bouglione, but it is here is where the Tony Curtis detractors get their ammunition from. Curtis is very wooden and it's hard to believe this is the same actor from The Defiant Ones & The Boston Strangler. Katy Jurado is reduced to being a bit part player, and as the female lead, Gina Lollobrigida looks gorgeous but delivers her lines in unconvincing fashion. This is good honest entertainment, with some exuberant set-pieces that raise the pulses, but ultimately it becomes bogged down by some less than memorable acting. 6/10

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• Wuchak2022-10-20
  ★ 6/10

  Corny love triangle at a circus in France with Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida A disillusioned former aerobatics star functioning as a rigger at a Paris circus (Lancaster) is revived when a young prodigy from Brooklyn comes under his coaching wing (Curtis). Everything’s going great until an alluring tumbler worms her way into their act (Lollobrigida). "Trapeze” (1956) comes in the tradition of "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952) and was a hit at the box office. But it’s way more one-dimensional by comparison in that the setting is stationary (shot at Cirque d'Hiver, Paris) and the focus is naturally on the trapeze gymnastics as opposed to other acts. The three stars are the drawing factor and were all in their prime with Burt being the oldest at 42 during shooting; Tony was 30 and Gina 28. For those not in the know, Burt was a circus performer before entering the movie biz. He performed all but one of the aerial gymnastics stunts himself. Meanwhile the stunt double for Lollobrigida died after a 40’ fall during production, suffering a broken back. Speaking of the shapely Gina, she’s obviously the highlight in the feminine department and the camera doesn’t fail to fully capture her beauty. Katy Jurado is also on hand, along with several peripherals. While the flick’s enjoyable in its quaint way, it’s hindered by the aforementioned one-dimensional tone and, worse, the corny melodramatics of the love triangle. Plus Lola’s manipulations don’t exactly endear her to the viewer. My favorite circus flicks are probably "Water for Elephants" (2011) and "Circus of Horrors" (1960), along with "The Greatest Show on Earth,” but "The Big Circus" (1959), "Roustabout" (1964) and "Circus of Fear" (1966), aka "Psycho-Circus," are also worth checking out. The film runs 1 hour, 45 minutes. GRADE: B-

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• JO

  Joanna Productions

• HE

  Hecht-Lancaster Productions

Key crew

• NovelMax Catto
• AdaptationLiam O'Brien
• ProducerJames Hill
• Special EffectsJack Lannan
• EditorBert Bates
• Producer's AssistantRichard McWhorter
• Production ManagerRuby Rosenberg
• Production DesignRino Mondellini
• Sound SupervisorFrancis J. Scheid
• Makeup ArtistLouis Bonnemaison
• ConductorMuir Mathieson
• Assistant DirectorMichel Romanoff
• HairstylistTrieste Sarnelli
• Camera OperatorJohn Harris
• CostumerJoseph Dimmitt

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• circus
• trapeze artist

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1956-05-30NR

Also known as

International titles

• Visutá hrazdaCZ
• TrapezeUS