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Under the Big Top

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Sara Post (Marjorie Main) has molded her niece, Penny (Anne Nagel), into a crowd-pleasing trapeze performer. The main attraction at the circus Sara runs, Penny devotes all of her attention to her art -- until she finds herself being wooed by fellow aerialist Pablo Le Grande (Grant Richards). The relationship worries Sara, and it infuriates Pablo's brother, Ricardo (Jack LaRue), who also pines for Penny. If they aren't careful, the rivalry might just lead to the circus's undoing.

Critics Reviews

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Penelope Houston The Spectator 07/10/2018
This stimulating and strong-willed film never looks disoriented, and its images in themselves are consistently lucid and on occasion mockingly beautiful. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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04/30/2011 Nice to look at, hard to watch. See more 09/24/2010 Made by collage and alternating between archive footage and shot fragments, it's an allegory about the Kluge's struggle for the New German Cinema movement, and the state of art in the present capitalist society, where everything is a product to sell out. Perhaps too ambitious and cryptic, it didn't pass well the test of time... Wim Wender's Der stand der dinge (1982) , is some kind of a remake, but you can notice some influence even in Der Himmel uber Berlin. What remains today is the surreal atmosphere, and good ambitions / message. Golden Lion at the 33° Venice Film Festival (1968) See more Read all reviews
Under the Big Top

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Cast & Crew

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Karl Brown

Director

Marjorie Main

Sara Post

Anne Nagel

Penny

Jack La Rue

Ricardo Le Grande

Grant Richards

Pablo Le Grande

Fred "Snowflake" Toones

Juba
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Under the Big Top

Under the Big Top (1938) Under the Big Top (1938) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Sara Post (Marjorie Main) has molded her niece, Penny (Anne Nagel), into a crowd-pleasing trapeze performer. The main attraction at the circus Sara runs, Penny devotes all of her attention to her art -- until she finds herself being wooed by fellow aerialist Pablo Le Grande (Grant Richards). The relationship worries Sara, and it infuriates Pablo's brother, Ricardo (Jack LaRue), who also pines for Penny. If they aren't careful, the rivalry might just lead to the circus's undoing.
Director
Karl Brown
Production Co
Monogram Pictures
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 13, 2017
Runtime
1h 3m