Trapeze

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 ...

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). Everythings 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 its 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...