Greatest Show on the Face of the Earth

This week rediscovered a film that I last saw in the early 70s.  It's not the best MGM film musical, in fact it was probably an omen towards the demise of the film musical as a cinema staple.  It had a top notch cast; Doris Day was in vocal perfection.  Stephen Boyd was riding on his success from his stint in Ben-Hur  (and was probably still under contract to MGM); Jimmy Durante was reprising his role from the 1935 stage spectacle; and one of America's beloved comediennes- Martha Raye.  And of course, the "star" of the film- a talented pachyderm.  The film?  Billy Rose's Jumbo.  Mr. Durante starred in the original stage version back in the day when Broadway impresarios, such as Florenz Ziegfeld and Billy Rose, competed for box office hits and bucks.  Back to the film- it was a holiday offering from MGM in the early 60s, but it was not popular with the critics, nor the audiences.  Watching it on TV in the early 70s was probably because there was nothing else to watch.  But it caught my interest.  So when I saw the DVD at my new favorite music shop, Rasputin Records, I bought it.  It had everything a MGM musical could offer...the music, the stars and the color.  I mean, it's as if the studio owned a rainbow and used it as a palette for celluloid purposes.  The second unit of the film was directed by legendary director Busby Berkley.  He was the man with the amazing kaleidoscope views of chorus girls doing amazing geometrics.  Mr. Berkley had a circus to deal with.  Some of the scenes were OK.  Either he was bored or was limited to a budget and could not recreate the wonders of his earlier films.  I wanted to like the circus spectacle, but I could not really get into it.  There is a circus parade that is colorful and hearkens to an earlier time when circuses literally paraded into a city...what better advertisement!  One of the best known songs from this film is The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.  Other songs revolve around circus acts, love, and the circus itself.  There is a bit of slapstick and some funny lines, but it just was not the hysterically funny musical comedy of Metro's earlier years.  The scenes with Jumbo are cute.  The film brought pleasant memories of going to the circus with my family...to the Cow Palace to see the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus or downtown to the Civic Auditorium to see the Pollack Bros. Circus.  The latter even performed at the Kezar Pavillion, but no elephants because of the hardwood floor, so we were told.  The circus, as I remember it, was a magical place.  What kid did not want to run away, even for a day or two, and be a lion tamer, clown or even ring master.  The smell of the cotton candy, popcorn, nay- even the animals.  Jumbo somehow could not capture that, at least for me.  But, do not overlook it.  It is, after all, an MGM musical and it is fun.  And it was nominated for one Oscar, Music Scoring, so even the Academy acknowledged its music.  So, pop that corn!  Grab that blanket!  Foist...er...uh, enjoy with a friend!  Jump for joy cause it's Jumbo!