The Greatest Show on Earth
When Hollywood and View-Master were embedded with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
In the June 1952 View-Master Dealerscope magazine, a publication put out to aid View-Master dealers in selling, one article highlights the advantages of dovetailing the new View-Master Circus Reels with the new circus-themed movie The Greatest Show on Earth.
“The Greatest Show on Earth” was really that for ten youthful wheelchair patients who, with 2,000 other underprivileged children, were treated to a private showing of Paramount’s epic movie at the Paramount Theater in Portland, Oregon, recently.
The ten youngers received View-Master stereoscopes complete with Circus Reels as a special gift of the Paramount Film Distributing Corporation, which arranged the private showing.
Commenting on the timely appearance of the View-Master Circus Reels, Ralph O. Hoge, Portland promotion manager for the film distribution company, writes: “As I see it, there are two naturals for tie-ins with the View-Master Circus Reel—the showing of the Greatest Show on Earth and the 1952 tour of the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey circus. Local dealers can take advantage of these events and tie in with window displays, ads, and other appropriate promotions.
“A View-Master display booth,” he adds, “could conceivably be pitched right on the midway of the circus by some enterprising and able pitchman.”
Sadly, I couldn’t find any evidence that happened, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
For my money, there are few View-Master packets from the early 1950s as delightful as A Day at the Circus. It’s got some great portraits and some fun action shots. Also, and maybe it’s just me, but I like when View-Master gets a little seedy with its content. Other people strongly disagree: When I posted photos from this packet on Instagram, I got pushback in several messages and comments about including upsetting images of circus animals.
Content note: I don’t assume all animals at zoos and circuses in the past were abused though obviously our standards relating to the treatment of animals has changed for the better since the 1950s! I wouldn’t include a photo that I felt showcased animal abuse but sensibilities vary so proceed according to yours.
So, from the performing bears to the fairway to the showgirls to the clowns, this set has slightly edgier content compared to most others of the era.
One other strange thing about the Circus packet: It doesn’t include a booklet that tells a story or provides context to the reels, which is very unusual for that time. To me, it always felt like there was a backstory about the reels that I was missing, which added to their intrigue. But, when I got the personal reels of Rupert Leach, Director of Photography at View-Master in the 1940s and 50s, the story about the Circus reels went in a direction I wasn’t expecting.
The Rupert Leach lot had two reels marked “Ringling Circus, Florida.” I shared a photo on Instagram and the Circus.Stories account noted that this photo was clearly from the Circus-themed movie The Greatest Show on Earth.
I thought that was curious, and initially wondered why Leach was on a movie set. And why wouldn’t the movie have a View-Master tie-in if that were the case?
Recently, I decided to revisit the Circus packet, the Leach reels and watch The Greatest Show on Earth to see if I could tie it all together.
This trailer helped me piece together a few clues. Since the movie folks had embedded with the circus folks, it was likely that View-Master was simply there at the same time as the movie crew.
In reading up on the movie, I discovered that the actual 1951 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus troupe appears in the film. At the time included 1,400 people, hundreds of animals and 60 railroad cars of equipment and tents. The movie actors — including Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, James Stewart, Dorothy Lamour and Gloria Grahame — all learned their circus roles and participated in the acts. Charlton Heston also stars as the circus manager with “sawdust in this veins” (he delivers every line in the movie through clenched teeth, which was amusing to me). The movie went on to win Best Picture and Best Story at the Academy Awards and was nominated for Best Costume Design, Best Director and Best Film Editing. And there’s simply no doubt in my mind that the troupe in the movie is the same troupe and the same show Rupert Leach photographed for View-Master.
This week I’d like to show you how the commercial View-Master reels compared to Cecil B. Demille’s movie, and next week I’ll show you Rupert Leach’s behind the scenes shots from the film’s big, completely insane finale.
The movie was dubbed a “docu-drama” because the lines between circus show and movie were blurred. Much of the film centers around long set pieces that showcase the work of circus performers, or of actors performing the circus acts while also driving the plot forward.
All of the photos below come from the View-Master packet but also figure into key scenes in the movie:
Of course, movies need conflict to drive the story forward. View-Master reels do not! So, in this film’s case, the conflicts involve romance and circus operations. One concern is the cost of moving around a giant troupe and the stress of putting up the big tents. This was a real issue, and just five years after this movie came out the circus no longer traveled with portable “big tops” and instead only visited permanent venues like arenas and stadiums.
Another real worry for the circus in those days was train wrecks. This movie culminates in a train robbery and violent crash (a scene so dramatic that it inspired Steven Spielberg to become a director).
While watching the movie, it felt a little out of left field that there was a train crash until I remembered that I used to live near Showmen’s Rest, a memorial to the Hammond Circus Train Wreck of 1918. Circus train wrecks were not uncommon back then. None of the dramatic elements in the big train wreck appear in the View-Master reels, of course, but the scenes are so influential it felt weird not to give them their due.
Next week, we’ll take a look at Rupert Leach’s personal reels from his visit to Ringling Bros.’ winter home during the filming of big finale of The Greatest Show on Earth. You won’t see those photos anywhere else as they are from my private collection!
This is extremely cool content. Thank you for posting.