Trapeze (film)



Trapeze is a 1956 circus film directed by Carol Reed and starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida, making her debut in American films. The film is based on Max Catto's novel The Killing Frost, with the adapted screenplay written by Liam O'Brien.

The film did well at the box office, returning $7.5 million in North American rentals and placing in the top three among the year's top earners.

Plot
Crippled trapeze aerialist and former star Mike Ribble (Burt Lancaster) sees great promise in young, brash Tino Orsini (Tony Curtis). Ribble—only the sixth man to have completed the dangerous triple somersault—thinks his protégé is capable of matching the same feat but only if he gives him rigorous training. However, Orsini is distracted by the new third member of their circus act, the manipulative Lola (Gina Lollobrigida). Tensions rise as a love triangle forms.

Cast

 * Burt Lancaster as Mike Ribble
 * Tony Curtis as Tino Orsini
 * Gina Lollobrigida as Lola
 * Katy Jurado as Rosa
 * Thomas Gomez as Bouglione
 * Johnny Puleo as Max
 * Minor Watson as John Ringling North
 * Gérard Landry as Chikki
 * Jean-Pierre Kérien as Otto
 * Sid James as Snake Charmer
 * Gamil Ratib as Stefan

Production
Lancaster, a former circus acrobat, performed many of his own stunts, though the most dangerous (including the climactic triple) were done by technical consultant Eddie Ward from Ringling Brothers Circus.

Trapeze was filmed entirely in Paris, including at the Cirque d'hiver, and at the nearby Billancourt studios.

Reception
Bosley Crowther panned the film in his review for The New York Times. He wrote that the story was "dismally obvious and monotonous", the direction no better, and the dialogue "dull and hackneyed". He also criticized the leads in the film, writing that Lollobrigida had only her looks to show, and that Curtis and Lancaster were both uninteresting. The film was the fourth most popular movie at the British box office in 1956.

Awards
Burt Lancaster won the Silver Bear for Best Actor award at the 6th Berlin International Film Festival. Reed was nominated for best director by the Directors Guild of America.

Remake
An unreleased remake was made in 2000. Filmed in Belarus, it featured Mark Pillow (Nuclear Man in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace).