Held der Arena (1964)

Held der Arena: Directed by Henry Hathaway. With John Wayne, Claudia Cardinale, Rita Hayworth, Lloyd Nolan. When circus proprietor Matt Masters decides to take his show on a European tour, it is beset by problems, while he searches for Lili, the mother of his adopted daughter, who disappeared years before.

“I remember seeing this film as a lad on a family outing in Manhattan, topped off by my insistence that we have dinner at Jack Dempseyu0026#39;s Restaurant in Manhattan. Too bad the old champ wasnu0026#39;t there that day or it would have been a perfect Sunday.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSeeing it now on a formatted VHS the awesomeness of the spectacle during the scenes of the circus fires and the capsized ship in the harbor is really lost. Itu0026#39;s quite an eyeful and should only be scene in theaters.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd the film would be revived, but we have a subdued John Wayne here and itu0026#39;s not for the better. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis was originally to be a Frank Capra film and Capra bowed out after creative differences with the Duke and some of the Dukeu0026#39;s personal entourage. Read the Capra autobiography to find out exactly what they were, but they werenu0026#39;t fully fixed in the final product by director Henry Hathaway who later piloted the Duke to his Oscar in True Grit.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJohn Wayne was a guy who was usually very careful to give the public the Duke they expected. Even when he stretched his abilities it was done with a firm directorial hand. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWeu0026#39;re asked to accept the Duke as a man who had an adulterous affair here. He also does not throw one punch in this entire film or fire a weapon in other than it being part of his Wild West Show. The people went to see John Wayne, but they didnu0026#39;t get their moneyu0026#39;s worth.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePity because it would have been great to see John Wayne with Rita Hayworth in a great film. That couldnu0026#39;t have happened when they were younger because of Ritau0026#39;s contract with Columbia pictures and Wayneu0026#39;s personal boycotting of that studio because of his dislike for Harry Cohn. That story I wonu0026#39;t go into.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRita Hayworth who doesnu0026#39;t enter into the film until almost halfway through is fine as Wayneu0026#39;s lost love. She and Claudia Cardinale looked just fine in tights as trapeze artists. Lloyd Nolan as Wayneu0026#39;s sidekick is always good.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRichard Conte is Hayworthu0026#39;s brother-in-law and Cardinaleu0026#39;s uncle. This fine actor is wasted here in a part that either was badly written or left on the cutting room floor.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJohn Smith was a Wayne protégé of sorts, Wayne gave him an early break in The High and the Mighty which he produced. Smith went on to star in the Laramie TV series and on completion of that he was cast opposite Cardinale, probably at Wayneu0026#39;s insistence. I remember always wondering what happened to him because he left show business shortly afterward. Then back in the Nineties I read he had died of cirrhosis of the liver. I guess you can fill in the blanks.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAt the time Circus World came out, there was on television a prime time series called International Showtime. It was on Fridays at 8 pm. and it was set in a different city in Europe every week. Hosted by Don Ameche it featured the very best circus acts in the world. So did Circus World, but it certainly was no incentive for people to come out to see this when they could see the same thing at home. Also Paramount re-released Cecil B. DeMilleu0026#39;s The Greatest Show on Earth to a brisk box office business at the same time Circus World came out.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo for all these reasons Circus World flopped and bankrupted producer Samuel Bronstein. Nevertheless if youu0026#39;re a circus fan you will enjoy seeing this. But itu0026#39;s not the Duke his fans have come to expect.”