The smell of the greasepaint, the roar of the crowd… Ah, there’s nothing quite like a circus movie. From the epic (The Greatest Show on Earth, 1952) to the strange (Freaks, 1932) and from the musical (Carousel, 1956) to the melodramatic (Trapeze, 1956) carnivals and circuses have long served as popular backdrops for the cinema. But if you take your average big top setting, toss in a little murder and mayhem, and add Joan Crawford at her domineering best, well then you have yourself a three-ring smorgasbord tailor-made for devotees of cool cinema trash.
Berserk (1967) begins innocently enough with a tightrope walker performing for an appreciative audience. Things quickly go… well, Berserk, when the tightrope snaps and implausibly wraps around the neck of Gaspar the Great, leaving him to swing from the proverbial gallows. Read the complete review
Easter is this Sunday (3/23) and Turner Classic Movies will run the traditional holiday fare (Easter Parade, 1948 and King of Kings, 1961). It also happens to be Joan Crawford’s 100th birthday. To celebrate, the channel will play several of her films, including one of our very favorites, Joan’s outrageous foray into the world of technicolor musicals, Torch Song(1953). Click here for the day’s roster of films.
“Lucy Harbin was declared legally insane today,” a young woman narrates in the opening moments of Strait-Jacket (1964). Lucy, as played by the indomitable Joan Crawford, is described as, “very much a woman, and very much aware of the fact.” Read Article
Chances are, when an aging Hollywood star gets the chance to play a character from the world of the Thee-atuh it usually means there’s going to be some serious acting, Acting, ACTING! Joan Crawford gets such a chance in Torch Song (1953) a musical/drama about the personal and professional life of a ball-busting Broadway diva. Read Article
