Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Charles Walters

Writers:

Ben Hecht (play) and
Charles MacArthur (play) ...

Release Date:

21 December 1962 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Jump for joy it's jumbo!

Plot:

A Debt-ridden circus is saved by an well-meaning but inept publicity man Pop Wonder.

Plot Keywords:

Circus | Debt | Gambling | Carnival | Circus Elephant

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 nominations

Cast

Doris Day	...	Kitty Wonder
Stephen Boyd	...	Sam Rawlins
Jimmy Durante	...	Anthony ('Pop') Wonder
Martha Raye	...	Lulu
Dean Jagger	...	John Noble
Joseph Waring	...	Harry
Lynn Wood	...	Tina
Charles Watts	...	Ellis
James Chandler	...	Parsons
Robert Burton	...	Madison
Wilson Wood	...	Hank
Norman Leavitt	...	Eddie
Grady Sutton	...	Driver
Ron Henon	...	Circus Performer
The Carlisles	...	Circus Performers

Also Known As:

Jumbo (International: English title) (informal short title)
Spiel mit mir (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
I vasilissa tou variete (Greece) [el]
Jumbo (Denmark) [da]
Jumbo, corazón de mujer (Argentina) [es]
Jumbo, la sensación del circo (Spain) [es]
Jumbo, la sensation du cirque (France) [fr]
La ragazza più bella del mondo (Italy) [it]
Maailman ihanin tyttö (Finland) [fi]
Sol och vår och kär (Sweden) [sv]

Runtime:

123 min | 127 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) (magnetic prints) | Mono (optical prints)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:G | UK:U

Company:

Arwin Productions

Trivia:

The 1935 musical play of Billy Rose's "Jumbo", on which this film was based, was the final stage presentation at New York City's venerable Hippodrome Theatre, which was torn down to make room for a parking lot. The show opened on November 16, 1935 and ran for 233 performances.

Goofs:

Continuity: Jumbo is alternately using his front feet/back feet between shots when he is dancing on the circus pedestal.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988)

Soundtrack:

Circus On Parade

Doris and Martha's Big Moment

I saw this as a teenager, and fell in love. Doris Day was one of the most popular and yet one of the most underrated movie stars of her generation. Her reputation hasn't survived into our modern era as other film icons of the time, including Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Shirley MacLaine and Elizabeth Taylor.

She was an excellent singer, actress, film personality, and she shines in this less-than-perfect screen adaptation of Billy Rose's Broadway extravaganza. Doris was 38 when she made this film, and she looks a tad too old. But she had one of Hollywood's greatest bodies and looks sensational in the many period costumes. She sings this glorious Rodgers and Hart score magnificently, particularly "My Romance," and "Little Girl Blue." The highlight in the movie is the "Why Can't I" duet between Doris and Martha Raye. Raye, a wonderful singer in her own right, and Doris simply shine in this small scene, harmonizing beautifully.

Jimmy Durante is also superb as her charming scamp of a father and head of the family circus. His asides to Jumbo, the elephant are wonderfully comic. Stephen Boyd has been criticized, but I think he's the classic leading man here and doesn't spoil any scene he's in.

This JUMBO was the end of the classic movie musical era, and you can hear it wheezing a bit. But anachronistic as it is, you have Busby Berkeley overseeing the musical numbers, and you would be hard-pressed to find two hours as heart-warmingly delightful as this movie is. Brava to Doris Day--long may she be remembered for the class act she was.