#circus world

Claudia Cardinale (1938-2025)

Claudia Cardinale photographed on the set of Circus World, 1964. (The film also starred Hollywood icons John Wayne and Rita Hayworth and was released as The Magnificent Showman in the UK)

Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale was an Italian actress regarded as one of the leading figures of 60s Italian cinema, alongside Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida.

Cardinale is really the only reason to watch this tragic disaster of a film. It had a massive budget for the era and it is spectacular to see the extravagant opulence of the period up on screen but it’s clear to see the production was an absolute dumpster fire and is remarkable only for its legacy as a remnant of a toxic Hollywood era that clearly needed to die.

Frank Capra, the iconic director of It’s a Wonderful Life was initially hired by the studio to direct the film until he encountered creative differences with lead actor John Wayne and the studio producers.

John Wayne brought in his own scriptwriter James Edward Grant to help rework the screenplay which he thought was “trite and old fashioned”.

According to Capra, Grant told him that he and Wayne would "knock you out a screenplay in a week. All you gotta have in a John Wayne picture is a hoity-toity dame with big tits that Duke can throw over his knees and spank, and a collection of jerks he can smash in the face every five minutes. In between, you fill in with gags, flags and chases. That's all you need - his fans eat it up.”

Capra resigned from the project and John Wayne called up his old buddy Henry Hathaway who had directed many of the western films of the 1930s and 40s.

Principal photography started in September 1963 with location shooting in Barcelona, which was followed with studio shooting at Bronston's production studio in Madrid. In late December 1963, while filming a climactic circus fire scene, an on-set fire occurred, which burned 40 square feet of the set in Aranjuez.

Wayne, Hayworth, and Cardinale emerged unharmed while various animals were moved off the set.

Rita Hawworth was only 46 at the time the movie was made, but she was often late on set and had trouble remembering her lines, and it was reported she was often drunk and abusive on the set. John Wayne had previously looked forward to working with her, but allegedly came to despise her.

Tragically it has been speculated by film historians that at the time this film was made, Rita Hayworth was suffering from early onset of Alzheimer's disease.

Prior to the film's release, the financial failure of The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) caused Samuel Bronston Productions to accumulate severe debts to financier Pierre S. du Pont III. It would be the last in a series of big budget epics produced by Bronston in Spain. Adjusting for inflation it is estimated that the production cost of this film reached $94 million.

The film premiered at the Loew's Cinerama Theater on June 25, 1964. It received mixed reviews from film critics and was a financial disappointment.

Time magazine wrote, "Though likable enough, this least pretentious of Bronston spectaculars cannot compare to The Greatest Show on Earth... to sit through the film is something like holding an elephant on your lap for 2 hours and 15 minutes”

Claudia Cardinale

This past weekend, my husband Keith and I headed north to Wisconsin. He wanted to go to the Baraboo Flea Market, and I wanted to visit the Circus World Museum. We had a plan of action! . Starved Rock State Park When stopping for lunch, we decided to head to Starved Rock State Park. Located along the Illinois River, this park filled with canyons, a beautiful lodge, and stunning views seemed the…

Yes, they met in June 1961 taking pictures with the singer Lady Patachou at the "Nuit de la chancellerie" gala in France but the Felix - Cardinale relationship was not and did not reach a friendship.

At the end of the following year director Henry Hathaway was looking for an older, experienced actress for his film "Circus World" for the role of "Lili Alfredo", the mother of Tony Alfredo (played by Claudia Cardinale), and here comes the problem. First they offered María Félix the role of "Lili Alfredo" playing the mother of "Tony" but the popular 'María Bonita' expressed herself saying: "I will not play the role of the mother of a novice actress" since she found out that Claudia would be the protagonist.

To María Felix's petulant refusal; the director Henry Hathaway did not know who to offer and this was known to John Wayne (father of Claudia/Tony in the film as Matt Masters) to whom the director gave his trust so that he would not leave his 'daughter' Tony "orphaned" and Wayne contacted his dear friend the iconic Rita Hayworth and she kindly accepted without any differences with the new young protagonist Claudia Cardinale.

Filming began in September 1963 and concluded in February 1964 in Madrid, Spain, premiering that same year, being a great success at the time!

"One day Rita came into my caravan and started crying, something that disconcerted me and she told me: 'I was beautiful too one day'. It hurt me a lot because for me she was a goddess"

-Claudia Cardinale in "Essere Claudia", 2007.

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