Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962)

Doris Day never ceases to amaze me. Wonderful actress with a great voice. And I LOVE Stephen Boyd. Was there ever a more handsome, sexy actor who could really act and had such a wide range?? And Martha Ray surprised me... I didn't know she could sing. This is a feel-good film, a feast for the eyes, with wonderful songs, and great circus acts to boot. And there is actually a plot here too.I would like to watch this film again, and recommend it to any fan of musicals, or anyone who loves the circus.

This may have been a stage hit in 1935, but by 1962, it was a stale offering. Cecil B. DeMille had already done everything in his ancient bag of tricks to kill off the circus theme for good ten years earlier with his antique, sentimental extravaganza "The Greatest Show on Earth" in 1952. Jumbo did nothing to revive MGM's glory as the producers of great musical entertainment. I couldn't sit through this entire movie. Doris Day, Jimmy Durante, and Martha Raye----what a trio. Durante and Raye can only be taken in by small portions at a time and an entire movie with them in it is just too much to digest without discomfort. Stephen Boyd is in the cast but the less said about this wooden, uninteresting actor, the better. This movie is a real stinker. And this implies no offense to the title performer, the enormous elephant Jumbo and his toilet habits.

Billy Rose's Jumbo is based on a play of the same name produced by Billy Rose. The play was adapted from the book written by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, the screenplay here is written by Sidney Sheldon. Music is scored by George Stoll, with songs written by Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart. It's directed by Charles Walters, with Busby Berkeley on second unit duties, and stars Doris Day, Jimmy Durante, Stephen Boyd, Martha Raye and Dean Jagger. William H. Daniels photographs and it's a Panavision/Metrocolor production out of MGM.The Pop Wonder Circus is suffering desperate financial problems, with rival Noble Circus circling like a vulture ready to strip it of its greatest assets. Then one day a stranger walks in and joins them as a wire walker and things start to pick up. But as romance blossoms and problems begin to ease, shocking news brings great disruption to the equilibrium.It's the sort of musical production that can be picked apart to reveal many problems. Problems in length, quality of song execution and certain casting issues, they are there and undeniably stop the film being great. However, if one is just after a breezy piece of fluff, in the company of a delightful leading lady, then it's a film that does its job. Structured as a series of songs and circus routines, there is little room for an intelligent plot, it's a basic boy/girl romance played out whilst some bad guy lurks in the background threatening to drive a wedge between the lovers. Still, the foot tappers keep it charming, the production value is top notch and the Metrocolor used is very pleasing. While the actual circus performers are truly great at their art (wire walkers a favourite over here).So, as shallow as a puddle in terms of story and character depth, but even tho it should have had better care and attention afforded it, it remains above average and of appeal to musical fans. 6.5/10

It's unfortunate that this circus musical comedy tends to live in the shadow of Cecil DeMille's non-musical "The Greatest Show on Earth", made nearly a decade earlier. I find the present film more enjoyable, with its intertwining of music, comedy, drama and romance. It certainly didn't lack star power. Doris Day may have been nearing 40, but could have passed for 25 and was perfect for the lead role. Of course, Jimmy Durante and Martha Raye were veteran entertainers of the vaudeville style. Perhaps, as some reviewers have suggested, their comedic talents were underutilized. Jumbo is self-explanatory. The casting of Stephen Boyd as the male lead is more questionable. He was a good looking hunk, but no singer and had no special charisma to match that of Doris. Perhaps we would have to look to Elvis or Robert Goulet for an ideal male singer on a par with Doris at this time. On the other hand, Boyd did come across as a believable lead circus performer. His singing and acting were sometimes understated, but I didn't find this annoying in most scenes. James Joyce, as Boyd's dubber, did a fine job with the introductory tune in the first scene, a perfect number for Robert Goulet. The preceding overture should have been deleted, as it was not memorable and was overlong.In the romance department, we have an implied double wedding in the finale, one the culmination of a stale 14 year engagement between Durante and Martha, the other a whirlwind affair between Doris and Boyd. Prior to this, Boyd found himself in the increasingly uncomfortable position of being a spy for his father, who plans to take over this circus, yet is falling in love with Doris, who is the owner's daughter. Meanwhile, Doris is trying to hold off multiple creditors, due to the irresponsible gambling of Durante. Boyd helps her satisfy the creditors for a while by giving her loaded dice to win big in a crap shoot.The score consists of a variety of moderately memorable Rogers and Hart songs from the original 1935 play or other sources. This was the final film choreographed by the famous Busby Berkeley, after having been virtually inactive since the early '50s. Doris's first number is the fun "Over and Over Again". After she begins to strike up a romance with Boyd, she sings the upbeat "This Can't be Love" and "My Romance". After the announcement that their circus had been taken over by Boyd's father, she sings the somber haunting "Little Girl Blue". Both Boyd and later Durante sing "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" to their respective sweethearts. Of the several choreographed circus routines, the multiple flying butterflies was perhaps the most striking spectacle. Unfortunately, it was cut short by the failure of the tent roof in a violent rain storm.After Boyd joins the other stars with their traveling medicine show, things turn fanciful, as we see them again inside a big circus tent, eventually dawning clown suits. The guy's boxing match is dull, but the girl's routine is more comical. The fanciful finale follows.