Man on a Tightrope (1953)

I must admit I had never heard of "Man on a Tightrope" until I read Elia Kazan's autobiography, "Elia Kazan: A Life".The story is based on a true event; the escape of the entire Circus Brumbach in 1950 from East Germany to West Germany. Renamed Cirkus Cernik in the film; they escape from Czechoslovakia.Kazan tells how he agreed to make it only after he found that the story was true. He travelled to Bavaria and met the people of the circus and developed a great rapport with them.Kazan had just named names at the HUAC hearings, and was receiving hate mail and hostility from former friends and associates. Although he had once been in the communist party, he claimed he had long ago become anti-communist, and he felt right at home with these circus people who had fled a repressive communist regime; they didn't feel he had done anything wrong at all. It was a healing process for Kazan.Kazan respected the cast and crew in this film: the real circus people who played small parts or worked as extras, but also his American performers. Most weren't major stars, but he admired the honesty with which they approached their roles. They had to rough it; Germany 8-years after the war didn't provide the comforts of Hollywood. Fredric March whose career was winding down, warned him that he sometimes overacted, but he gave an affecting performance as circus owner Karel Cernik. Gloria Grahame as his cheating wife was never photographed to better advantage; she seemed naturally beautiful without her usual heavy makeup. Terry Moore as Cernik's daughter insisted on doing her own stunts including the scene in the fast flowing river.Despite being based on fact, some rather predictable dramatic elements were added and the film was hacked by the studio; ultimately it failed at the box office. However the film has a brilliantly authentic look and when you know a little of how it was made and the circumstances surrounding it, it gains a dimension far beyond what we see on the screen.

Originally I saw this film in a theatre in 1953 and remembered enjoying it but not being overly impressed with it. I discovered that Fox Connect was offering two KAZAN AT FOX sets, each with four Elia Kazan films in Blu-ray. Volume Two has in addition to Man on a Tightrope, Viva Zapata!, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Wild River. The price is $44.98 or $11.25 per title. I ordered the set mainly because I have wanted a better copy of TREE for many years and was very pleased re-seeing Man on a Tightrope again. Very well directed with a screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood (The Best Years of Our Lives) with location shooting that adds great atmosphere to the story. Not only is Fredric March outstanding but so is just about everyone else in the film. I found that I liked the film a great deal more then I thought I would. If you are interested in any of the listed films then this set is for you. It is offered only through Fox Connect. It is titled: KAZAN AT FOX, VOL. 2. They also offer a Volume 1 that includes Blu-ray copies of GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT, PANIC IN THE STREET, PINKY and BOOMRANG! I might add that the transfers of the four films in Volume 2 were beautiful!

A circus in 1950's communist Czechoslovakia makes a dash into the US zone. Being circus people, they have no ostensible political priorities, but the owner, who also dresses up as a clown (Frederic March), seems to have been pushed to take the drastic measure because the communist party functionaries led by Adolphe Menjou find his overall attitude lacking in any discernible commitment. March's daughter in the film is the striking Terry Moore who has fallen for a mysterious circus laborer played by Cameron Mitchell. March's wife is sexy Gloria Graham. The two of them (Moore and Graham) both add a lot. The film makes the distinction in this circus between the artists and the workers. The communists want a workers' paradise and seem to try to make the circus toe the line. The leader of the circus workers is played by Richard Boone, whose part has bought into the communist ideology. The circus midgets also play vital roles in this film, which does not waste any of its actors. The black and white photography matches the stereotypical drab lives in the communist sectors. Menjou, as the communist party leader, is on to March, but, being Menjou, he too becomes a target of operatives in his own party. Directed by Elia Kazan, the film is a real surprise. The overall plot to escape with the circus reaches a well drawn out ending, with even the circus elephants making the dash west.

In 1952,Elia Kazan agreed to cooperate with the House AntiAmerican Activities Committee.That would ruin some of his colleagues' (directors,actors,writers) career ;he was not the only one:Edward Dmytryk followed his steps .Both felt remorse and both could never completely get over it:Dmytryk's "the juggler" "the sniper" and even "the Caine mutiny" are full of hidden messages (check those titles)."Man on a tight rope" was a movie that made sense.One of the most Anti-Communist movie of that era,of course a propaganda movie,it was never released ,for instance,in France ,because there were commies in the government.It was recently given a ridiculous French title ("Le cirque en révolte" =rebellious circus)for its first screening on TV.Time has passed.Now who can still ignore what was happening behind the Iron Curtain?Today's generations can no longer be shocked when you see how low Communist parties have sunk in Europa (if the French Communist candidate ,Marie-George Buffet reaches 3% the votes in the FRench election next week,that will be quite a feat!) Given it is a propaganda movie,and considering Kazan's less-than-comfortable situation,"man on a tight rope" is a remarkable work,for,although Kazan was burning with a desire to get his messages across,his art survived the heavy intentions.Lyricism -which would come to the fore in "East of Eden" or "Splendor in the grass" - is already present in the luminous scene of the lovers' swimming.One should note that this scene is followed by Cernik's first questioning in a dark office .The circus ,what a transparent metaphor !That the Czekolovakian authorities should be infuriated by a simple clowns number speaks volumes,more than one hour of rhetoric.Inside the circus,there 's nothing but suspicious minds.Everyone suspects everyone,from a dwarf to an ex-deserter to a lion-tamer to the manager's(no longer owner:the circus belongs to the people now) daughter.The final,which involves the whole circus trying to get to the Bavarian border,is masterfully directed ,with an unusually inventive of faces in close shots.I've always thought that Eisenstein was one of Kazan's biggest influence.Kazan uses the circus people in a stunning way.Cernik is a modern Mosis ,when they arrive in the promised land....Completely overshadowed by its excellent follow-up "on the waterfront"-which is also a try to justify informing","Man on a tight rope" must be brought of oblivion.