Trapeze

Dir: Carol Reed

1956

***

Based on Max Catto's 1950 novel The Killing Frost, Carol Reed's adaptation Trapeze is a thrilling drama that has moments of excitement and energy but misses out all the good stuff from the original. The script removed a homosexual twist from the novel: Orsini (played by Tony Curtis in the film) is executed for murdering a woman who left him for Ribble (played by Burt Lancaster), but the real killer proves to be Ribble who wanted Orsini romantically. It would have complicated an already multi-layered film but I can't help but think that Carol Reed was one of few directors in the 50s who would have been able to pull it off successfully. As it is it's just an adequate film. Curtis and Lancaster are on top form as is Gina Lollobrigida (in her American cinema debut). It's a classic love triangle drama with the circus as a backdrop, Lancaster plays the experienced Trapeze artist who is retired due to a previous fall and Curtis plays a young chancer who wants to be the seventh person to complete the dangerous triple somersault. However, rope acrobat Lollobrigida has other ideas and manipulates anyone has can to be part of the team and be the first female to attempt the trick. The story is predictable but the performances are great. I love all three actors, especially Curtis who is a bit of a hero of mine. Lancaster, who was 41 at the time, performed all but one of the trapeze stunts himself, having worked in a circus before entering films. He insisted on doing the climactic triple somersault himself, but technical adviser Eddie Ward initially was hesitant on Lancaster performing the stunt, so Ward doubled for Lancaster during the first weeks of shooting. Reed eventually hired Lancaster's long-time friend, stuntman Nick Cravat to perform the stunt as he was worried about insurance. Sadly, Gina Lollobrigida's stunt-double died after suffering a broken back from a forty-foot fall during the film's production. It was the third highest grossing film of 1956, the two big actors and the promise of thrilling stunts was the main pull but it didn't receive particularly glowing reviews. My personal favourite part of the film is the addition of Sid James as the circus's Snake Charmer. He has 90% of the film's best lines (the other 10% go to the great Thomas Gomez who plays the circus's owner) and for someone like me, raised on Bless this House and the Carry On films, it's both bizarre and brilliant watching Sid James talk to Burt Lancaster on screen. Carol Reed's direction is impeccable, as you'd expect. A remake was made in 2000 but has yet to see the light of day. Filmed in Belarus, it featured Mark Pillow who played Nuclear Man in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and I'd pay good money to see it.