ThiefHott Too much of everything

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

MartinHafer While it's hard to imagine, spectacular Circus films are often some of the dullest pictures. I would say that about "The Greatest Show on Earth" (despite its Oscar) and "Circus World"...and I would certainly say that about "Billy Rose's Jumbo". Now I am not saying any of these films are bad, they aren't, but they are awfully colorful but empty...sort of like giant balls of cotton candy!"Billy Rose's Jumbo" is about a circus that is constantly one step away from insolvency. Trying to keep it afloat are Kitty Wonder (Doris Day) and her father 'Pop' Wonder. In between running from creditors and solving little problems as they come up, Kitty also takes time for romance with a handsome rogue, Sam (Stephen Boyd). All of which is set to music...lots and lots of music. The music is actually one of the biggest problem with the picture as there are just too many songs and the plot takes a back seat to a lot of mostly pleasant but VERY forgettable songs. "The Most Beautiful Girl" is one exception....it's more timeless and enjoyable than most but still not enough. So what you end up with, apart from MANY songs is a giant confection of colors and pageantry...but not a whole lot else. It's not a bad film by any stretch but it's also rather tedious and forgettable as well. I say tedious because the film just never seems to know when to end...and ending it sooner would have made for a better film.If you do want to see a circus film, you might do better with a comedy such as Chaplin's "The Circus", Martin & Lewis' "3 Ring Circus" or Joe E. Brown's "The Circus Clown". It seems that humor somehow works better than music and pageantry.

Applause Meter 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.

JLRMovieReviews Doris Day, Jimmy Durante, Martha Raye, and Great Songs. That's what makes this film so good. Other than that, this tale about life in the circus may seem predictable with a paper-thin plot. But, the stars boost it to a fun, non-stop rollick with elephants, high-wire acts, and clowns. There is also Stephen Boyd. But while he may seem fairly nice to look at, he doesn't quite have the star power to carry the viewer's interest his character should have, even if he really was singing "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" and didn't need to be dubbed. With Doris Day singing "Little Girl Blue" and "My Romance" as highlights, this pleasing musical should keep the viewer out of trouble for well over two hours and in the world of the greatest show on earth.

capricorn9 As the song title states, I can sit and watch this film again and again, especially now that it's on DVD and in a glorious release! What colour, what spectacular circus scenes. Both Busby Berkley and Charles Walters make use of the Cinemascope screen. Doris Day is at her perky best and what a treat to see two such clowns as Martha Raye and Jimmy Durante in a film together. Even such a small part as John Noble, the rival circus owner, is played by a great character actor - Dean Jagger. The only small fly in the ointment is Stephen Boyd. He is not suited for musicals, in fact I could never see what people saw in him as an actor, except maybe his good looks......OK, I'll give him that, but only that. The R & H (Rogers and Hart this time) score survives and even the additions by Roger Edens work to bring the wonder and amazement of the Pop Wonder Circus to life. This was one of the last, if not THE last, major musical from MGM and it shows they still had not lost their touch!