The Devil's Circus
About The Devil's Circus
Mary, a young woman from the country, meets Carl, a pickpocket, and takes a job in a circus. Carl is arrested for robbery and tells her he will go straight. Hugo, a lion tamer who wants Mary, attacks her. His mistress Yonna, jealous, tampers with the ropes during Mary's trapeze act. Mary falls among the lions and is crippled. War starts and many of the circus men leave to fight. When it ends, Carl finds Mary. He sets out to kill Hugo, sees that Hugo is blind, and stops. Carl and Mary stay together.
Cast & crew
More about The Devil's Circus
Benjamin Christensen wrote and directed it. H. H. Caldwell and Katherine Hilliker wrote the titles. Ben F. Reynolds photographed it. Ben Lewis edited. James Basevi designed the sets. MGM released it on February 15, 1926. It runs 70 minutes. It was the first of seven films Christensen directed in the United States.
Themes
Making
Christensen staged the trapeze fall so that Mary drops into the lion act after Yonna has fixed the ropes.
Reviews
George T. Pardy wrote a pre-release review in Motion Picture News, 10 April 1926.
Look
Ben F. Reynolds shot the circus, including the trapeze and the lion ring.
Preservation
A print thought lost was found and preserved at the George Eastman Museum. The Film Foundation paid for the restoration.
Notes
- Norma Shearer plays Mary. Charles Emmett Mack plays Carl. Carmel Myers plays Yonna. John Miljan plays Lieberkind. Claire McDowell plays Mrs. Peterson. Joyce Coad plays Little Anita.
- Unbilled bits include Karl Dane as a clown, Mack Swain as a sultan in a circus act, and Charles Murray as Lieberkind's assistant.
- The story opens in 1913, before the war pulls the circus men away.
- George T. Pardy reviewed it for Motion Picture News on April 10, 1926.
Scenes
- Yonna tampers with the ropes during Mary's trapeze act.
- Mary falls among the lions.
- Carl finds Hugo blind and does not kill him.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (The Devil's Circus (1926) by Benjamin Christensen.webm)
