''Carnival Story'' is a 1954

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by Kurt Neumann, produced by Frank King and Maurice King, starring

Anne Baxter Anne Baxter (May 7, 1923 – December 12, 1985) was an American actress, star of Hollywood films, Broadway productions, and television series. She won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, and was nominated for an Emmy. A granddaughter of Fr ...

and Steve Cochran, and released by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

. It was made as a co-production between West Germany and the United States. Sometimes this film is credited as a 3D feature, although it wasn't filmed or exhibited in a three-dimensional process. This idea in many sources may be based on a wrong note from ''Variety'' in 1953. Neumann simultaneously directed a

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...

version '' Circus of Love'' with Bernhard Wicki,

Eva Bartok Éva Márta Szőke Ivanovics (18 June 19271 August 1998), known professionally as Eva Bartok, was a Hungarian-British actress. She began acting in films in 1950 and her last credited appearance was in 1966. She acted in more than 40 American, ...

, and

Curd Jürgens Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (13 December 191518 June 1982) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens. He was well known for playing Ernst Udet in '' Des Teufels Gene ...

. The

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...

set in a

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

was filmed at the

Bavaria Studios Bavaria Studios are film production studios located in Munich, the capital of the region of Bavaria in Germany, and a subsidiary of Bavaria Film. History The studios were constructed in the suburb of Geiselgasteig in 1919 shortly after the F ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

and on location in the city. The sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...

Hans Kuhnert Hans Kuhnert (4 January 1901 – 29 July 1974) was a German actor, art director and production designer. Kuhnert began his career as an actor during the silent era. He played the lead alongside Olga Tschechowa in '' Violet''.Hardt p.225 From the ...

and

Theo Zwierski Theo Zwierski (1911–1989) was a German art director who designed the sets on a number of West German films and television productions.Meier p.336 Selected filmography * '' Uncle Kruger'' (1941) * ''After the Rain Comes Sunshine'' (1949) * '' T ...

. The film was shot in

Agfacolor An Agfacolor slide dated 1937 from café in Oslo, Norway. An Agfacolor slide dated 1937 from Paris, France. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 from Hungary. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 from Zakopane in Poland. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 fr ...

with prints by

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

Plot

Grayson's traveling carnival comes to

with acts that include high-dive artist Frank Collini ( Lyle Bettger) and silent strongman Groppo (

Ady Berber Ady Berber (4 February 1913 – 3 January 1966) was an Austrian film actor, professional wrestler and café owner. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1936 and 1966. He was born and died in Vienna, Austria. Selected filmography * '' C ...

). A local girl named Willi (

) picks the pocket of Joe ( Steve Cochran), who works for the carny, but he ends up offering her a job. Joe makes romantic advances to Willi, who tries to resist him but can't. Collini asks if she would like to become a part of his act, which involves diving into a flaming tank of water from a great height. He also proposes marriage on Willi's first night as part of the show. Magazine photographer Bill comes to take their picture as the Great Collinis' fame grows. Collini beats Joe up after catching him with Willi, whereupon he plunges to his death after a rung on his high-dive ladder breaks. Willi inherits $5,000. Joe spends the night with her, but the next morning, he is gone as is her money. She eventually gets Joe to confess that he sawed Collini's rung in two, deliberately causing his death. When Willi asserts her independence from Joe, he tries to strangle her. Hearing her cries for help, Groppo comes to Willi's rescue and chases Joe who tries to escape on a

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...

. Groppo climbs to the top of the wheel and throws Joe off, killing Joe; and Groppo is led away by the police.

Cast

as Willi * Steve Cochran as Joe Hammond * Lyle Bettger as Frank Collini * George Nader as Bill Vines * Helene Stanley as Peggy * Jay C. Flippen as Charley Grayson *

as Groppo

Release

The King Brothers later sued RKO for mismanaging the distribution and sale of the film, claiming $20,000 in damages.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Kurt Neumann 1954 films 1954 drama films West German films German drama films Circus films Films directed by Kurt Neumann RKO Pictures films Films set in West Germany American multilingual films American drama films Films with screenplays by Michael Wilson (writer) Films with screenplays by Dalton Trumbo Articles containing video clips 1950s multilingual films Films shot at Bavaria Studios Films shot in Munich 1950s English-language films 1950s American films 1950s German films