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Circus (1936 film)
Encyclopedia
Circus is a 1936 Soviet
melodrama
tic comedy
musical
film
. It was directed by Grigori Aleksandrov
at the Mosfilm
studios. In his own words, it was conceived as "an eccentric comedy...a real side splitter."
Starring the glamorous and immensely popular Lyubov Orlova
(Aleksandrov's wife), the first recognized star of Soviet cinema and a gifted singer, the film contains several songs which instantly became Soviet classics. The most famous is the "Song of the Motherland" (Широка страна моя родная).
The next scene opens with an American man shouting “Beat her up! Beat her up!” and the whole crowd rushing towards tiny woman, carrying a bundle in her arms. The woman manages to jump aboard a moving train and to avoid lynching
, while she is about to be stomped by the relentless crowd. In the train she encounters a German compère, who has just read the same headlines of Sunnyville Courier, while it’s turned out that the bundle is actually a swaddled infant, who starts crying, thus revealing himself. The first phrase the German says to the woman is “Was wollen Sie?” (German for "What do You want?"), but the woman seems to be so tired from the chase that she falls unconscious.
The woman is Marion Dixon, an American
circus
artist who, after giving birth to a black
baby (played by Jim Patterson
), immediately becomes a victim of racism
in the United States. The German on the train turns out to be a theatrical agent named Franz von Kneishitz who recruits her to his concert program across the Soviet Union.
Marion leaves the United States on a circus tour across the USSR. At first Marion wants to leave the circus, but being blackmailed by her manager von Kneishitz, she is forced to continue her circus career. While traveling on the tour, Soviet circus authorities propose that she engage in a recently created performance and there she meets Soviet performance director Ivan Martynov, with whom she quickly falls in love. The new performance brings the house down and Dixon is welcomed to stay in the USSR for good.
Together with her new Russian husband she finds refuge, love and happiness in the USSR. Her black son is treated very well by friendly Soviet people. The movie ends with a lullaby
being sung to the baby by representatives of various ethnicities, inhabiting the Soviet Union.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
tic comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. It was directed by Grigori Aleksandrov
Grigori Aleksandrov
Grigori Vasilyevich Aleksandrov or Alexandrov was a prominent Soviet film director who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1947 and a Hero of Socialist Labor in 1973...
at the Mosfilm
Mosfilm
Mosfilm is a film studio, which is often described as the largest and oldest in Russia and in Europe. Its output includes most of the more widely-acclaimed Soviet films, ranging from works by Tarkovsky and Eisenstein , to Red Westerns, to the Akira Kurosawa co-production and the epic Война и Мир...
studios. In his own words, it was conceived as "an eccentric comedy...a real side splitter."
Starring the glamorous and immensely popular Lyubov Orlova
Lyubov Orlova
Lyubov Petrovna Orlova, was the first recognized star of Soviet cinema, famous theatre actress and a gifted singer.She was born to a middle class family in Zvenigorod near Moscow and grew up in Yaroslavl...
(Aleksandrov's wife), the first recognized star of Soviet cinema and a gifted singer, the film contains several songs which instantly became Soviet classics. The most famous is the "Song of the Motherland" (Широка страна моя родная).
| Song of the Motherland Film music |
Plot
The film opens with the following headline of Sunnyville Courier: “Marion Dixon, Human Bombshell, is Center of Sensational Scandal” with a large photo, captioned: “Marion Dixon, perpetrator of the history’s sinister crime!”.The next scene opens with an American man shouting “Beat her up! Beat her up!” and the whole crowd rushing towards tiny woman, carrying a bundle in her arms. The woman manages to jump aboard a moving train and to avoid lynching
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
, while she is about to be stomped by the relentless crowd. In the train she encounters a German compère, who has just read the same headlines of Sunnyville Courier, while it’s turned out that the bundle is actually a swaddled infant, who starts crying, thus revealing himself. The first phrase the German says to the woman is “Was wollen Sie?” (German for "What do You want?"), but the woman seems to be so tired from the chase that she falls unconscious.
The woman is Marion Dixon, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
artist who, after giving birth to a black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
baby (played by Jim Patterson
James Lloydovich Patterson
James Lloydovich Patterson is a Russian writer and child actor of African American descent.-Biography:James Lloydovich Patterson was born in Moscow on July 17, 1933, the eldest of three children born to an African American immigrant to the Soviet Union and his Russian wife...
), immediately becomes a victim of racism
Racism in the United States
Racism in the United States has been a major issue since the colonial era and the slave era. Legally sanctioned racism imposed a heavy burden on Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latin Americans...
in the United States. The German on the train turns out to be a theatrical agent named Franz von Kneishitz who recruits her to his concert program across the Soviet Union.
Marion leaves the United States on a circus tour across the USSR. At first Marion wants to leave the circus, but being blackmailed by her manager von Kneishitz, she is forced to continue her circus career. While traveling on the tour, Soviet circus authorities propose that she engage in a recently created performance and there she meets Soviet performance director Ivan Martynov, with whom she quickly falls in love. The new performance brings the house down and Dixon is welcomed to stay in the USSR for good.
Together with her new Russian husband she finds refuge, love and happiness in the USSR. Her black son is treated very well by friendly Soviet people. The movie ends with a lullaby
Lullaby
A lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to young children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetitive. Lullabies can be found in every culture and since the ancient period....
being sung to the baby by representatives of various ethnicities, inhabiting the Soviet Union.
Cast
- Lyubov OrlovaLyubov OrlovaLyubov Petrovna Orlova, was the first recognized star of Soviet cinema, famous theatre actress and a gifted singer.She was born to a middle class family in Zvenigorod near Moscow and grew up in Yaroslavl...
as Marion Dixon, American actress and circus artist - Jim PattersonJames Lloydovich PattersonJames Lloydovich Patterson is a Russian writer and child actor of African American descent.-Biography:James Lloydovich Patterson was born in Moscow on July 17, 1933, the eldest of three children born to an African American immigrant to the Soviet Union and his Russian wife...
as Jimmy, the Marion's baby - Sergei Stolyarov as Ivan Petrovich Martinov, Soviet performance director
- Pavel Massalsky as Franz von Kneishitz, corrupt theatrical agent
- Vladimir Volodin as Ludvig, Soviet circus director
- Yevgeniya Melnikova as Rayechka, the director's daughter
- Aleksandr Komissarov as Skameikin
- Nikolai Otto as Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...