Carnival Story

Rating:
Summary: Tawdry,trashy tale of circus life
Review: An American carnival,failing to draw the crowds Stateside,decides to tour Germany in a bid to restore its fortunes.
The carnival ramrod,played by Steve Cochran,is robbed by a destitute young German woman,Willi,played most unconvincingly by Anne Baxter.Instead of handing her over to the police he offers her a job with the carnival as a kitchen skivvy and the two begin an affair that runs into complications when the carnival's star attraction ,a high diver ,takes her under his wing and makes her part of the act,and subsequently marries her.
The stage is then set for illicit romance,suspicious deaths and near fatal injuries before the final confrontation on a ferris wheel brings proceedings to a merciful ending

The major problem for me was that never for one second did Baxter persuade me that she was capable of entrancing not just her male colleagues but a freelance photographer(a wooden George Nader)let alone become a star circus performer in her own right,something which takes years of dedication and practice,not a few days instruction.The void which this leaves at the centre of the movie undermines its credibility
Cochran and Bettger,who plays the high diver are fine here,and there is a sturdy cameo from the ever reliable Frank Faylen
Garish colour and flat direction further drag things down.The colour is horrible as well-really harsh and garish.

If you want circus movies track down "Trapeze",or "The Greatest Show On Earth" for ones that get it right.

Rating:
Summary: glossy melodrama
Review: CARNIVAL STORY is a glossy melodrama that is saved by the always-superb Anne Baxter (ALL ABOUT EVE) and gorgeous camera-work.

Willie (Anne Baxter) is a young pickpocket who happens along to an American carnival that has pulled into Germany for an extended visit. The effusive huckster Joe (Steve Cochran) gets her a job in the kitchen tent, but soon she catches the eye and affections of high-diver Frank (Lyle Bettger), who trains her as his assistant in his act, and later marries her.

Joe, unable to get Willie out of his system, attempts to blackmail her for sexual favors, until her indiscretions lead to inevitable tragedy.

CARNIVAL STORY was filmed entirely on location in Germany, using a mainly-German crew and extras. It was directed by Kurt Neumann, best-known to cult sci-fi fans as the director of the original THE FLY.

Also starring Helene Stanley, George Nader and Jay C. Flippen.

Rating:
Summary: interesting carnival story
Review: Liked well enough to order a second copy as my first one was a different company and color inferior. All of cast give fine preformance on a story of carnival life. Anne Baxter is down and out and Steve Cochran ,the bad guy carnival employee offers Baxter job with carnival. Anne runs into one problem after another ,but overcomes them all by the end of the film. The story never drags and holds your interest and gives you a glimpse of the seedier side of carnival life.

Rating:
Summary: interesting carnival story
Review: Liked well enough to order a second copy as my first one was a different company and color inferior. All of cast give fine preformance on a story of carnival life. Anne Baxter is down and out and Steve Cochran ,the bad guy carnival employee offers Baxter job with carnival. Anne runs into one problem after another ,but overcomes them all by the end of the film. The story never drags and holds your interest and gives you a glimpse of the seedier side of carnival life.

Rating:
Summary: Behind-the-scenes in the Big Top
Review: Low-budget bur admirable effort about the tawdry life and small times behind the big top. Anne Baxter stars as Willie, a sexy waif down on her luck whose fortunes then change--but not necessarily for the better--when she meets up with a violent Casanova by the name of Joe Hammond. The smoldering Steve Cochran plays Hammond, the opportunitistic ladies' man who likes to treat his women rough. Their beginning starts off well enough when Willie is understandably grateful to Hammind for giving her a job with the circus--even if it's just a lowly one washing dishes and doing general domestic duties--and they get embroiled in a torried, lust-driven affair. Complications arise when she soon tires of their tawdry relationship and wants him to take her seriously--there's no question fo her quitting him even though she knows he's rotten through and through since she can't get enough of his brutal lusty ways. Further complicating matters is when a decent young man named Frank Collino (Lyle Bettger), who's a major draw as a star high-diver, takes her on as his partner and certainly takes her seriously--serious enough to fall in love and marry her. Ah! If only Willie could combine the desirable qualities of both men into one--the respectful and sincere love of Frank with Joe's devastating sensuality--but sadly this cannot be and she succumbs to Joe again, with fatal results for Frank and trying ones for her which change her from a tarnished yet naive and good-hearted woman to a calculating and mercenary one. Even after falling for Frank's close friend--also a good young man--she still can't shake off Joe's hold on her. But inevitably one day she breaks free from his destructive spell and the results are over-the-top to say the least--no pun intended.

Rating:
Summary: Behind-the-scenes in the Big Top
Review: Low-budget bur admirable effort about the tawdry life and small times behind the big top. Anne Baxter stars as Willie, a sexy waif down on her luck whose fortunes then change--but not necessarily for the better--when she meets up with a violent Casanova by the name of Joe Hammond. The smoldering Steve Cochran plays Hammond, the opportunitistic ladies' man who likes to treat his women rough. Their beginning starts off well enough when Willie is understandably grateful to Hammind for giving her a job with the circus--even if it's just a lowly one washing dishes and doing general domestic duties--and they get embroiled in a torried, lust-driven affair. Complications arise when she soon tires of their tawdry relationship and wants him to take her seriously--there's no question fo her quitting him even though she knows he's rotten through and through since she can't get enough of his brutal lusty ways. Further complicating matters is when a decent young man named Frank Collino (Lyle Bettger), who's a major draw as a star high-diver, takes her on as his partner and certainly takes her seriously--serious enough to fall in love and marry her. Ah! If only Willie could combine the desirable qualities of both men into one--the respectful and sincere love of Frank with Joe's devastating sensuality--but sadly this cannot be and she succumbs to Joe again, with fatal results for Frank and trying ones for her which change her from a tarnished yet naive and good-hearted woman to a calculating and mercenary one. Even after falling for Frank's close friend--also a good young man--she still can't shake off Joe's hold on her. But inevitably one day she breaks free from his destructive spell and the results are over-the-top to say the least--no pun intended.

Rating:
Summary: Love is a trap for success
Review: The story of a young German woman who gets entangled in an American Carnival touring Germany after WW2. Men are attracted to her, to help her, to love her, to use her. She has a great courage that enables her to move swiftly from the kitchen to the top of the carnival by becoming a star in a diving act. She is good, very good, and resolute to succeed. But she cannot manage her relations with men properly and leads them to death in the strangest conditions. She can only run away, with another man of course, away from the successive dramas. Love cannot be the tool of success nor of ambition.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU