Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962)

Load of rubbish!!

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This film was a bit of a disaster at the box office...and rightfully so. It demonstrated that even a top star like Doris Day has to make wise career choices...and this was Day's last musical.There are some good things here. There's never a reason not to revel in the antics of the beloved Jimmy Durante, here playing the owner of the circus. And not far behind is his girlfriend -- Martha Raye, playing a circus performer. Durante and Raye are simply classic here. And, you will see some awfully good circus performers here.But beyond those things, this film is fluff...the kind of clean-minded fluff that is so typical of Doris Day. But this is so sweet that it's almost sickening...because circuses just weren't this clean heartwarming. And, if you think about it carefully, these circus people are cheats who who bilk local vendors out of deserved pay for their products. But that is quickly brushed aside here.Doris Day is just too pristine here. If you like that, she's good, but it's so unrealistic. She does have a couple of great songs -- "This Can't Be Love" and "My Romance".Stephen Boyd does well here as the son of a rival circus who is secretly plotting to buy the circus from under Durante and Day...but feels darned guilty about it. His main song is "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World", though he is simply lip-sinking. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much chemistry between Boyd and Day; not sure that it's the fault of either one...it just didn't quite work.I can't say that I'm happy to see one of my very favorite character actors -- Dean Jagger -- as the bad guy here (the rival circus owner and Boyd's father). Although at least they give him the excuse of wanting to give the public the most wonderful circus experience that they will never be able to forget.If there is one thing I'll give top notch credit to here, it's the doubles that are used for the various stars, including Doris Day and Jimmy Durant on the high wire and trapeze , etc. Well done and quite convincing.This film has its moments, but the moments are too far apart to make an interesting whole. And the ending is atrocious and pretty much ruins whatever was good about the movie..

Wonderful Doris Day and Jimmy Durante 1962 film dealing with a circus family. Martha Raye, who plays Lulu, is quite a lulu as she strives to get Durante to end their 14 year engagement and finally get married.What a change for Stephen Boyd in this movie. Having played Massala 3 years earlier in Ben-Hur, Boyd gives a delightful performance as a circus guy sent in to supposedly help the Durante-Day team, but unknown to them, he is the son of Dean Jagger, who desperately wants the Jumbo elephant and will attempt to take over the circus.The songs are beautifully sung and the circus acts are an absolute joy to watch.

This is a great piece of professional entertainment.A good romantic-comedy story well told and well-acted. Wonderful cast,all at their very best and well directed. Martha Raye and Jimmy Durante amaze with physical comedy and warmth. In fact, the strong personal warmth of all the actors shines through in their performances creating a believable truth in a script, while, though good for its genre and time,could be a pitfall for actors bent on delivering truthful performances. Masterful, professional and touching. Steven Boyd and Doris Day impress with truth of emotion and give each other the strength of their specialties; Boyd with his digging for truth in a character and a deep connection to his fellow actors and Day with her dazzling professionalism and respect for the musical comedy genre. Impressive work. The generous budget allows creative designers and musicians to bloom with joyful creativity. Countless surprises for the eye and ear. The clown sequence finale for the 4 leads is priceless! Enjoy. I sure did!

I think we are all aware of the difficulty in making a movie that would please everyone. That is why you can watch a given movie or not watch it. Jumbo may not be the greatest movie ever made, but it does have a lot of bright and entertaining moments. And I will settle for a 38 year old Doris Day over many of todays stars. Movies are made to entertain. I never watch Citizen Kane or It's a Wonderful life. I do not like them and not for any particular reason. It must be sad to be a person that watches a movie to find it's mistakes. One of the few mistakes I noticed in a good movie was in Jesse James (1939). When Jesse climbs aboard the train he is wearing high leather boots. The next scene shows a silhouette running on top of the train with pants flapping and wearing sneakers. But I still enjoy Jesse James and the goof is an added hi lite. Loosen up all you would be critics. Could you do better?? Joe Milner. London Ontario Ca.