The film was based on a comedy written by Ilf and Petrov and Valentin Kataev and performed by Moscow music hall, Under the Circus Dome (Под куполом цирка), which was seen and liked by Aleksandrov.

Dixon is taken under the wing of Franz von Kneishitz, a sinister German theatrical agent whose mustache and mannerisms resemble those of Adolf Hitler.

Martynov and Dixon are late to the circus, forcing Ludvig to perform the top act of 1903, the chudo tekhniki ("miracle of technology"), to amuse the impatient audience.

Finally, a group of burly Red Army soldiers in the audience block Kneishitz, who cowers in fear and leaves.

The film ends with Rayechka and Dixon marching together in the annual May Day parade under banners depicting the faces of Lenin and Stalin.

[9] The scene where Dixon, Martynov and Jimmy pose together as a blended family was often reproduced in the Soviet Union as a symbol of racial tolerance.

[12] Despite the ostensible egalitarian message of the film, Circus marked in many ways a return to traditional Russian gender roles.

[13] Martynov was played by the tall, muscular and blond actor Stolyarov whose appearance matched the popular stereotype of a bogatyr (the larger-than-life knight hero of medieval Russian poems known as byliny).

[14] Likewise, the character of Martynov displayed all the values typically associated with a bogatyr such being romantic, but laconic; always willing to defend the weak; a stoic acceptance of pain; and possessing super-human heroism and strength.

[15] Marion's dress as she performs the Flight to the Moon act emphasizes her sexuality as she wore a tight, low-cut bodice with stars placed where her nipples are, which was meant show that she was an exploited woman in the West, just merely a sex object for rich and powerful men such as Kneschtiz.

[17] The film ends with Marion marching alongside Martynov-whom she is planning to marry-in the May Day parade with both dressed in the same white uniforms, which symbolized her assimilation into Soviet society and her acceptance of its values as her own.

[18] Despite the efforts of the censors, Aleksandrov was able to insert the scene where Martynov and Dixon fly together in their Trip to the Stratosphere act with ecstatic expressions on their faces, which serves as a metaphor for high of an orgasm.