Circus World (released as The Magnificent Showman in the United Kingdom) is a 1964 American Drama Western film starring John Wayne, Claudia Cardinale and Rita Hayworth.

Nicholas Ray was initially assigned to direct the project until he suffered a heart attack while filming 55 Days at Peking (1963).

He was replaced by Frank Capra who later entered into creative differences with co-writer James Edward Grant and John Wayne.

He also calls Matt on his reason for making a European tour: Masters wants to find the lost great love of his life, Lili Alfredo (Rita Hayworth), and figures that this tour will smoke her out if for no other reason than to see her child, Toni Alfredo (Claudia Cardinale), Masters' adopted daughter.

By the time the circus is ready to re-launch, Emile has so adapted to working with a different variety of big cat that when a couple become ill, he demands that Masters hire a doctor for "HIS tigers."

The two have an intense confrontation in a bar, ending with Masters slamming a full bottle of brandy down in front of Lili and telling her that she needs to decide whether the booze or her child is more important to her; but that if she doesn't pull herself together, as far as he's concerned she is dead to him.

The rehearsal opens to empty seats with Grand Parade, with the performers marching in behind the flags of the nations whose citizens are in the show: the United States, Great Britain, France, Imperial Germany, Switzerland, Iceland, Sweden, Italy, and many more.

Fast action by Lili, Matt, Steve, Toni, Cap and Aldo prevents injury to the circus performers and manages to save about half of the tent from the flames.

The show is a smash success, with a new act headlining: Lili and Toni Alfredo performing a swing-over routine fifty feet in the air.

[2] Writing in his autobiography, Gordon centralized on the idea of "the great circus moving all around the world wherever a colorful site could lend itself to a unique and daring stunt."

While under contract to produce another film for Samuel Bronston, director Nicholas Ray agreed to the idea and worked with Gordon on a treatment in Paris.

[3] In August 1962, Paramount Pictures announced they would be co-producing a circus movie in collaboration with Bronston, which would be tentatively titled Those Were the Days and would be set in the early part of the 20th century.

[7][6] Before then, Capra was developing a film adaptation of Taylor Caldwell's novel Dear and Glorious Physician, a biography of Luke the Evangelist.

All you gotta have in a John Wayne picture is a hoity-toity dame with big tits that Duke can throw over his knees and spank, and a collection of jerks he can smash in the face every five minutes.

[14] That same month, The New York Times had reported that Capra wanted to make the film a light comedy, while Bronston insisted it be a romantic melodrama.

[16] With Hathaway onboard, he initially sought Wendell Mayes to help salvage the script, but he was already contracted on another film project for Twentieth Century Fox.

Hathaway then enlisted Ben Hecht to retool the script in two weeks by retaining the opening shipwreck and the big-top fire scenes, but improvising the rest.

In March 1964, it was reported that Pierre S. du Pont III had taken over Samuel Bronston Production as the principal trustee which guaranteed that Circus World would be finished.

[26] In spite of this, it was reported that Paramount's investment in Circus World would remain protected and would still proceed with the distribution plans as scheduled.

[1] Bosley Crowther for The New York Times described the film as a "dismally trite and obvious picture that Samuel Bronston has produced and Henry Hathaway has directed.

The circus acts are the usual flat performances of elephants, horses, dogs, aerialists and wire-walkers, all photographed uninterestingly.

It's just a minor romantic tearjerker, it's Stella Dallas with stardust ... [t]o sit through the film is something like holding an elephant on your lap for 2 hours and 15 minutes.

"[31] Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times wrote the film was "beautifully photographed" and the cast were "at least routinely efficient, Wayne seeming to care and presenting his more ingratiating self.