The Smallest Show on Earth
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| The Smallest Show on Earth | |
|---|---|
 original movie poster |
|
| Directed by | Basil Dearden |
| Produced by | Sidney Gilliat Frank Launder Michael Relph |
| Written by | William Rose, John Eldridge |
| Starring | Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna, Peter Sellers, Margaret Rutherford, Bernard Miles |
| Music by | William Alwyn |
| Cinematography | Douglas Slocombe |
| Editing by | Oswald Hafenrichter |
| Distributed by | British Lion Films / Times |
| Release date(s) | 1957 |
| Running time | 80 min. |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Smallest Show on Earth is a 1957 British comedy film, directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna, Peter Sellers and Margaret Rutherford. The supporting cast included Bernard Miles, Leslie Phillips, Francis De Wolff, George Cross, June Cunningham and Sid James. The screenplay was written by William Rose and John Eldridge from an original story by William Rose.
[edit] Plot
Travers and McKenna play Matt and Jean, a poor young couple (they were married in real life) with a longing to visit exotic places like Samarkand. One day, Matt inherits a cinema from his great-uncle. When they go to look over their new property, they first mistake the modern Grand for it. They are soon disillusioned to learn that the movie theatre they actually own is the old decrepit Bijou (nicknamed the "flea pit"), which is located right next to the railroad tracks. Along with the theatre come three longtime employees: Mrs. Fazackalee (Rutherford), the cashier and bookkeeper, Mr. Quill (Sellers), the projectionist, and Old Tom (Miles) the janitor, doorkeeper and usher.
Robin (Phillips), their lawyer, informs them that the Grand's owner, Mr. Hardcastle (De Wolff), had offered to buy the Bijou from Matt's great-uncle for five thousand pounds in order to construct a parking lot for his nearby movie palace. When they see their competitor however, he only offers them five hundred, thinking they have no choice but to accept.
Instead, on Robin's advice, they pretend to want to reopen the Bijou in order to force Hardcastle to raise his offer. At first, they seem to be succeeding, but then Old Tom inadvertently lets slip their overheard plan and Hardcastle refuses to budge. They decide to carry on with their bluff and go through with the opening. After a few mishaps, the business flourishes, especially after Matt hires the curvaceous Marlene Hogg (Cunningham) to sell ices and other treats at intermission.
Hardcastle counters by slipping a bottle of whisky into the next shipment of film reels for Quill, who has a drinking problem. He eventually succumbs to the temptation (while parched actors crawl across a desert on the screen), leaving Matt to try unsuccessfully to substitute for him; they are forced to refund the customers' money. Matt and Jean are ready to give up (with Old Tom eavesdropping again) only to wake up the next morning to find that the Grand has burned down. Hardcastle is forced to pay ten thousand pounds and keep the three relics on as employees in order to stay in business while his theatre is being rebuilt.
Just as Matt and Jean are leaving on the train, Old Tom tells Matt that "It were the only way, weren't it?", implying he committed arson. Alarmed, they decide to write him a letter asking him to clarify his remark, and so they do...from Samarkand.
[edit] Analysis
The Smallest Show on Earth isn't a subtle comedy of manners in the tradition of Ealing comedies such as Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) and The Ladykillers (1955). Rather, it works more in the rowdy tradition of the St. Trinian's comedies (Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliatt, creators of the St. Trinian's series, are credited as presenters). For instance, it goes for broad comedy in its portrayal of modern movies. The Bijou seems to show only B-movie Westerns, but the movies are patently caricatured. Later, there is a scene of Mrs. Fazackalee lovingly playing a piano accompaniment to a silent film. Only Old Tom and Quill are watching, with evident feeling and respect: the images of the silent film aren't caricatured like the sound films are. When asked by the owners what's going on, Quill explains, "Old movies... classics you might say...we used to run them like this in the old days, but not for years we haven't done it. Now it seems like old times once more." The filmmakers are obviously paying tribute to silent cinema at the expense of sound movies, which are mercilessly panned and made fun of. But the movie is ultimately a paean to old age, and accordingly, it ends with the Bijou's modern competitor burned down, leaving it the only cinema in town.
