''The Devil's Circus'' is a 1926 American
silent drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by Danish director
Benjamin Christensen
Benjamin Christensen (28 September 1879 – 2 April 1959) was a Danish people, Danish film director, screenwriter and an actor, both in film and on the stage. As a director, he is best known for the 1922 film ''Häxan'' (aka ''Witchcraft Thr ...
, based upon his screenplay. The film stars
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated ingénues. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'N ...
and
Charles Emmett Mack
Charles Emmett Mack (November 25, 1900 – March 17, 1927), was an American film actor during the silent film era. He appeared in 17 films between 1916 and 1927.
Biography
Born Charles Emmett McNerney in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to an Irish f ...
. It was the first of seven films directed by Christensen in the United States, and one of only four of those films that have not been lost.
The film's sets were designed by the
art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
James Basevi
James Basevi (born 21 September 1890, Plymouth, Devon, England – d. 27 March 1962, Bellflower, California) was a British-born art director and special effects expert.
After his military service during World War I Basevi emigrated to Canada an ...
.
Synopsis
Mary (Shearer) and Carlstop (Mack) are lovers; the former is a trapeze artist, while the latter is a pickpocket. Mary gets entangled in a nearly fatal situation with Lieberkind (Miljan), a lion-tamer, and his jealous wife Yonna (Myers), who victimizes Mary.
Cast
*
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated ingénues. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'N ...
as Mary
*
Charles Emmett Mack
Charles Emmett Mack (November 25, 1900 – March 17, 1927), was an American film actor during the silent film era. He appeared in 17 films between 1916 and 1927.
Biography
Born Charles Emmett McNerney in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to an Irish f ...
as Carlstop
*
Carmel Myers
Carmel Myers (April 9, 1899 – November 9, 1980) was an American actress who achieved her greatest successes in silent film.
Early life
Myers was born in San Francisco, the daughter of Isidore Myers, a Russian-Jewish rabbi who was born in ...
as Yonna
*
John Miljan
John Miljan (November 9, 1892 – January 24, 1960) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1924 and 1958.
Biography
Born in 1892, Miljan was the tall, smooth-talking villain in Hollywood films for almost four deca ...
as Lieberkind
*
Claire McDowell
Claire McDowell ( MacDowell; November 2, 1877 – October 23, 1966) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 350 films between 1908 and 1945.
Early years
Claire MacDowell was born in New York City on November 2, 1877, th ...
as Mrs. Peterson
*
Joyce Coad
Joyce Coad (April 14, 1917 – May 3, 1987) was a child actress in motion pictures.
Child prodigy
Coad was the survivor of triplets whose parents died shortly after she was born. She was adopted by a childless couple and taken to Los Angeles, C ...
as Little Anita
*
Charles Murray Charles Murray may refer to:
Politicians
*Charles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore (1661–1710), British peer
*Charles Murray (author and diplomat) (1806–1895), British author and diplomat
*Charles Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore (1841–1907), Scotti ...
as Circus Member (uncredited)
Reception
From users of IMDb, the film has received a score of 6.8 out 10 from 62 votes.
Preservation status
Thought to have been
lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
, a print of ''The Devil's Circus'' was rediscovered and has been preserved by
George Eastman House
The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as ''George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film'', the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in ...
.
Funding for the film's restoration was provided by
The Film Foundation
The Film Foundation is a US-based non-profit organization dedicated to film preservation and the exhibition of restored and classic cinema. It was founded by director Martin Scorsese and several other leading filmmakers in 1990. The foundation ra ...
.
References
External links
*
*
Stillsat normashearer.com
1926 films
1926 drama films
American black-and-white films
Circus films
Films directed by Benjamin Christensen
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
American silent feature films
Silent American drama films
1920s rediscovered films
Rediscovered American films
1920s American films
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