''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 ...

directed by Danish director

Benjamin Christensen Benjamin Christensen (28 September 1879 – 2 April 1959) was a 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 Through the Ages'' ...

, 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' ...

and Charles Emmett Mack. 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

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 a ...

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

as Mary * Charles Emmett Mack 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, the ...

as Mrs. Peterson * Joyce Coad as Little Anita * Charles Murray 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, 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 ...

References

External links

* *
Stills
at 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 {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub