Lancaster, Lollobrigida and Curtis Fling Their Way to Success in Trapeze

A literal highlight in the filmography of one of the 1950’s biggest Italian imports, 1956’s smash Trapeze offers the recently departed Gina Lollobrigida an ideal role for her American film debut. Under director Carol Reed’s expert, fluid guidance, as “Lola,” an ambitious aspiring aerialist determine gain fame under the Big Top, the charismatic Lollobrigida demonstrates confidence and skill, easily holding her own in the triangle she forms with her first-rate, imposing costars, Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis, and adding plenty of intrigue to what could have been a standard melodrama concerning entangled lovers caught in a trap, or net in this case. However, the star-powered trio, along with an assortment of other colorful circus entities, prove riveting to watch throughout, and Reed’s aspired helming of the involving, tight adaptation and screenplay by Liam O’Brien and James R. Webb (based on Max Catto’s 1950 novel The Killing Frost) keeps the pace moving and florid plotline entertaining, assuring audiences remain involved as each new development arises, both on the ground and in midair.

                Reed takes to his challenging directional assignment with great verve and a keen eye for displaying the proper carny milieu. Wisely filming on location in Paris at the Cirque d’hiver and surrounding areas as the story involving the now-hobbled circus veteran Mike Ribble (Lancaster) efforts to hone eager newcomer Tino Orsini (Curtis) into a top trapeze artist, while Lola works her wiles on both men, Reed appears to relish setting up each shot for maximum impact, with plenty of action seen both in the foreground and among the various acts working on the sidelines. For example, early in the film Lola can often be seen in the background discussing her act with a trio of male colleagues, instead of more obviously keeping Lollobrigida front-and-center, convincingly blending in with the other carny performers as they prep for the big show. It’s clear Reed carefully worked these moments out to illustrate the general chaos found in this compelling, adventurous environment, and he beautifully captures the rich locales and terrific aerial shots wherein much of the drama unfolds with memorable style.

Burt Lancaster, a skilled trapeze artist both off-and-on-screen, not only flies high in the film with great aplomb, but during this period he also found his career soaring, with great early 1950’s output including plenty of Lancaster derring-do in The Flame and the Arrow and fantastic The Crimson Pirate, along with fine dramatic work in Come Back, Little Sheba and one of the decade’s big ones, From Here to Eternity, with that eternally iconic scene of Lancaster and Deborah Kerr canoodling in the Hawaiian surf. In Trapeze Lancaster, the perfectly-cast star tones down the imposing larger-than-life yet plausible persona he employed so memorably elsewhere, including a beautiful job as the title figure in the same year’s The Rainmaker, and you sense the vulnerability and fear of Mike as he ponders his future as a carny worker. Lancaster has some nice moments with the equally-formidable presence of Lollobrigida, wherein Mike and Lola struggle with coming to terms concerning the burgeoning passion that threatens to break up the act. Scenes of Mike teaching Tino the tricks of the trapeze trade also provide a lot of intrigue, as the viewer ponders how Lancaster may have used his own background as a top aerialist to inform these moments, while performing most of Mike’s trapeze maneuvers himself.

Lancaster also served (in partnership with Harold Hecht and James Hill) as a producer for the film’s United Artists release, not long after the Hecht-Lancaster team scored the Best Picture Oscar for Marty, and the financial success of Trapeze kept the team going for several more years, with a creatively-rewarding reunion with Curtis in one of the key 1950’s films, the trenchant Sweet Smell of Success, which failed at the box-office and was largely dismissed by critics in 1957 (the film’s less-than-rosy delineation of the ruthlessness found in the journalistic field)  but has achieved astounding and deserved praise in the decades to follow, and a better-received (at the time) 1958 offering starring Lancaster, Separate Tables. Lancaster himself would of course continue on as one of Hollywood’s most riveting leading men, with an Oscar for Elmer Gantry and great work in Birdman of Alcatraz, The Leopard and his late-career comeback in Atlantic City among other highlights in an incredible career.

                Along with great success in Italian films, specifically opposite Vittorio De Sica’s in 1953 Love, Bread and Dreams, Gina Lollobrigida had received a large measure of fame with U.S. audiences in the years leading up to Trapeze, including the cover of Life magazine in both 1951 and 1954, after she made the most of her successful comic pairing with Humphrey Bogart in John Huston’s cult classic Beat the Devil. However, a contract with Howard Hughes stalled her introduction in a major “A” American picture, and she was only allowed to play the prime role of Lola due to Trapeze being filmed outside the states. It’s impressive how adeptly Lollobrigida lives up to all expectations the public may have harbored going into Trapeze, intent on seeing the newest screen goddess, and nothing less. Although she handles the glamour and seductive components of the role with apparent ease, the multi-talented Lollobrigida brings much more than truly stunning physical attributes and allure to the screen. As Lola, Lollobrigida is earnest and completely focused during each scene while interacting with her costars, allowing the often self-serving character to remain believable and sympathetic due to the level of skill and charisma she brings to the screen. At one point the world-weary Lola explains how her poverty-stricken past is driving her to find success at any cost, and with Lollobrigida’s earnest playing one fully comprehends her dilemma in wanting a way out of her humble beginnings, even at the risk of jeopardizing the professional partnership she’s formed with Lancaster and Curtis. She also does a fantastic job in creating great sexual tension with both Curtis and Lancaster, allowing for an eroticism that, although not overtly depicted, heats up the screen much more effectively than in scores of more blatantly-depicted encounters to follow. Lollobrigida also impresses while airborne, as she clearly is taking flight for herself in many of Lola’s aerial shots.

                The worldwide success of Trapeze gave a substantial boon to Lollobrigida’s career and established her as a top name, both in American films and elsewhere. During the next decade “La Lollo” continued to increase her popularity in a variety of movies, with standouts including enticing work as the title temptress in Solomon and Sheba, a charming union with Rock Hudson in another big hit, 1961’s Come September, and excellent comic work in an enjoyable all-star romp, Bueno Sera, Mrs. Campbell (which later served as the basis for the plot of Mamma Mia!). After her reign as a top international film star, Lollobrigida would thrive in other venues, finding major acclaim as she fulfilled a lifelong dream to hone her craft as a noted sculptress, as well as becoming a top photojournalist who famously met with Fidel Castro in 1974 for an exclusive interview/photoshoot scoop, and as recently as 2022 launched an unsuccessful bid at 95 to gain a seat in the Italian Parliament, just prior to her passing in January 2023, after a rich, memorable life that can truly be called “fully lived.”

                Trapeze also allowed Tony Curtis the venue in which to graduate to more substantial leading man roles, after serving for years in beguiling escapist fare such as The Prince who was a Thief and 1953’s Houdini, wherein he was paired charmingly with wife Janet Leigh of the first time onscreen. As Tino, Curtis displays a blossoming strength and maturity onscreen and works in fine synch with Lancaster, with the somewhat adversarial nature of their characters’ relationship serving as a perfect warmup to the following year’s Sweet Smell of Success, which possibly contains Curtis’ greatest dramatic performance. After Trapeze Curtis had a dream run of critical and commercial hits over the next few years rarely seen by a star, with 1958 bringing The Vikings (again nicely pairing with Leigh in their biggest hit and possibly best picture together) and The Defiant Ones (with an Oscar nod for Curtis to boot), followed up by the legendary Some Like It Hot (with Curtis doing his famous dead-on Cary Grant impersonation), then a smash success with Grant himself in Operation Petticoat and Spartacus placing Curtis firmly at the forefront of the top stars of the era. Curtis would remain a top draw throughout the 1960s before moving successfully into character parts, as well as finding surprising success outside of films with his painting endeavors.

In support, Katy Jurado makes a fine impression as Rosa, a returning player in the circus who also has a past romance with Mike. With her unforgettable soulful eyes and rich, deep speaking voice, Jurado again demonstrates the strong, unique presence that proved so effective during her excellent run in 1950’s American films after gaining fame in Mexican cinema in the 1940’s. Trapeze followed stellar work in her U.S. breakthrough, High Noon (for which she won a Golden Globe), an Oscar-nominated role alongside Spencer Tracy in 1954’s Broken Lance and another first-rate offering in the previous year’s Trial. Jurado is particularly appealing in scenes with Lancaster, as in her hands Rosa is the character who comes across as having the strength and compassion to best deal with the moody, often tormented Mike. As Bouglione, the manager of the show, Thomas Gomez is appropriately shrewd and stern while conspiring with Lola to assure his show’s biggest act remains within his control, and shows Bouglione also at times carries a seen-it-all sense of humor regarding all the vibrant activity surrounding him. Gomez had built a rich list of film credits prior to Trapeze (including an Oscar nod for 1947’s Ride the Pink Horse) and Bouglione would offer him one of his best latter-career roles, before his output slowed down in the 1960’s. As for the rest of the cast, Reed nimbly peppers scenes with a variety of carny types to enhance the overall authenticity in creating an authentic “Under the Big Top” aura.

Trapeze achieved major box-office returns in 1956, with $7,500,000 million in U.S./Canadian rentals placing it third among the top grossers at the end of the year (according to Variety). It’s easy to understand the robust appeal the engaging film had upon initial viewings, and today Trapeze holds up as possibly the best of the popular circus pictures of the period (The Greatest Show on Earth, The Big Circus, Circus World, etc.), thanks largely to the outstanding contributions of director Reed, who received a well-deserved nomination from the Screen Director’s Guilds of America for his sterling efforts, and an inspired trio of top stars convincingly depicting their characters’ plights, both on and off the ground (Lancaster would go on to win Best Actor at the Berlin Film Festival and Lollobrigida won a Bambi Award for Best International Actress). For modern audiences, Trapeze serves as both a high-flying, entertaining example of the excitement, romance and conflict that can be found among a circus backdrop, as well as a fitting homage showcasing the lovely and adept Gina Lollobrigida at her cinematic best.