Highest-Rated Movies about 'Circus', Sort by Popularity

Circo (2010), The Circus (1928), Salaam Bombay! (1988), Freaks (1932), He Who Gets Slapped (1924), The Greatest Showman (2017), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), Dumbo (1941) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Circus movies.

#16. Water for Elephants (2011)

Storyline: After his parents' death, Jacob Jankowski is left penniless and homeless. Events lead him to joining the circus as their vet, working under their unstable boss August whose violent tendencies give everyone reason to be cautious around him, including his beautiful and quiet wife Marlena, whom August is very possessive of and who Jacob finds himself soon falling in love with.

Plot Keywords: circus performer, caretaker, elephant, husband, wife, animal trainer, melodramatic ...

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#17. Trapeze (1956)

Storyline: Mike Ribble was once a great trapeze artist - and the only the sixth to have completed a triple somersault - before his accident. Tino joins the circus, and manages to convince Mike to teach him the 'triple'. Meanwhile Lola, a tumbler, wants to get in on the act.—Colin Tinto <cst@imdb.com>

Plot Keywords: trapeze artist, acrobat, woman, ex-lover, intense, touching, paris ...

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#18. At the Circus (1939)

Storyline: Jeff Wilson, the owner of a small circus, owes his partner Carter $10000. Before Jeff can pay, Carter lets his accomplices steal the money, so he can take over the circus. Antonio Pirelli and Punchy, who work at the circus, together with lawyer Loophole try to find the thief and get the money back.—Michael Zolk <mzolk@ix.urz.uni-heidelberg.de>

Plot Keywords: circus performer, attorney, thief, moll, conductor, campy, hilarious ...

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#19. Flesh and Fantasy (1943)

Storyline: Two clubmen discuss the occult, introducing three weird tales: 1) Plain, bitter Henrietta secretly loves law student Michael. Then on Mardi Gras night, a mysterious stranger gives her a mask of beauty that she must return at midnight. 2) At a party, palmist Podgers makes uncannily accurate predictions, later telling skeptic Marshal Tyler that he will murder someone. The notion obsesses Tyler, with ironic consequences. 3) High wire artist Gaspar dreams of falling, then loses his nerve. He recognizes Joan from his dreams, and falls for her. Will any of his dreams, involving Joan and disaster, come true?—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: gentleman, seamstress, law student, psychic, lawyer, circus performer, chilling ...

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#20. Josh Kirby... Time Warrior! Journey to the Magic Cavern (1996)

Storyline: Time-traveling youth Josh Kirby (Corbin Allred), scientist Irwin 1138 (Barrie Ingham) and teen warrior Azabeth Siege (Jennifer Burns) are trying to keep a powerful device called the Nullifier away from evil Dr. Zoetrope (Derek Webster). But they've hit a snag, having landed on a planet occupied by a race of mushroom people and seen Azabeth become ill upon eating a poisonous plant. They then search for the antidote, while also avoiding the many potential dangers surrounding them.

Plot Keywords: boy, scientist, teen girl, mad scientist, circus owner, creature, playful ...

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#22. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

Storyline: In London, the sideshow troupe of Doctor Parnassus promises the audience a journey to the "Imaginarium", an imaginary world commanded by the mind of Doctor Parnassus, where dreams come true. In the stories that Doctor Parnassus tells to his daughter Valentina, the midget Percy, and his assistant Anton, he claims to have lived for more than one thousand years; However, when he fell in love with a mortal woman, he made a deal with the devil (Mr. Nick), trading his immortality for youth. As part of the bargain, he promised his son or daughter to Mr. Nick on their sixteenth birthday. Valentina is now almost to the doomed age and Doctor Parnassus makes a new bet with Mr. Nick, whoever seduces five souls in the Imaginarium will have Valentina as a prize. Meanwhile the troupe rescues Tony, a young man that was hanged on a bridge by the Russians. Tony was chased until he finds and joins the group. Tony and Valentina fall in love with each other and the jealous Anton discovers that his ...

Plot Keywords: doctor, devil, daughter, mysterious man, dwarf, assistant, offbeat ...

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#23. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)

Storyline: Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman are still trying to get back to the Big Apple and their beloved Central Park zoo, but first they need to find the penguins. When they travel to Monte Carlo, they attract the attention of Animal Control after gate crashing a party and are joined by the penguins, King Julian and Co., and the monkeys. How do a lion, zebra, hippo, giraffe, four penguins, two monkeys, three lemurs travel through Europe without attracting attention and get back to New York? They join a traveling circus. Their attempts to get back to New York are consistently hampered by the Captain of Animal Control who wants to make Alex part of her collection. Once they make it back to New York Marty, Alex, Gloria and Melman realize that they want to be part of the traveling circus.

Plot Keywords: lion, zebra, giraffe, hippopotamus, animal-control officer, tiger, frenetic ...

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#24. Mirrormask (2005)

Storyline: In a fantasy world of opposing kingdoms, a 15-year-old girl named Helena who works at the family circus with her father and mother, who wishes--quite ironically--that she could run away from the circus and join 'real life'. But such is not to be the case, as she finds herself on a strange journey into the Dark Lands, a fantastic landscape filled with giants, Monkeybirds and dangerous sphinxes. She must find the fabled MirrorMask in order to save the kingdom and get back home.

Plot Keywords: teen girl, dreamy, forest, kingdom, circus, dreamworld, fantasy world ...

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#25. Road to Zanzibar (1941)

Storyline: Chuck and his pal Fearless flee a South African carnival when their sideshow causes a fire. After several similar escapades, they've finally saved enough to return to the USA, when Chuck spends it all on a "lost" diamond mine. But that's only the beginning; before long, a pair of attractive con-women have tricked our heroes into financing a comic safari, featuring numerous burlesque jungle adventures...—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: con artist, circus performer, best friend, tycoon, love interest, charming, lighthearted ...

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#26. Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

Storyline: In Green Town, Illinois, the twelve year-old boys Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade are neighbors and best friends. Will's father Charles Halloway is an old man and the local librarian while Jim and his mother wait for the return of the return of their father and husband that will never occur. The boys know everyone in town, including their school teacher Miss Foley that misses her beauty and youth; the lonely barber Mr. Crosetti that has no girlfriend or wife; the greedy owner of a cigar store Mr. Tetley that is obsessed with money; and the bartender Ed that has severed arm and leg and dreams on being a football hero. One day, Jim buys a lightning rod from the salesman Tom Fury that tells that a storm is coming. During the night, the boys overhear a mysterious train and they run through the woods to see the arrival but they do not see a living soul. However, they find the Mr. Dark's Pandemonium Carnival ready to be enjoyed and they snoop around. Soon they realize that frustrated and greedy people are vanishing in town and the evil Mr. Dark and the Dust Witch make their dreams come true. In return, Mr. Dark seizes their souls. Now Mr. Dark is seeking them out but Charles Halloway has a journal from his father about the autumn carnival that might be their last chance to defeat the evil.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Plot Keywords: young boy, father, friend, demon, carnival worker, villain, creepy ...

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#28. The Unholy Three (1930)

Storyline: Professor Echo is a sideshow ventriloquist who recruits two sociopathic co-workers, Midge and Hercules, the show's midget and strong man respectively, into a burglary ring. Echo disguises himself as the elderly Mrs. O'Grady, the owner of a pet store, who sells talking parrots and mynah birds to a high-class clientèle with Hercules posing as his son-in-law married to Echo's pickpocket girlfriend Rosie and Midge passing as their infant son. Echo's ventriloquist skills initially convince the customers that their parrot can talk, but they're disappointed when they bring the mute bird home. A phone call of complaint brings Grandma O'Grady and her daughter's "baby" to the client's house to facilitate the bird's talking, an opportunity to case the house for a subsequent robbery by "The Unholy Three."—duke1029@aol.com

Plot Keywords: ventriloquist, strong man, dwarf, pickpocket, young man, love interest, creepy ...

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#29. Shadows and Fog (1991)

Storyline: A small and insignificant bookkeeper, Kleinman, is awoken one night by his neighbors who wants his help to track down a strangler who has been killing people all over town. The citizens form vigilance committees, but when Kleinman has dressed, his neighbors have disappeared. Meanwhile a circus has come to town. Irmy and Paul are two of the artists. After a fight, Irmy leaves the circus in the middle of the night. Eventually she meets Kleinman, scared and alone.

Plot Keywords: bookkeeper, vigilante, clown, landlady, strangler, madcap, hilarious ...

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#30. Sally of the Sawdust (1925)

Storyline: Judge Foster throws his daughter out because she married a circus man. She leaves her baby girl with Prof. McGargle before she dies. Years later Sally is a dancer with whom Peyton, a son of Judge Foster's friend, falls in love. When Sally is arrested McGargle proves her real parentage.—Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

Plot Keywords: young girl, con artist, judge, young man, father figure, wife, charming ...

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