The Clown (1953)

Director:

Robert Z. Leonard

Writers:

Frances Marion (story)
Leonard Praskins (adaptation)

Release Date:

16 January 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

You'll cry...You'll laugh...You'll love it!

Plot:

Once a famous Ziegfeld star, Dodo Delwyn, is reduced to playing clowns in burlesque and amusement parks as a result of his drinking...

Plot Keywords:

Clown | Remake

Cast

Red Skelton	...	Dodo Delwyn
Jane Greer	...	Paula Henderson
Tim Considine	...	Dink Delwyn
Loring Smith	...	Benjamin Y. 'Goldie' Goldenson
Philip Ober	...	Ralph Z. Henderson
Lou Lubin	...	Little Julie
Fay Roope	...	Doctor Strauss
Walter Reed	...	Joe Hoagley
Eddie Marr	...	Television director
Jonathan Cott	...	Floor director
Don Beddoe	...	Gallagher
Steve Forrest	...	Angry young man at funhouse

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

In part for its obvious publicity value, MGM had interest in casting 'Jackie Cooper''s son John in the role his father had created in The Champ (1931/I) some twenty years before. He was favorably screen-tested and was to be billed as "Jackie Cooper Jr." But his father, well-versed in the pitfalls of child acting, objected to obligating the boy to a contract with the studio. Young Cooper was only six anyway, and his age made the casting a stretch despite the good screen test. Tim Considine, several years older, was selected.

Movie Connections:

Features Bathing Beauty (1944)

NOT a good idea

Red Skelton fulfils the Clown wants to play Hamlet manifesto; playing not Hamlet, but - a Clown, in this ill advised Schary era remake of Beery's Oscar winner THE CHAMP, none too good its own self. Red's Dramatic experiment blew up in the lab. A major boxoffice flop. Red was done at Metro by the end of 1952, Schary by 1956. CBS TV beckoned, and Red starred for 20 years. His niteclub act, which I saw four times in Vegas, once in Tahoe, and once at the Venetian Room in SF's Fairmont Hotel; was just about the funniest hour I ever saw anywhere by anyone. The Guzzler's Gin bit was an alltime classic. But this movie is Absolutely Awful! My #8 Worst of 1952.