Carnival Story [Blu-ray]

Director: Kurt Neumann Kurt Neumann

Overview

Lensed in Germany, Carnival Story stars Anne Baxter as a wayward Teutonic lass who joins a travelling carnival troupe. She falls in love with carny spieler Steve Cochran, and out-and-out louse who treats Baxter like dirt and makes her like it. Eventually, she rises to star status through the auspices of high-diver Lyle Bettger, but she can never get over her passion for Cochran. Inevitably, this romantic triangle degenerates into violence, leaving magazine photographer George Nader to pick up the pieces. Carnival Story was filmed simultaneously with a German-language version, Rummelplatz der Liebe, which starred Eva Bartok, Curt Jurgens and Bernhard Wicki. Produced by the King Brothers and released by RKO, Carnival Story has since lapsed into public domain, and as such has become a ubiquitous presence on cable television. There's even a version that has been outfitted with a narration for the benefit of sight-impaired film fans.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/27/2014
UPC:	0089859902420
Original Release:	1954
Source:	ALLIED VAUGHN
Language:	English
Sales rank:	40,366

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Anne Baxter	Willie
Steve Cochran	Joe Hammond
Lyle Bettger	Frank Colloni
George Nader	Bill Vines
Jay C. Flippen	Charley
Helene Stanley	Peggy
Adi Berber	Groppo,Groppo

Technical Credits

Kurt Neumann

Hans Jacoby

Kurt Neumann	Director,Screenwriter
Frank King	Producer,Producer
Hans Jacoby	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Carnival Story is a fairly ho-hum melodrama that has a colorful background and a game cast going for it, but not much else. Nothing in Carnival's screenplay really feels right; everything has been rigged simply for the sake of creating effect. As a result, viewers must watch Anne Baxter suffer abuse at the hands of Steve Cochran time and again and come back for more without ever having a reason to believe that she would actually behave in this way. There's a great deal of drama that can be mined out of such a situation, but the bite of reality has to be there in order to make it worth while. There's also something just not right about Baxter in this carnival setting; she doesn't seem to belong there. Had the filmmakers used this "otherness" creatively, it might have made for some interesting depth. Instead, it just makes things awkward. For her part, Baxter tries hard and does well. She's not ideally cast, but when she finds the parts of the character that suit her, she drives them home. Steve Cochran, Lyle Bettger and George Nader are fine as the various love interests. They, too, are hampered by the writing but make the most of things.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler