(1962)2.5Craig ButlerA throwback to an earlier, simpler era, Billy Rose's Jumbo is a moderately entertaining musical, the slender plot of which cannot support the elephantine proportions of its production. The spectacle is certainly impressive; a lot of money was spent on re-creating some marvelous circus acts and settings, but they only seem to point up how skimpy and dull the screenplay is. While the musical numbers are bright and peppy, too much of the dialogue scenes are dull, and the pacing lags. Even perennially perky Doris Day seems a little lacking in energy. Fortunately, the Rodgers and Hart score is glorious, and well served by Day, Martha Raye and Jimmy Durante, whose rendition of "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" is delightful. Stephen Boyd looks good but is terribly wooden, and seems visibly uncomfortable during many of the musical moments. Fortunately, Raye and especially Durante provide enough comic moments to help make up for Boyd's lifelessness. Charles Walters' direction is hesitant, but Busby Berkeley's staging of the musical numbers - especially the opening, with its dizzying final shot -- is first rate. As a result of Jumbo's box office failure, Day was passed over for lead roles in The Unsinkable Molly Brown and The Sound of Music.
