© 2026 The Couch Critic
Available options inUS
"The Heartbeat Story of Circus People, Filmed with the Cooperation of Ringling Bros. - Barnum and Bailey Circus!"
To ensure a full profitable season, circus manager Brad Braden engages The Great Sebastian, though this moves his girlfriend Holly from her hard-won center trapeze spot. Holly and Sebastian begin a dangerous one-upmanship duel in the ring, while he pursues her on the ground.
51 Cast Members
Betty Hutton
Holly
Cornel Wilde
The Great Sebastian
Charlton Heston
Brad Braden
Dorothy Lamour
Phyllis
Gloria Grahame
Angel
James Stewart
Buttons
Henry Wilcoxon
FBI Agent Gregory
Lyle Bettger
Klaus
Lawrence Tierney
Mr. Henderson
Emmett Kelly
Himself
Cucciola
Cucciola
Robert Carson
The Ringmaster
John Kellogg
Harry
Julia Faye
Birdie
Cecil B. DeMille
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
John Ringling North
Himself
Lou Jacobs
Himself (clown)
Brad Jackson
Reporter at RIngside
Frank Wilcox
Doctor
Lillian Albertson
Buttons' mother
