When the Circus Came to Town main poster

When the Circus Came to Town

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6.0/10 • 2

1981-01-202h 0m

DramaTV Movie

When the Circus Came to Town chronicles the life of Mary Flynn (Montgomery), a woman nearing middle age living in a small town. When the circus comes through town, she realizes nothing will ever change unless she does something different, so she leaves her boring sheltered life to run away and join the circus. While adapting to her new life, she finds herself challenged, and in the end, happy with her new life.

Directors
Boris Sagal
Editors
Murray Solomon

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Elizabeth Montgomery

    Elizabeth Montgomery

    Mary Flynn

  2. Christopher Plummer

    Christopher Plummer

    Duke Royal

  3. Eileen Brennan

    Eileen Brennan

    Jessy

  4. Gretchen Wyler

    Gretchen Wyler

    Olivia Probashka

  5. Anne Shropshire

    Anne Shropshire

    Aunt Helen

  6. Tommy Madden

    Tommy Madden

    Louie

  7. Timothy Hill

    Timothy Hill

    Schuller

  8. Russell Saunders

    Russell Saunders

    Ivan Probashka

  9. Mark Yerkes

    Mark Yerkes

    Sergei Probashka

Reviews1

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Wuchak Avatar

Wuchak

Apr 4, 2024

6/10

Elizabeth Montgomery joins a traveling circus When a small circus stops in Savannah, a bored 40-ish spinster (Montgomery) decides to enlist on a lark. Christopher Plummer plays the owner/ringleader while Eileen Brennan and Tommy Madden are on hand as members of the troupe. "When the Circus Came to Town" (1981) is a drama with a few amusing touches set at a traveling circus. Elizabeth was 47 during shooting and, amazingly, still looks like she did on Bewitched (which ended 9 years earlier), not to mention she’s appealing in a circus outfit. There are the expected clowns, acrobats, high wire artists, elephants and big cats, but the focus is on the four characters noted above and the drama thereof, which is relatively realistic and, by the end, heartwarming. The flick’s entertaining in the manner of “Roustabout” or "Circus of Horrors,” minus the horror elements of the latter. While a TV movie, it’s worth checking out if you’re in the mood for something along the lines of "Water for Elephants,” "The Greatest Show on Earth," "The Big Circus,” "Circus of Fear,” aka "Psycho-Circus,” "Trapeze" and those other two. Sure, it’s lowkey in comparison to blockbusters like “Water for Elephants” and “The Greatest Show on Earth,” but it has its points of interest and is well done, all things considered. The film runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot in Savannah, Georgia. GRADE: B-

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    Status
    Released
    Original Language
    English
    Budget
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    Revenue
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