Circus on Ice (1954)

Not what I call entertainment, 19 May 2017

When watching something like Circus on Ice, I realize how fortunate I am to live in an era with so many entertainment options. It's plain old bad. I always try my best to judge a film (or short in this case) by the standards of the time in which it was made. Even in 1954, I can't imagine anyone watching Circus on Ice and getting any sort of enjoyment out of it. The 8+ minute runtime goes by excruciatingly slow. Circus on Ice attempts to combine two things that I loathe – the circus and ice shows. I say "attempts" because the circus potion is lacking. It's mostly just ice dancing. And for an ice show, Circus on Ice has a very dark tone to it. Two of the featured acts include images of death. In one, a group of toy soldiers combine to kill a dragon. In the other, even darker scene, we witness some skater named Jacqueline de Bief portraying a frolicking fawn. Suddenly, hunters approach and kill the baby deer. As Ms de Bief falls to the ice acting out the last moments of the fawn's life, I'm sure it brought great joy to the boys and girls in the audience. There's no better way to entertain children than shooting a baby deer. This thing is just awful. 

The only saving grace to Circus on Ice - thankfully, there were no godforsaken clowns.

2/10