Circus

Circus (Russian: Цирк; Tsirk) is a 1936 Soviet melodramatic comedy musical film. It was directed by Grigori Aleksandrov at the Mosfilm studios. In his own words, it was conceived as "an eccentric comedy...a real side splitter." Starring the glamorous and immensely popular Lubov Orlova (Aleksandrov's wife), the first recognized star of Soviet cinema and a gifted singer, the film contains several songs which instantly became Soviet classics. The mo... more

Circus (Russian: Цирк; Tsirk) is a 1936 Soviet melodramatic comedy musical film. It was directed by Grigori Aleksandrov at the Mosfilm studios. In his own words, it was conceived as "an eccentric comedy...a real side splitter." Starring the glamorous and immensely popular Lubov Orlova (Aleksandrov's wife), the first recognized star of Soviet cinema and a gifted singer, the film contains several songs which instantly became Soviet classics. The most famous is the "Song of the Motherland" (Широка страна моя родная...). Orlova plays an American circus artist who, after giving birth to a black baby, immediately becomes a victim of racism and is forced to stay in the circus, but finds refuge, love and happiness in the USSR. Her black son is embraced by friendly Soviet people. The movie climaxes with a lullaby being sung to the baby by representatives of various Soviet ethnicities taking turns. The movie was still very popular after World War II. Ironically, after Joseph Stalin's anti... less