I remembered seeing this TV movie years ago. It was a rather lovely biography on P.T. Barnum that I don't think was that truthful to this man's extraordinary life. But it didn't matter, because Burt Lancaster was in it and he was terrific as P.T. Barnum, the first greatest showman ever. Burt Lancaster was absolutely charming in this role. Through Lancaster's performance, you can see why P.T. Barnum was able to charm so many people into buying his bulls--t.
Hannah Shygulla, who plays Jenny Lind was absolutely impressive. One of the coolest scenes in this movie was the first time P.T. Barnum and his associates laid eyes for the first time on Jenny Lind. P.T. Barnum asked Jenny Lind to come to the U.S. and work for him. P.T. Barnum had never met Ms. Lind before, but he was so confident that she was going to be such a big success that he and his friends spread all sorts of rumors about her. They fabricated stories about Jenny Lind in the newspapers like how beautiful she is and all the love affairs she had. It was an excellent way to get people to come to the Jenny Lind concert. P.T. Barnum sees Jenny Lind for the first time and realizes that Jenny Lind is no beauty. She is rather plain and plain spoken. All in all, Jenny Lind looked like an absolutely ordinary woman. P.T. Barnum is so frustrated that he voices his concerns that the concert will be a big flop. Jenny Lind overhears this conversation and she comes in, all dressed up for the concert. She calmly tells P.T. Barnum and his associates that she is a great singer and she will be paid what she's worth. Hannah Shygulla, as Jenny Lind, looks directly at P.T. Barnum and said, "And you will pay me....!" And with that, she goes out on stage and sings her heart out. The audience loves her and Burt Lancaster, as P.T. Barnum, is so moved he is brushing tears away from his eyes.
In this movie, you get to also meet Tom Thumb, a midget who is suddenly thrown into fame by P.T. Barnum. The actor that played Tom Thumb was very moving. Tom Thumb gets to meet Queen Victoria. In his joy, he goes up to the Queen and hugs her! I remembered feeling incredibly moved because Tom was so happy. You can imagine what his life was like before joining P.T. Barnum.
The gist of the movie was that, even though P.T. Barnum exploited so many people and things for publicity and money, his employees, like the woman who claimed to be George Washington's nanny, Tom Thumb, Jenny Lind had a better life because of P.T. Barnum.
Now, I don't know if it's true that P.T. Barnum treated all of these people kindly or fairly, but Burt Lancaster made you believe that P.T. Barnum was a great guy.
This is a nice family movie. If they ever release this TV movie on video, I urge anyone who is a fan of Burt Lancaster to get this movie.
This biopic may not be all that true, but it certainly is entertaining and a pretty good diversion!
Hannah Shygulla, who plays Jenny Lind was absolutely impressive. One of the coolest scenes in this movie was the first time P.T. Barnum and his associates laid eyes for the first time on Jenny Lind. P.T. Barnum asked Jenny Lind to come to the U.S. and work for him. P.T. Barnum had never met Ms. Lind before, but he was so confident that she was going to be such a big success that he and his friends spread all sorts of rumors about her. They fabricated stories about Jenny Lind in the newspapers like how beautiful she is and all the love affairs she had. It was an excellent way to get people to come to the Jenny Lind concert. P.T. Barnum sees Jenny Lind for the first time and realizes that Jenny Lind is no beauty. She is rather plain and plain spoken. All in all, Jenny Lind looked like an absolutely ordinary woman. P.T. Barnum is so frustrated that he voices his concerns that the concert will be a big flop. Jenny Lind overhears this conversation and she comes in, all dressed up for the concert. She calmly tells P.T. Barnum and his associates that she is a great singer and she will be paid what she's worth. Hannah Shygulla, as Jenny Lind, looks directly at P.T. Barnum and said, "And you will pay me....!" And with that, she goes out on stage and sings her heart out. The audience loves her and Burt Lancaster, as P.T. Barnum, is so moved he is brushing tears away from his eyes.
In this movie, you get to also meet Tom Thumb, a midget who is suddenly thrown into fame by P.T. Barnum. The actor that played Tom Thumb was very moving. Tom Thumb gets to meet Queen Victoria. In his joy, he goes up to the Queen and hugs her! I remembered feeling incredibly moved because Tom was so happy. You can imagine what his life was like before joining P.T. Barnum.
The gist of the movie was that, even though P.T. Barnum exploited so many people and things for publicity and money, his employees, like the woman who claimed to be George Washington's nanny, Tom Thumb, Jenny Lind had a better life because of P.T. Barnum.
Now, I don't know if it's true that P.T. Barnum treated all of these people kindly or fairly, but Burt Lancaster made you believe that P.T. Barnum was a great guy.
This is a nice family movie. If they ever release this TV movie on video, I urge anyone who is a fan of Burt Lancaster to get this movie.
This biopic may not be all that true, but it certainly is entertaining and a pretty good diversion!