Under The Big Top

Circus owner Sarah Post is having trouble making ends meet, but her dedicated staff won't let her throw in the towel. Things go from bad to worse when Sarah's pretty young niece, Penny, accidentally burns the circus tent to the ground. The girl more than makes up for her mistake when she grows up to be a big box-office draw as a trapeze superstar. The circus now thrives, but Penny chafes under her aunt's strict rules and runs off with her aerial partners, Ricardo and Pablo. When Sarah falls deathly ill, Penny learns that life itself is a balancing act that she has yet to master.

This 1938 production features Marjorie Main of Ma and Pa Kettle fame. Veteran actor George Cleveland would go on to play Gramps on the original Lassie TV series. Ann Nagel, who stars as Penny, later appeared in several Universal productions, including Man Made Monster, Black Friday and The Invisible Woman.

Problems arise for the workers of a top-notch circus as it is discovered that the beautiful trapeze artist Penelope (Anne Nagel) has fallen in love with her trapeze partner, Pablo (Grant Richards). Actress Marjorie Main brings her character of the hard-edged circus owner Sara Post to life, masking the character's inner goodness with a convincingly tough exterior. Meanwhile, Nagel and Richards give strong performances as the pair of forbidden lovers. Director Karl Brown brings the fantastical and thrilling world of the Post Combined Circus to life with exquisite sets and a keen attention to detail.