Crippled ex-aerialist Burt Lancaster coaches callow Tony Curtis in the ways of the flying trapeze, hoping his protege will master the triple midair somersault, the dangerous stunt which ended his own career.
Lollobrigida pouts wonderfully as the gold-digging showgirl who gets into a triangular relationship with the macho stars but finds her feelings get in the way of her ambitions, while Sid James hangs about trying to sell a python to Katy Jurado without ever quite getting into the film.
Wonderfully Hollywooden melodramatics make it watchable, but it's the performance of real-life ex-circus star Lancaster that makes it memorable. Curtis, hardly sympathetic as the pushy young punk, just stands back and lets Burt and his gleaming teeth get on with the emotion.