When the Circus Came to Town (1981)

Elizabeth Montgomery joins a traveling circus

When a small circus stops in Savannah, a bored 40-ish spinster (Montgomery) decides to enlist on a lark. Christopher Plummer plays the owner/ringleader while Eileen Brennan and Tommy Madden are on hand as members of the troupe.

"When the Circus Came to Town" (1981) is a drama with a few amusing touches set at a traveling circus. Elizabeth was 47 during shooting and, amazingly, still looks like she did on Bewitched (which ended 9 years earlier), not to mention she’s appealing in a circus outfit.

There are the expected clowns, acrobats, high wire artists, elephants and big cats, but the focus is on the four characters noted above and the drama thereof, which is relatively realistic and, by the end, heartwarming. The flick’s entertaining in the manner of “Roustabout” or "Circus of Horrors,” minus the horror elements of the latter.

While a TV movie, it’s worth checking out if you’re in the mood for something along the lines of "Water for Elephants,” "The Greatest Show on Earth," "The Big Circus,” "Circus of Fear,” aka "Psycho-Circus,” "Trapeze" and those other two. Sure, it’s lowkey in comparison to blockbusters like “Water for Elephants” and “The Greatest Show on Earth,” but it has its points of interest and is well done, all things considered.

The film runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot in Savannah, Georgia.

GRADE: B-