Ian MacNaughton
Edward Ian Macnaughton (30 December 1925 – 10 December 2002) was a Scottish actor-turned-television producer and director, best known for his work with the "Monty Python" team. MacNaughton was director and producer for all but four of the forty five episodes of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" from 1969 to 1974, director of the group's first feature film "And Now for Something Completely Different" in 1971 and director of their two German episodes, "Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus" in 1971 and 1972. In 1973 the production team shared the BAFTA Award for Best Light Entertainment Programme for "Monty Python's Flying Circus".
Circus
"Tromba", a film about a tiger trainer, was released in 1948. In 1952 Cecil B. de Mille's Oscar-winning film "The Greatest Show on Earth" was first shown. Released in 1953 were "Man on a Tightrope" and Ingmar Bergman's "Gycklarnas afton" (released as "Sawdust and Tinsel" in the United States); these were followed by "Life Is a Circus"; "Ring of Fear"; "3 Ring Circus" (1954) and "La Strada" (1954), an Oscar-winning film by Federico Fellini about a girl who is sold to a circus strongman. Fellini made a second film set in the circus called "The Clowns" in 1970. Films about the circus made since 1959 include Disney's "Toby Tyler" (1960), the B-movie "Circus of Horrors" (also in 1960); the musical film "Billy Rose's Jumbo" (1962); "A Tiger Walks", a Disney film about a tiger that escapes from the circus; and "Circus World" (1964), starring John Wayne. Mera Naam Joker (1970) a Hindi drama film directed by Raj Kapoor which was about a clown who must make his audience laugh at the cost of his own sorrows. In the film "Jungle Emperor Leo" (1997), Leo's son Lune is captured and placed in a circus, which burns down when a tiger knocks down a ring of fire while jumping through it. "The Greatest Showman", a musical film loosely based on the life of P. T. Barnum, was released in 2017.