A movie about the owner of a circus trying to escape from Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia sounds like it could be the recipe for just another Hollywood anti-communist propaganda film, but while it certainly does not paint a positive picture of the Reds, Man on a Tightrope is far from propaganda, and is instead a finely crafted character study of a man stuck between complacency and action. Frederich March plays Karol Cernik, a circus man for his whole life, who must make the choice whether to toady to the state and turn his show into a political advert, or make a daring escape across the border into Germany. His world is washed up and dying, his wife is cheating on him, his daughter is in love with a man he hates, and even his longtime partner has betrayed him and spied on him for the state. As a portrait of desperation, Man on a Tightrope is heart-wrenching, and very modern in its depiction of existential despair. Out of all the films I have seen by Elia Kazan, this is the one that has aged the least. There is a certain subtlety to it that is not present in his other works, and while it certainly is melodramatic in places, it is also quiet and introspective. Frederich March anchors the drama with his passionate performance, but he is also backed up by a great ensemble cast that includes Gloria Grahame at her burnt-out finest. Ultimately, Man on a Tightrope, is a beautiful film about the struggle between the artist and the society that seeks to stamp them out.
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