Man on a Tightrope

In 1952 Czechoslovakia, circus man Karel Černík, Fredric March, struggles to keep Cirkus Černík alive after it was nationalized by the Communist government. The state allows him to run the show, but conditions are deteriorating: workers are deserting to the state, finances are tight, and tension grows with his willful daughter Tereza Černík, Terry Moore, and with his young second wife Zama Černík, Gloria Grahame, who is suspected of infidelity. He is trying to curb a budding romance between Tereza and Joe Vosdek, Cameron Mitchell, a roustabout who has only been with the circus for a year.

Černík is summoned to the S.N.B. state security headquarters in Plzeň to account for why he refuses to perform the Marxist propaganda acts demanded by the government. The S.N.B. chief, John Dehner, orders him to restart the propaganda and to dismiss a longtime performer who calls herself “The Duchess.” Propaganda minister Fesker, Adolphe Menjou, casually questions him about a radio in his trailer, hinting at a spy among the troupe. Černík is fined and released, though Fesker remains sure he is a threat to the state.

Motivated by a wave of escapes from behind the Iron Curtain, Černík plans to flee across the border into Bavaria, West Germany. He suspects Joe, but unknown to him, Tereza has learned that Joe is actually a deserter from the American Army who is also plotting his own escape. Černík’s longtime rival Barovic, Robert Beatty, visits and promises he will not betray him since they are fellow circus men. Černík agrees to leave behind much of his equipment for Barovic. Realizing there is a spy among them—Krofta, Richard Boone who has worked for Černík for twenty years—Černík ties him up, but is confronted by Fesker about a travel permit, which Fesker issues to trap Černík in the act of leaving. Fesker’s pursuit is interrupted when a commissar sergeant orders him detained.

Joe reveals himself to Černík, and the two men incorporate him into the plan. At the border crossing, Krofta escapes but is blocked by Černík from warning the border guards. In the ensuing clash, Krofta wounds Černík fatally. With a bold and brutal dash across the last bridge, most of the circus manages to cross to safety, yet Černík pays with his life. Obeying his dying wish, Zama orders the troupe to march on.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 12:29