When the Circus Came to Town

When the Circus Came to Town is a 1981 American made-for-television drama film directed by Boris Sagal and starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Christopher Plummer, and Eileen Brennan. It originally aired on CBS as a "Movie of the Week" on January 20, 1981.

When the Circus Came to Town
Genre	Drama
Screenplay by	Larry Grusin
Story by	Larry Grusin
Directed by	Boris Sagal
Starring	Elizabeth Montgomery Christopher Plummer Eileen Brennan
Theme music composer	Charles Gross
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Barry Krost
Producer	Robert Halmi Sr.
Production location	Savannah, Georgia
Cinematography	Michel Hugo
Editor	Murray Solomon
Running time	120 min.
Production companies	Entheos Unlimited Productions Meteor Films
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	January 20, 1981 (1981-01-20)

Story

When the Circus Came to Town chronicles the life of Mary Flynn (Montgomery), a woman nearing middle age living in a small town. When the circus comes through town, she realizes nothing will ever change unless she does something different, so she leaves her boring sheltered life to run away and join the circus. While adapting to her new life, she finds herself challenged, and in the end, happy with her new life.

Cast

• Elizabeth Montgomery . . . Mary Flynn
• Christopher Plummer . . . Duke Royal
• Eileen Brennan . . . Jessy
• Gretchen Wyler . . . Olivia Probaska
• Anne Shropshire . . . Aunt Helen
• Tommy Madden . . . Louie
• Timothy Hill . . . Schuller
• Russell Saunders . . . Ivan Probashka
• Mark Yerkes . . . Sergei Probashka
• Bob Yerkes . . . Georgi Probashka
• J. Don Ferguson . . . Andre Probashka
• Anne Haney . . . Blossom
• George Ellis . . . Rodriguez
• Don Devendorf . . . Motel Clerk
• Charles Lawlor . . . Redneck
• Nicholas Warf . . . Juggler

Production notes

Crew

• Directed by: Boris Sagal
• Second Assistant Director: Stephen A. Glanzrock
• Written by: Larry Grusin
• Executive Producer: Barry Krost
• Producer: Robert Halmi, Sr.
• Associate Producer: Robert Halmi, Jr.
• Original Music: Charles Gross
• Orchestrator: Gary Anderson
• Cinematography: Michel Hugo
• Film Editor: Murray Solomon
• Production Design: Robert Gundlach
• Choreographer: Marge Champion Sagal
• Dialogue Coach: Marge Champion Sagal

External links

• When the Circus Came to Town at IMDb