Billy Rose's Jumbo

Plot Summary

Jimmy Durante, Doris Day and Martha Raye star in this big-screen portrayal of Rogers and Hart's Broadway musical about an all-out effort to save a struggling circus--Billy Rose's Jumbo. Pop Wonder's (Durante) gambling debts have put his circus in danger of default--an event completely unforeseen by Lulu (Martha Raye) the fortuneteller--and the circus has to sell its beloved elephant, Jumbo. Suddenly, the Wonder circus' luck seems to turn with the arrival of jack-of-all trades Sam Rawlins (Stephen Boyd), who helps save the big top as he steals the heart of Wonder's daughter, Kitty (Day). But is Rawlins the circus' romantic savior that he seems to be, or does he have another motive? And can the growing love between Kitty and Rawlins be enough to win his loyalty?