The Circus is Here!
Charlie, a wandering tramp, becomes a circus handyman - soon the star of the show - and falls in love with the circus owner's stepdaughter.
The Circus (1928) is a comedy, drama and romance film directed by Charlie Chaplin, released on January 6, 1928 with a runtime of 1h 12m. It stars Charlie Chaplin, Al Ernest Garcia, Merna Kennedy and Harry Crocker. Viewers rate it 7.9 out of 10 across 916 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for The Circus before you stream it.
Official trailers, teasers, clips and featurettes for The Circus.
Trailer
Trailer
Charlie Chaplin
as A Tramp
Al Ernest Garcia
as The Circus Proprietor and Ring Master
Merna Kennedy
as The Proprietor's Step-Daughter Merna, a Circus Rider
Harry Crocker
as Rex, a Tight Rope Walker
George Davis
as A Magician
Henry Bergman
as An Old Clown
Tiny Sandford
as The Head Property Man
John Rand
as An Assistant Property Man
Steve Murphy
as A Pickpocket
Albert Austin
as Clown (uncredited)
Chester A. Bachman
as Cop (uncredited)
Eugene Barry
as Cop (uncredited)
Directed by Charlie Chaplin, written by Charlie Chaplin, produced by Charlie Chaplin.
Average viewer score of 7.9/10 from 916 ratings.
When I'm faced with challenges in my life, I am somewhat heartened by something I learned as a child, that an oyster has to be irritated by a grain of sand in order to eventually make a pearl. That knowledge always made the load I was carrying seem less significant, and helped me to see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. Cinematically speaking, at least in the fine age of silent movies, one of the…
Reviewed on April 13, 2016
This is definitely my favourite Charlie Chaplin outing for the “Tramp” as he alights at the circus and discovers that he has quite a penchant for entertaining the crowds. Of course, we only discover this after a few mishaps with the police who think he’s a vagrant trained by “Fagin” lead him to the big top where his antics cause ructions of laughter. The boss of this enterprise knows he’s onto a winner, but not to…
Reviewed on October 10, 2025
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The Circus (1928) is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, FlixFling, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video with Ads and The Surf Network Amazon Channel, and to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home and FlixFling. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of The Circus (1928) includes Charlie Chaplin, Al Ernest Garcia, Merna Kennedy, Harry Crocker and George Davis. The film was directed by Charlie Chaplin. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
The Circus was released on January 6, 1928 and runs for 1h 12m.
The Circus (1928) holds an average rating of 7.9 out of 10 from 916 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy comedy, drama and romance films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official The Circus trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
