This silent, 1938 black and white and color mixed home movie footage depicts operations of the Robbins Brothers Circus including a promotional parade, livestock unloading, and raising a big top tent (TRT 17:22). Around the time the film was shot, the Robbins Brothers Circus merged with Cole Brothers and both eventually became part of the Ringling Brothers Circus.

A poster advertises Robbins Bros. Circus (0:08). A circus wagon is wheeled along the bed of a railroad train car labeled “Robbins Bros. 3 Ring Circus” (0:13). Two horses pull another wagon and unload it from the train (0:28). Horses trot past onlookers (1:00). A wagon hauling tentpoles is unloaded (1:20). Workmen ridge a group of ponies from right to left. Children follow (1:33). Full view panning across painted circus train cars: “World’s Premiere Amusement” with “Hoot Gibson, The Screen’s Most Popular Western Star” (1:42). Animal trainers lead a group of 10 elephants into formation outdoors. Feeding Time. The elephants eat hay (1:55). Workmen take turns hammering stakes into the ground with mallets (2:46). A team of men spread and shake out the circus tent (3:22). A zebra grazes (3:43). Punched holes (3:54). A team of horses pull wagons (3:59). A calliope circus wagon decorated ornately with golden lions (4:18). A patriotic “United States” wagon display with stars, stripes, swords, and a heraldic eagle (4:26). Men and horses stand under a raised tent. Hanging laundry, bales of hay. Washing in a bucket. (4:37). Women walk by, observing a wagon as it is unloaded (4:57). Another wagon pays tribute to France with a mural (5:13). A color shot of a poster: “Big Free Street Parade – Largest in the World” (5:22). Back to black and white (5:36). Two majorettes on horses carry U.S. flags on horseback at the head of a parade. A wagon with a full brass band follows (5:41). A parader addresses the camera from atop a wagon, pointing and tossing his head back (6:37). A wagon of animal cages passes, followed by the band wagon (6:47). A Bactrian camel with two humps. Two camels are led through the parade (7:22). People in Asian-style conical straw hats and bagpipers in Scottish costume. A man on horseback in a Native American style feathered headdress war bonnet (7:31). Camels are guided towards the camera. Tending the elephants (7:50). Elephants draped with advertising banners for Studebaker, Coldspot, others (8:09). A tractor pulls a smoking calliope (8:37). Broadside posters for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus depict a laughing clown and Gargantua the gorilla with bared teeth (8:58). Spectators mill around outside the circus grounds as the big top tent is raised (9:20). A team of horses pulls another wagon (9:50). Men pile out of a large flatbed truck (10:19). A wide view of the big top setup (10:31). Four wagons from afar. The tentpole wagons approach and circle past from multiple angles (10:42). Punched holes and a covered wagon advertising “Combined Shows.” A rope truck and horses at rest (13:07). Raising the main tentpole (13:32). An entrance tent: “The Greatest Show on Earth Main Entrance” (14:12). A large crowd of men joins in shaking out another tent (14:21). Hoisting the tent overhead (14:47). Men work with leather livestock harnesses. A wagon carries scaffolding (15:49). More teams of horses (16:23). An underexposed color shot of a poster advertising the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (17:02).

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circuses merged in 1919. The Robbins Bros. Circus was based in Granger, Iowa and was owned by Fred Buchanan. It was founded in 1928 by Zion Robbins (grandfather of Jeff Lowe, of “Tiger King” fame) and later sold to Ringling Brothers. Kodachrome color reversal 16mm film debuted in 1935

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com