Man on a Tightrope Man on a Tightrope Man on a Tightrope is a 1953 American film directed by Elia Kazan, starring Fredric March, Terry Moore and Gloria Grahame. It was entered into the 3rd Berlin International Film Festival. The screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood was based on a 1952 novel of the same title by Neil Paterson. Paterson based his true story, which first appeared as the magazine novelette "International Incident", on the escape of the Circus Brumbach from East Germany in 1950. Members of the Circus Brumbach appeared in the film version in both character roles and as extras. In 1952 Czechoslovakia,
Work Is a Four-Letter Word scathing, describing it pithily as a "weakly futuristic industrial fantasy which the author would probably claim to be about lack of communication. Bored audiences might have a similar view". Johnny Marr has stated in interviews that one of the main impetuses for his leaving The Smiths was Morrisey's insistence on covering the titular theme song to this movie. There is a famous quote published in a 1992 issue of "Record Collector" where Marr disdainfully said "'Work Is A Four Letter Word' I hated. That was the last straw, really. I didn't form a group to perform Cilla Black songs. That