The Big Duh!…Clowns are Scary and Nobody Likes Them

Posted by medusamorlock on January 17, 2008

James Stewart at Buttons in The Greatest Show on Earth Probably everybody has read by now about the findings of a recent study over in Britain which confirms something that many of us have known instinctively for as long we can remember — that children don't particularly like clowns and in fact are often downright scared of them. This is probably no big deal, except think about those poor kids in hospitals who are subjected to visits by hyped-up adults dressed as clowns (which is more about the adults liking…really liking… to dress up as clowns than the kids wanting to be entertained by them, probably) and how that's the last thing you'd prefer to see before you went under the knife for some scary operation.

Although what this new study is saying is that any clown is pretty much a scary clown, movies have frequently used clearly creepy clowns to great effect in The Poltergeist Clown Doll horror movies, including that overly cheery and therefore extremely creepy clown doll in the little boy’s bedroom in the original Poltergeist. Of course a clown done up in spooky makeup is going to be doubly horrifying, but even the kind-hearted clown has a touch of the ooky about him. And I’m even going to include probably the nicest and most humane screen clown played by the one of the screen’s greatest actors — James Stewart — in C. B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth.

James Stewart as Buttons the Clown As Buttons the clown, Stewart stays in make-up throughout the entire picture, so we get to see him as a clown with a funny clown hat and also in a fedora, which is equally entertaining (probably more Buttons in a Fedora so). We find out that he’s being sought by the police for murder for his involvement in the mercy killing of his terminally ill wife. Clearly he’s the nicest guy you could ever meet, and one hell of a doctor, as he proves time and again during his time under the Big Top, so we surmise that his wife really was in bad shape when he did her in. Buttons even meets with his little old lady mother — while in make-up, of course — when she comes to a performance to watch her dear son the only way she can.

I don’t exactly mean to make fun or belittle the role (exactly), it’s just that clown thing. Stewart isn’t outwardly scary, of course, nor is famed real-life Charlton Heston and James Stewart clown Emmett Kelly who appears a couple of times in the film. Clowns really don’t even have to do much more than look mournful to start those weird vibes going, and when they start into one of their tortuous routines — squeezing into itty-bitty cars, being mock-blown-up, spritzed, or whatever — well, there’s no turning back. It’s been said, by genuine clown boss Glen Little of the real The Greatest Show on Earth traveling circus, that there are seven kinds of clown blow-offs which they can use to cap a gag, namely fire, water, smoke, explosions, slaps, falls, and surprise. Any one of those, on top of that crazy make-up, and you’ve got one scary proposition.

I think my favorite truly weirdo clown is actually from a TV show, an episode of Yikes! Pippo from One Step Beyond on TV the old mystery anthology One Step Beyond, called “The Clown”. In it, actress Yvette Mimieux has a mute clown admirer named Pippo, and Pippo goes all supernatural on her. Pippo is also one of the unintentionally freakiest clowns around, undoubtedly supposed to look sweet and vulnerable but he comes off completely the opposite. You can actually watch the episode online here if you dare!

What are some of your favorite — or least favorite — clowns in entertainment? They may be creepy as hell, but they’re wonderful, aren’t they?

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9 Responses The Big Duh!…Clowns are Scary and Nobody Likes Them

Posted By CitizenKing : January 18, 2008 8:27 am

Naturally there is the clown from Stephen King's It. Then there is Gwynplaine, the tragic clown from The Man Who Laughs. While he is the hero of the movie, there is a definite creep factor. The same movie also features an evil jester, and inspired another sort of evil clown, The Joker of Batman fame. A related topic (perhaps a future column) is the creepy ventriloquist dummy. Start with Magic.

Posted By Medusa : January 18, 2008 9:45 am

Great clown submissions, CK!It's hard to believe, but I don't find dummies quite as scary as clowns; I'm sure I'm just appreciative of their snappy patter, which is better than the mostly-mute clowns. Plus I LOVE Charlie McCarthy and Paul Winchell's guys, and can't think of a single clown who inspires genuine adoration in me — except maybe the brilliant Bill Irwin who's done a lot of true clowning over his career. And to think McDonald's peddles hamburgers with a big ol' clown!

Posted By KWYork : January 18, 2008 10:57 am

Not to forget Lon Chaney in "He Who Gets Slapped" , Red Skelton as "Freddy the Freeloader" and one of my favorites "Killer Klowns from Outerspace".

Posted By Jenni : January 18, 2008 9:50 pm

Medusa, I hate clowns! Yes, I was one of the thousands(millions?) of people that were creeped out by them as a child. I remember that Bozo came to our local college when I was 5 and I refused to go and see him. My little brother went to see him, but I got to go to Grandma's house instead! The clown in Poltergeist didn't help my dislike of clowns, either! I'm pretty sure on an episode of Seinfeld, Kramer mentions that clowns scare him.

Posted By Jeff : January 19, 2008 10:54 am

Not all clowns are scary. Consider Ko-Ko, Betty Boop's companion in so many Max Fleischer cartoons. In fact animated clowns are a lot easier to take in general – DUMBO, etc. But my two favorite clown films are Fellini's semi-documentary THE CLOWNS which presents a broad spectrum of them from scary to sad to magical and Bob Goldthwait's 1991 black comedy SHAKES THE CLOWN with the title character (Goldthwait) a children's party clown and a raging alcoholic. His troubles increase when his evil, coked-out rival Binky the Clown (Tom Kenny) steals his spot on a popular kids' TV show. The film's not for everybody but if you're in the right mood, it can make you laugh really hard at times.

Posted By Chris : January 19, 2008 2:25 pm

Though it seems almost axiomatic that clowns generate a universal repulsion, I must admit feeling some tenderness towards Giulietta Masina as Gelsomina in Fellini's La Strada (1954). She had such a wonderful tenderness to her facial expressions and displayed such naivete' that one cannot feel both sympathy and empathy towards her. And this goes strongly against my general impressions of clowns, but every once in a while some diametric opposition creeps in to disprove the rule.

Posted By Jeff : January 19, 2008 7:12 pm

Chris, thanks for reminding us about Gelsomina. How could I forget her after recommending Fellini's THE CLOWNS? I think it's all about the crazy makeup. A few touches here and there and you can go from a killer clown to a tender clown to a mime (a fate worse than death…sorry Marceau) to a white faced zombie (YES!).

Posted By Pax Romano : January 19, 2008 11:16 pm

Great posting as I re-read, Stephen King's "It".

Posted By Medusa : January 20, 2008 10:01 am

I also love Gelsomina. At the beginning of the "One Step Beyond" episode I linked to, there is a short documentary sequence telling about clown history — I wonder if they stole it from Fellini? :-) Mostly/all European footage with clown masks and some of the creepiest looking clowns around! And wow — I hadn't considered the slippery make-up slope from clown to mime to zombie, Jeff! But you are SO right!

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