"[to Moze] You took a no-account piece of land and a bunch of people that didn't know what they were doin' and you farmed that land better than anybody could - colored or white. You're the one that brought in the first bale of cotton this year. Don't you ever forget that."

"Bill Thurman - Homer"

"Jerry Haynes - Deputy Jack Driscoll"

"Ray Baker - Sheriff Royce Spalding, Edna's late husband"

"Tate Donovan - Patrick's hockey coach"

"Amy Madigan - Viola Kelsey"

"Jay Patterson - W.E. Simmons"

"Toni Hudson - Ermine"

"W.E. Simmons: You know what your trouble is, Mrs. Spalding? You are the victim of unbridled greed."

"Mrs. Spalding, believe me, if I had anyplace else to go tonight besides the State Home for the Infirm, I'd gladly leave right now. Now, when I came here, all I asked was to be left alone. I am not some kind of freak that is here on display for the amusement of those hooligans you call children."

"The motion picture for everyone!"

"Love! Laughter! Thrills! Wonders! Suspense! Spectacle! Heart!"

"Betty Hutton - Holly"

"[while Buttons is doing first aid] Buttons! If that detective sees you doing this, he won't need fingerprints!"

"[to Holly, as his blood is being transfused into Brad] If he should make love well after this, pay no attention - it will be me."

"Thrill to Cecil B. DeMille's pageantry and excitement!"

"Cornel Wilde - The Great Sebastian"

"Charlton Heston - Brad Braden"

"Listen, sugar, the only way that you can keep me warm is to wrap me up in a marriage license."

"James Stewart - Buttons the Clown"

"Narrator: [first lines] We bring you the circus, pied piper whose magic tunes greet children of all ages, from six to 60, into a tinsel and spun-candy world of reckless beauty and mounting laughter and whirling thrills; of rhythm, excitement and grace; of blaring and daring and dance; of high-stepping horses and high-flying stars. But behind all this, the circus is a massive machine whose very life depends on discipline and motion and speed. A mechanized army on wheels, that rolls over any obstacle in its path, that meets calamity again and again, but always comes up smiling. A place where disaster and tragedy stalk the big top, haunt the backyard, and ride the circus train. Where death is constantly watching for one frayed rope, one weak link, or one trace of fear. A fierce, primitive fighting force that smashes relentlessly forward against impossible odds. That is the circus. And this is the story of the biggest of the big tops, and of the men and women who fight to make it "The Greatest Show on Earth.""

"Midway barker: [last lines] That's all, ladies and gentlemen, that's all. Come again to the greatest show on earth. Bring the children. Bring the old folks. You can shake the sawdust off your feet, but you can't shake it outta your heart. Come again, folks. The Greatest Show on Earth. Come again."

"Edmond O'Brien - Narrator"

"Lillian Albertson - Buttons' mother"

"John Kellogg - Harry"

"Brad Johnson - unnamed reporter"

"Julia Faye - Birdie"

"Lyle Bettger - Klaus"

"Lawrence Tierney - Mr. Henderson"

"Bob Carson - Ringmaster"

"John Ridgely - Assistant Manager"

"Henry Wilcoxon - FBI Agent Gregory"

"Mightiest of Motion Pictures!"

"Dorothy Lamour - Phyllis"

"Frank Wilcox - Circus doctor"

"Gloria Grahame - Angel"

"Charles R. Moore - Simon"

"Lucien Littlefield - Manders"

"Virginia Brissac - Mrs. Hewitt"

"Terry Nibert - Julia"

"Jessica Grayson - Addie"

"Carl Benton Reid - Oscar Hubbard"

"John Marriott - Cal"

"Patricia Collinge - Birdie Hubbard"

"Charles Dingle - Ben Hubbard"

"Russell Hicks - William Marshall"