The film was a huge success at the box office, which might account partly for its Oscar wins, but despite its awards,
The Greatest Show on Earth has often been cited by film historians and movie buffs as one of DeMille's lesser motion pictures. Many critics and film fans consider this film among the worst to have ever won the
Academy Award for Best Picture. The American film magazine
Premiere placed the movie on its list of the 10 worst Oscar winners
[1] and the British film magazine
Empire rated it #3 on their list of the 10 worst Oscar winners.
[2] Erik Lundegaard of
MSNBC stated that "[
The Greatest Show on Earth] was a dull, bloated romance."
[3] Other 1952 movies of high critical acclaim include
High Noon,
The Quiet Man and
Singin' in the Rain, which are often offered as alternative winners. There have been allegations that the film's Best Picture Oscar was due to the political climate in Hollywood in 1952. Senator
Joseph McCarthy was outing so-called Communists at the time, and Cecil B. DeMille was one of his supporters; moreover, the most highly praised film of the year,
High Noon, was produced by
Carl Foreman, who would soon be
blacklisted.
The Greatest Show on Earth 's win is seen by some as an effort to appease McCarthy.
The Greatest Show on Earth was the first film that director
Steven Spielberg saw and he credits it as one of the major inspirations that led him into a film career.
[1] 
