Claudia Cardinale had agreed to join the cast. However, by the following August, Niven had been replaced with Rod Taylor and Rita Hayworth had joined the cast. Shortly before filming, Taylor pulled out of the project as he was unhappy with the size of his role, and was replaced by John Smith. Filming Principal photography started in September 1963 with location shooting in Barcelona, which was followed with studio shooting at Bronston's production studio in Madrid. In late December 1963, while filming a climactic circus fire scene, an on-set fire occurred, which burned 40 square feet of the set in Aranjuez. Wayne, Hayworth, and other studio personnel emerged unharmed while various animals were moved off the set. It has been speculated by film historians that at the time this film was made, Rita Hayworth may have been suffering from early onset Alzheimer's disease. Only 46 at the time the movie was made, she was often late on set and had trouble remembering her lines, and it was reported she was often drunk and abusive on the set. John Wayne had previously looked forward to working with her, but allegedly came to despise what he saw as unprofessional behavior. Release Prior to the film's release, Paramount Pictures had earlier released The Fall of the Roman Empire, which had become a financial disappointment. In March 1964, it was reported that Pierre S. du Pont III had taken over Samuel Bronston Production as the principal trustee which guaranteed that Circus World would be finished. In spite of this, it was reported that Paramount's investment in Circus World would remain protected and would still proceed with the distribution plans as scheduled. On June 25, 1964, the film premiered at the Loew's Cinerama Theater based on a reserved seating basis. Home media On April 7, 2014, Anchor Bay Entertainment released a region B Blu-ray edition in the United Kingdom. Reception Box office The film earned $1.6 million in North American box office rentals. Critical reaction Bosley Crowther, reviewing for The New York Times, described the film as a "dismally trite and obvious picture that Samuel Bronston has produced and Henry Hathaway has directed. And even with the Cinerama screen—the one-projector, no-lines arrangement—it is pictorially commonplace. The circus acts are the usual flat performances of elephants, horses, dogs, aerialists and wire-walkers, all photographed uninterestingly. Only one, having to do with a lion-tamer and his ferocious wife,