A decided change of pace for Carol Reed, Trapeze focuses on a trio of circus performers played by Burt Lancaster (Mike Ribble), Tony Curtis (Tino Orsini), and Lola (Gina Lollabrigida). Orsini, a young aerialist, has joined the circus Ribble works for, hoping to learn the secret of the triple somersault, an extremely dangerous stunt that had crippled the older man years earlier.