Carny (1980 film)
Carny is a 1980 drama film about a waitress who joins a traveling carnival. It stars Gary Busey, Jodie Foster, and Robbie Robertson. It also includes an early role for Fred Ward.
Plot
Frankie (Gary Busey) and Patch (Robbie Robertson) are friends who work for the Great American Carnival, a small-time carnival that tours the South. Frankie does an act as The Mighty Bozo, a character who sits in a dunk tank insulting the crowd, while Patch takes the money, points out the next mark to milk of his money to the Bozo, and distributes the balls outside. Patch is also the show's "adjuster," hence his carny name, working with the owner of the carnival, Heavy St. John (Kenneth McMillan) negotiating deals with local officials and representatives of the local underworld to keep the show open.
What it takes to keep the show open varies from town to town. In one town, it's making good on a city official's losses gambling on the midway and giving a city councilor a pile of free passes to the carnival. In another, it's compromising to allow the strippers to work, but keeping the freak show closed. In a third, it involves providing an underworld boss's thug with a girl he fancies. He also works to maintain harmony among the carnies. Patch is good at his job of patching together the deals that keep the carnival rolling and keeping the peace on the lot, but never likes being played for a fool.