The Big Show (1936)

At the Texas Centennial in Dallas Autry confuses two girls by being himself and his own stunt double.

Director:

Mack V. Wright

Writers:

Dorrell McGowan (screen play and original story), Stuart E. McGowan (screen play and original story)

Stars:

Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Kay Hughes

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Autry	...	Gene Autry / Tom Ford
Smiley Burnette	...	Frog
Kay Hughes	...	Marion Hill
Sally Payne	...	Toodles Brown
William Newell	...	Lee Wilson
Max Terhune	...	Ventriloquist
Charles Judels	...	Swartz - Studio Head
Sons of the Pioneers	...	Musicians
The Jones Boys	...	Singers (as Jones Boys)
The Beverly Hillbillies	...	Musicians (as Beverly Hill Billies)
The Light Crust Doughboys	...	Musicians (as Light Crust Dough Boys)
Champion	...	Champion - Studio Horse
Rex King	...	Fred Collins
Harry Worth	...	Tony Rico
Mary Russell	...	Mary

Storyline

When cowboy star Tom Ford disappears, Wilson gets his double Gene Autry to impersonate him. But Ford owes gangster Rico $10,000 and Rico arrives to collect. He fails to get the money but learns that Autry is an impersonator and now blackmails Wilson and his movie studio.

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Plot Keywords:

double | texas | cowboy | cattle | centennial | 

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Taglines:

A Roundup of action actually filmed at the Texas Centennial!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Music | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 November 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Astro por Aclamação

Filming Locations:

Fair Park, Dallas, Texas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min 54 min (edited) 71 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor 'High Fidelity' Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was cut to 54 minutes for television release in the mid-'50s and has only recently been restored to its original running time, thanks to the combined efforts of The Western Movie Channel, the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage and the University of California-Los Angeles.

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Goofs

The Light Crust Doughboys and The Jones Boys appear in the credits, but do not appear in the shortened (54 minutes) version, but along with some additional action they appear in the original (71 minutes) movie.

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Quotes

Lee Wilson: Now you have made a mess of things. You know Ford can't sing a note!
Gene Autry: Don't blame me, blame Collins.
Lee Wilson: Oh, I could ring his neck for this!
Fred Collins: [Collins enters] They're clamoring for an encore, Mr. Ford. Will you do another song?
Gene Autry: I'd be glad to.
Fred Collins: He's a sensation, and you've got me to thank for it!
Lee Wilson: Thanks.

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Connections

Referenced in Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Ride, Ranger, Ride"
(1936) (uncredited)
Written by Tim Spencer
Performed by the marchingTexas Rangers

User Reviews

Enjoyable B-Western With the Likable Gene Autry

The likable Gene Autry plays a dual role and has some good opportunities to use his variety of talents in this enjoyable B-Western. The story is light but entertaining, and it has some good musical numbers plus some comic relief from Smiley Burnette. The Texas Centennial setting also gives it some additional historical interest.

Autry plays both a bad-tempered movie star cowboy and his talented, good-natured stunt double, so the setup offers some good lighter moments in its look at the movie industry. The story starts with the stunt double filling in for the star at a public appearance, with numerous complications arising from there. Autry gets many opportunities to sing, and there are also some good action sequences.

Most of it works pretty well, because it generally allows Autry to use his strengths. Burnette also gets some good moments, and while the story is mostly used to showcase Autry and the other musical entertainment, it works too as a way of pulling things together.