The Big Show (1936)

Director:

Mack V. Wright

Writers:

Dorrell McGowan (screenplay) &
Stuart E. McGowan (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 November 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Music | Romance | Western

Tagline:

A Roundup of action actually filmed at the Texas Centennial!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Texas | Centennial | Double | Cattle | Cowboy

Cast

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

Runtime:

54 min (edited version) | 71 min (original version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2727) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Fair Park, Dallas, Texas, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures

Trivia:

Almost all the scenes were filmed on location at the (then) brand-new Fair Park in Dallas, TX, which served as the location of the 1936 Texas Centennial and has served as the location of the Texas State Fair since. Many of the buildings in the film still exist in what has been called the largest collection of art deco buildings in the world. Also seen is the Gulf Radio Studios building (this is not the WRR Studios; WRR is the only city-owned radio station in the country and still broadcasts from new studios adjacent to Science Place II). The lagoon was pretty barren back then, and Dallas trolley cars which served downtown at the time had just been expanded to Fair Park to service the Centennial. The Cotton Bowl, which was constructed in 1930 and renamed The Cotton Bowl for the Centennial, is seen briefly in the background as Gene Autry rides out of the Cavalcade set in the chase scene.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: 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.

Quotes:

Lee Wilson: Oh why was I ever born?
Gene Autry: Now this is no time for riddles.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Nobody's Darlin' But Mine

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.