Main Cast: Mickey Rooney, Thomas Mitchell, Michael O'Shea, Spring Byington, Mary Hatcher
Release Year: 1949
Country: US
Run Time: 92 minutes
Plot
In The Big Wheel, Mickey Rooney plays Billy Coy, a garage mechanic who matriculates into a champion race-car driver. On the way to the top, he steps on friends and foes alike. He even manages to briefly alienate his saintly mother (Spring Byington). The cocky Coy eventually kills another racer when he forgets that gas and alcohol don't mix. It takes some doing, but Billy finally redeems himself. The climax blends stock footage of the Indianapolis 500 with newly-lensed racing sequences. The Big Wheel lapsed into public domain in 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
A thoroughly average but also quite watchable little sports flick, The Big Wheel will probably appeal most to race fans, especially those with an itch to experience automobile racing "as it used to be." Indeed, the best parts of Wheel come when it puts its stock characters and stock situations on hold and takes to the speedway. What happens out there on the track is just as stock as anything else in the film in terms of story, but the footage makes it exciting. While clearly shooting on a budget, director Edward Ludwig and cinematographer Samuel H. Steifel make sure that these sequences, especially the final one, are pretty darn gripping. Although one can often tell where the "real" racing footage ends and the "created" footage begins, it still packs a decent wallop. As indicated, the script that surrounds these segments is quite routine, but it's handled with commitment by Ludwig and given their best shot by Mickey Rooney, Spring Byington and Thomas Mitchell, all of whom add significantly to the picture. (Coming off less well is steady love interest Mary Hatcher.) Its screenplay may keep it out of the big time winner's circle, but Wheel is a perfectly fine way to pass a little time. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Edward Ludwig - Director, Walter Thompson - Editor, Nathaniel W. Finston - Composer (Music Score), Ernest Laszlo - Cinematographer, Samuel H. Steifel - Cinematographer, Jack Dempsey - Producer, Mort Briskin - Producer, Harry M. Popkin - Producer, Samuel H. Steifel - Producer, Robert Smith - Screenwriter
The Big Wheel is a 1949 film starring Mickey Rooney and Thomas Mitchell. Rooney plays Billy Coy, a young man determined to follow in his father's footsteps as a race car driver. Despite the fact that his father, "Cannonball" Coy, was killed in a fiery crash during the Indianapolis 500, Billy is undaunted and manages to work his way up from race mechanic to top driver. The story follows him through the ups and downs of the racing life, from nightclub shenanigans to dragout brawls, with hairpin turns on the track in between. At one point, he's involved in a race crash, and is under suspicion for causing another driver's death. All the while the adoration of a racecar owner's daughter (Mary Hatcher) and the love of his mother (Spring Byington) sees Billy through his many trials. Billy eventually earns his way back onto the racing circuit, and lands a spot in the field at the "500". In the final laps, Billy drives through a wall of fire, caused by another driver's crash, and with his own car in flames, manages to finish third, but seriously burns his arms. Inspired by his determination and sportsmanship, the winning driver turns the famous Borg-Warner Trophy over to Billy. The film also features Hattie McDaniel. [1]
