I love this movie so much

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This story of the race car industry is interesting and invariably there is that always exciting end of film racing scene.Mickey Rooney is perfect to play the lead role of a jockey, who seems to be going in the way of his late father. When Rooney is unable to save his friend during a race, it comes out that his dad was quite a boozer and a womanizer as well.The film gave Spring Byington, who plays Rooney's mother, the opportunity to engage in some dramatic acting. Most of Byington's career had her in almost comic roles or as a society matron. That changes all here.Interesting that 10 years after "Gone With the Wind," Thomas Mitchell and Hattie McDaniel again team for this film. Though McDaniel is in one scene, they are not in that one together.The film is a definite ode to race car drivers with their trials and tribulations.

Wanting to be a race car driver like his deceased dad, Mickey Rooney (as Billy Coy) gets a job as mechanic in a garage run by fatherly Thomas Mitchell (as Arthur "Red" Stanley). There, Mr. Rooney meets "tomboy" Mary Hatcher (as Louise "Buddy" Riley), who likes him so much she puts on a dress. Rooney rises in the racing world, crashes his car, and notices Ms. Hatcher is pretty. He also discovers a dark secret about the father he idolizes. Meanwhile, mother Spring Byington (as Mary) finds romance with Mr. Mitchell.In formulaic territory, this film shows Rooney back in good form, after his disastrous starring performance in "Words and Music" (1948). "The Big Wheel" was also the production that showed his days as MGM box office superstar were indeed over. Fame made him brashly difficult to work with at times, but his "cut down a peg" role is quite professionally done. Having Mr. Mitchell and this cast helps. Note, this was Hattie McDaniel's last feature, in a role that reads like it might have originally been written for Richard Lane's wife.***** The Big Wheel (11/4/49) Edward Ludwig ~ Mickey Rooney, Thomas Mitchell, Spring Byington, Mary Hatcher

In the credits, my father, Jack Colin, not 'Jack Colon', which was the real spelling, appears as the track announcer. This was his only 'film appearance' but he was a newscaster at KFWB and KHJ in Los Angeles at the time when those stations were the number one and two rated stations in L.A. He burned he candle at both ends and in the middle. His style, high powered as it was, was the style of the day. Today it seems a parody. However, he was always on and seldom, if ever made a mistake. His style is over the top and it seems to mimic the acting style of the day. An interesting side note; Mickey Rooney was married, what, eight, nine times? My father went through 7 wives in the short span of 45 years. Actually, in the short span of 25 years. Should have just had girlfriends.

Mickey Rooney gets a character well-suited to his abilities, and the good atmosphere at garages and auto racing tracks also helps make this a solid B-melodrama. The story follows a familiar pattern, but the setting is different enough to make it interesting.Rooney plays the son of a race driver who wants to establish a racing career of his own. The character goes through a number of changes as his fortunes ebb and flow, and Rooney makes him believable at each stage. He had the ability to be sympathetic when necessary, and he also had the knack of making a character turn abrasive in a believable fashion. Here, it helps to flesh out a familiar plot.Most of the other characters are one-dimensional, and are only there to give Rooney something to play off of. An exception is Thomas Mitchell, whose skill at playing seemingly simple roles makes the garage owner into a believable character in his own right.The auto racing settings are interesting, and although the racing sequences rely on stock footage, they are still enjoyable. The story takes Rooney's character from hot rods to midget racers to the Indianapolis-style cars. It was set in what was then the present, and race fans in its audiences probably could have spotted some familiar cars. Now, it is also of interest as a decent recreation of the Indy racers of its day.