Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

mark.waltz A non-singing cowboy star finds that his life has been temporarily taken over by his own stand-in who does sing, and a desperate publicity mab finds himself possibly out of a job. Gene Autry shines in a dual role, one an egotistical movie star, the other an easy going stuntman looking for a break. The scene is the Texas Centennial and movie star Tom Ford cannot be found to attend as promised. It turns out that the hero of the screen isn't so clean, and the threat of exposure threatens both men's futures with ruin. Smiley Burnette is delightfully obnoxious, and Autry's future rival Roy Rogers has a role as one of the members of the sons of the pioneers. A satisfying and fast moving comedy with musical and western interludes, this is one of the best Autry films and gives a nice look at how B westerns are made behind the scenes. This shows that movies can have preposterous situations and still be good fun.

classicsoncall Up till now I thought the only film in which Roy Rogers appeared with Gene Autry was "The Old Corral". Not that it was much of an appearance, as he shows up briefly in three of Gene's singing numbers as a guitarist with the Sons of the Pioneers. Even though he's uncredited, it's still cool to see him show up here.But this is Gene's picture all the way, and he appears not once, but twice, as a stunt double for the nominal star of Mammoth Pictures, Tom Ford. The fake Ford isn't around much for the picture as he goes off on a fishing trip, but his hassle with a trio of gangsters who he owes ten grand to is made part of the story line. Gene also finds himself in a couple of romantic entanglements, one on behalf of Ford and one of his own doing. It's not really as complicated as all that, as you can follow the action along pretty easily as things get under way.Apparently, the picture got some mileage as a publicity vehicle for the Texas Centennial of 1936 in Dallas. Quite a few singing groups make their way into the story, including the Light Crust Dough Boys (love that name!), the Jones Boys, the Beverly Hillbillies, and of course, the Sons of the Pioneers. Only the Pioneers get to do more than a single tune, and of course Gene himself has a host of musical numbers.Gene's sidekick here is Smiley Burnette, but he's not the only one with a comedic role. Max Terhune's on board as well, along with his wooden buddy Elmer. Surprisingly, Terhune has the ventriloquist gimmick down pretty well, as his lips hardly ever move while speaking for Elmer, even while delivering a song of his own."The Big Show" is a fairly entertaining Western flick and a nice showcase for a numbers of B Western players from the mid Thirties. It's also the only film in which that running horse mount from behind is mentioned by name; Gene calls it a Crupper Mount. Smiley apparently was impressed enough to get one done by his third try at the end of the picture. By that time, Gene was closing things out in a smooch with Kay Hughes who played his romantic interest Marion Hill.

FightingWesterner Gene Autry is the stunt double for a conceited western star and has to impersonate him after the actor bails out of a big personal appearance at the Texas Centennial, not knowing that the reason star went on vacation was to avoid paying his gambling debts. Gene gets in way over his head when he turns out to be a bigger hit than expected and gangsters show up to collect their money.A pleasant, fictionalized account of how Gene Autry became a star, The Big Show offers an irresistible glimpse at the duties that befall a Saturday matinée western star. Despite a loose plot, it's really a lot of fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek fun.Autry sings some great songs and along with sidekick Smiley Burnette, joins three legendary western groups, The Sons Of The Pioneers (with Roy Rodgers), The Light Crust Doughboys (a personal favorite), and The Beverly Hill Billies. Max Terhune and his dummy even show up for a quickie appearance. Sadly, The Doughboys and the singing group The Jones Boys are deleted from most, if not all video prints.Although not really much of a western, Autry fans should be satisfied.

Snow Leopard 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.