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The Big Wheel (1949)

Mickey Rooney (Actor), Thomas Mitchell (Actor) | Rated: NR | Format: DVD
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews) |
Price: $9.98 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Product Details

  • Actors: Mickey Rooney, Thomas Mitchell, Mary Hatcher, Michael O'Shea, Spring Byington
  • Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
  • Language: English
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: NR (Not Rated)
  • Studio: Image Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: September 26, 2000
  • Run Time: 92 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004W194
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,673 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

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  • Learn more about "The Big Wheel" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Item Name: The Big Wheel; Studio: Good Times Video

Product Description

Restless and reckless, Mickey Rooney is "The Big Wheel!" All grown up, Rooney stars as Billy Coy, the son of a famous Indianapolis 500 race car driver who died in a fiery crash in the last laps of the race. Always living in the shadow of his father, Billy races his way to the Indy 500 to face his fears and claim his family legacy. Action-packed race car footage filmed at the famed speedway with plenty of dizzy skids and crashes for race fans and action lovers. Spectacular footage, romance and music. Great stars, top notch entertainment!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Those were the days! August 20, 2003
Format:DVD
This collection will mainly appeal to fans of the genre of late 50's, juvenile delinquent flicks with a bent for fast cars and kids who are just out for kicks.

Mind you, these are not high quality digital remasters or anything like that, but at least the fragile condition of these films is explained in the disc's opening. I can live with that (although I'd gladly pay for pristine copies of any films from this camp...) The worst print of the lot is "Hot Rod Girl", which has what appears to be drop-out lines heavily in the first 10 minutes which are not present in the Goodtimes VHS print. Regardless, I was happy to replace that horrid tape version with this superior DVD edition. The other two films, "The Big Wheel" and "The Fast and the Furious", look fine as can be expected. I can understand the difficulty in obtaining good prints of such old drive-in flicks, but it was very disappointing that neither trailers nor poster art could have been dug up, since I know for a fact they are out there. I have to assume these were put together from 16mm TV prints, so another diappointment is the full-screen format. (sigh)

Usually, these budget compilations are abominable quality and I am happy to say that these are at least watchable and there are no technical distractions. The movies are great and the price is right.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Rae73
Format:DVD
"The Big Wheel" is a must see for all racing fans. This classic story of a son living up to his fathers name and reputation is as relevant today as it was in the Forties.Mickey Rooney gives a fine performance in his own imitable style aided by a strong support cast including Thomas Mitchell, Michael O'shea and Mary Hatcher and starring the legendary Indianapolis Raceway as the backdrop. Even if you aren't a race fan you'll enjoy the classic racing footage that'll have you on the edge of your seat.5 cheers for "The Big Wheel".
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
1 great movie & 2 good ones! February 6, 2004
Format:DVD
The Big Wheel is the best of the 3. Good acting by all the stars & plenty of that edge of your seat exciting auto racing! Bought this disc because of this movie as I like Mickey Rooney and he was very good in this role.

Hot Rod Girl is part drag racing part teanage JD movie. It was interesting to watch. Decent acting by all.

Fast And The Furious is the Roger Corman 1954 original about a man who breaks out of jail then joins a race to Mexico in order to not get caught by the police.

All 3 movies are in black & white and seem to come from 16mm sources. Expect mono sound and some scratches and occasional splices which are very normal for older film prints.

Sound is very good on this DVD but the picture looks slightly soft (like VHS does) due to the compression needed to fit 3 movies on one disc. Still I enjoyed watching this disc and I'm sure you will to if your a racing fan as I am.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Watch it for the race footage if nothing else
When you spend 1/3 of your life in the Indianapolis area, you have a special connection with "the track". Read more
Published 23 months ago by GrannyBooks
plesently surprised
Did not know what to expect, however enjoyed this movie. Not the top race car movie I've ever seen but not bad either.
Published on May 12, 2010 by Jim Butler
The Fast and the Funniest
I really bought this set of three movies for The Big Wheel. It's got some great footage of dirt track racing from the early 50s. Read more
Published on October 28, 2009 by Larry Caringer
A movie for old racers
I saw this movie when it first came out. The story is the usual formula for racing movies. It is well done in this case. The action scenes are great fun. Read more
Published on May 19, 2009 by L. Stark
Great for Mickey Rooney and Race Car Fans
I saw The Big Wheel as a kid and remembered that not only was it a good, albeit "simple" Mickey Rooney movie, it was also an interesting movie about vintage car racing. Read more
Published on September 9, 2008 by Z Man
Great Racing Movies
The picture quality was quite suprizing due to the age of the movies on this dvd. I had bought this dvd just for the one movie; the Big Wheel and had never saw the other two movies... Read more
Published on August 1, 2008 by Anthony Aguanno
Surprisingly good, a must for Indy 500 fans
As a big fan of the Indy 500 I just had to sit down and watch this one. Of course, as a 500 fan I'd seen parts of it before, but it was lots of fun to watch this one from start to... Read more
Published on September 10, 2007 by DWD
NICE MICKEY ROONEY FILM
THIS MOVIE IS GREAT IF JUST TO SEE MICKEY ROONEY! ALTHOUGH MICKEY ALWAYS DESERVED MORE THAN WHAT HE WAS HANDED. Read more
Published on January 30, 2005 by THIERRY
Cars, Cars, Cars
The other reviewers focus on this DVD's technical aspects. If you were raised on over-the-air B/W TV, as I was, these films look fine. Read more
Published on March 31, 2004 by Henry Alfaro
Unused or underused Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney has been underused a lot of times in his career. And this film is one of these times. He was short and that was a shortcoming (the right word in this case). Read more
Published on November 8, 2003 by Jacques COULARDEAU
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