The Big Wheel (1949)
6/10
Early movie about car racing with a phenomenal Mickey Rooney
25 May 2006
A look at the world of Grand Prix auto racing concerning about Billy (Mickey Rooney) , a young man bursting with raw energy and talent , he is hired by a garage owner named Carrell (Thomas Mitchell) as a mechanic . But Billy gets employment as a speedcar driver and quickly slipping in the rankings . He must learn to deal with his partners and he gets Indianapolis car race where his dad died long time ago . Meanwhile , he is emotionally involvement with attractive girls (Mary Hatcher, Alicia Romay) .

This is a tale of speed and love where Rooney battles competitions , he has his own demons including a horrific , nearly deadly crashing where dies a pilot , being he blamed , besides the mummy fears his death . Car crashes abound and Rooney tempers flaring . There appears uncredited Denver Pyle , Monte Blue and Hattie McDaniel's last movie . The film is developed in top competitors circle , the world's most famous racing circuits as Daiton , Culver city and of course the home of ¨500 miles Indianapolis¨ . It's almost all over the road . The movie belongs to car racing sub-genre with numerous known titles as ¨Grand Prix¨ (by John Frankheimer) ; ¨Le Mans¨ (Lee H Kazkin) in which Steve McQueen does his own driving ; ¨Winning¨ (James Goldstone) where Paul Newman does equally his own driving ; ¨Days of Thunder¨ with Tom Cruise and ¨Driven¨ (Renny Harlin) . Here Mickey Rooney doesn't drive but there are documentary style race footage . The motion picture was well directed by Edward Ludwing . The flick is strictly for those who like cars racing round and round although nowadays dated ; including a brief drama and a good acting by Mickey Rooney .
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