Description

3 Great Movies on 1 DVD.Star Power, Exciting Genre with Extras on each DVD. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

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. Hey, you can pause on any frame and there are no "comercial breaks."

This compliation provides many interesting historical insights. Interesting are the productions, the players, and most of all the cars.

Scene after scene is filled with vintage cars in action. The technical aspects and actors take a "back seat" to the cars. Anyone with an interest in vintage British Sports, Indy, or Hot Rod cars will find this compliation well worth the small price of admission.

1 great movie & 2 good ones!
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.

Those were the days!
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. ... Read more

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! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

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). So his roles were often innocuous ones in rather insignificant films. He has a face, if not a mug, and it is expressive to the utmost. He even has eyes that are as mobile as two wild birds in a stormy sky. His body, and I mean all his body, every single spot of it, is able to take any stand, stance and position that is meaningful and gives some flesh to his character and to the action. And it never looks overdone. His voice is also interesting though it is hardly worked upon enough. And here he is reduced to a pun. He is small so the wheel is big, the game is big, but he is the game (both meanings) of the director. And he is in the car racing business so the wheel is generally one of a set of four and it is also the big race track of Indianapolis and its 500. The film is essentially the story of a young car driver who climbs to the top, i.e. Indianapolis 500. The rest is wrapping up to give some sense to the film and some feeling to the situation and the action. A father who killed himself in Indianapolis. A mother who is scared out of her mind by the race. A mechanic who was the friend of the dead father, is in love with the mother and finally marries her. The daughter of the sugardaddy of the team looks like a boy and plays mechanic, and of course she falls in love with the poor Bill, Mickey Rooney. And that's about all. Unlucky us who do not get what we deserve : a film with a plot and some thickness. It sickens more than it thickens most of the time.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

The Big Wheel gets the Green Light!
"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". ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Not Exactly Hitchcock
This B-film from Warner Brothers concerns the mysterious and deadly goings-on at a boarding house owned by Frieda Inescort and Miles Mander, who live there along with their daughter Heather Angel and several boarders. Among the boarders is a struggling writer, an eccentric spinster, and two men involved in shady business. In the course of the film's one hour running time, bodies begin to pile up as the writer tries to figure out the identity of a killer. The actors all express the appropriate amount of shock and confusion as the mystery deepens, and the pace of the film maintains the suspense. The direction could be sharper, and I found the story a little confusing at times, but I did like the twist ending. Very few people have heard of Shadows On The Stairs, and although I think the comparisons to Hitchcock are a real stretch, fans of B-films will want to check this one out. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Beware ... Bad Manners
I ordered this movie because I'm a dedicated fan of actor David Manners. Instead of receiving the Gotham Distribution version pictured here, I received the Alpha Video DVD release of "The Moonstone". This version of the film is *not* worth adding to your collection, at least as presented on this DVD. The original running time of "The Moonstone" was 62 minutes; here it runs only 47 minutes, meaning that one-fourth of the movie is missing! And the footage that remains is scratchy and jumpy, with grade Z contrast ... not even remotely worth watching for a glimpse of cult actor Manners.

The Alpha Video DVD does contain a second feature, a creaky 1931 mystery named "Murder at Midnight". Unfortunately, it also is a bottom-of-the-barrel transfer of a film that wasn't any too interesting to begin with. Best to avoid this selection until a better, more complete version makes it to DVD. ... Read more