The Big Shot

Before slipping into character roles Eddie Quillan did several leads in silent and early sound films as a kinder, gentler version of William Haines. He was never a wiseacre like Haines on screen, but was always the eager young kid.

In The Big Shot Quillan plays Ray Smith who was brought up on those Horatio Alger stories about bright young men in the late nineteenth century who by hard work and pluck made successes of themselves. Quillan is looking for a shortcut. His latest shows him demonstrating puncture proof tires over a bed of hard glass and nails with the inevitable results.

Watching that scene it reminded me of someone in my youth who fired a bullet through some shatterproof window glass at close range for a demonstration and the same thing happened that occurred to Quillan. There are just some things you just should not expect from products in this world.

A sharp shark of a salesman rooks Quillan in a sale of a combination gas station and motel though that term was not in vogue yet. Quillan buys it sight unseen and finds out the reason he got it was that it was doing no business. People just did not like the odor and hazards of a swamp which was on the property as well. Still there's a hidden lemonade in this lemon if only Quillan realizes.

Maureen O'Sullivan in one of her earliest films plays the girl Quillan keeps trying to impress. She has to be rescued from the swamp at the climax and The Big Shot was interesting in that it kept the viewer both in suspense and laughing at the same time. Let's say the rescue was a close run thing.

Arthur Stone has a very nice part as a Civil War veteran who takes a liking to Quillan and helps him. He's also a part of that rescue and I'll let you judge how much help he is.

The Big Shot though really quite dated for Depression audiences is not a bad film and today quite a few laughs can be gotten from it.

Eddie Q never married, I am told, but this movie shows him as a reasonably convincing romantic lead against Maureen O'Sullivan. At one point the director has Mary Nolan ogling Eddie's tight rear-end as he bends over, a scene you won't see in a post-code movie. Eddie also gives Mary a shampoo, which is well done and realistic. This movie also has Maureen in an auto chase, where she out-guns her "bad suitor," and that too is refreshingly pre-code. And the corn-pone is delicious - everyone has a good heart - even the villain is three-dimensional, with his villainy clearly anchored to his keen desire for O'Sullivan. The movie is worth the price of admission just to hear Nolan yell "Yoo-hoo" when summoning boy Eddie (she never calls his character by name), which she does on more than one occasion.

A 75-minute marshmallow with a few pre-code gems inserted.

I first took notice of Eddie during his "Little House on the Prairie" appearances. He made enough of an impression on me in one particular episode "The In-Laws" that I like spotting him on other tv shows. I was looking through my digital cable guide and saw his name listed under this movie. I decided to record it because I genuinely like the guy tbh.

This was a pretty funny movie. Not saying I'd watch it every single time it came on but it's pleasant enough to watch it and forget your worries for a little over an hour. I particularly liked Eddie's scenes with "Old Timer". I think I laughed the hardest with the scenes of those two together. The actor playing Old Timer sorta reminded me of Jack Elam. It's not him but they have the similar speech/manner of acting imo.