The Big Show Off (1945)
Directed by B-comedy specialist Howard Bretherton and released on January 22, 1945, The Big Show-Off is a breezy wartime screwball comedy-romance produced by Sydney M. Williams and distributed by Republic Pictures. Top-billing radio and screen stars Arthur Lake and Dale Evans, alongside Lionel Stander and George Meeker, this nimble 69-minute programmer delivers a lighthearted satire of professional wrestling, nightclub crooners, and romantic deception.
Plot Overview
Meek, mild-mannered pianist Joe Bingham (Arthur Lake) spends his nights playing background tunes at a swank nightclub, hopelessly smitten with the club’s glamorous star vocalist, Patricia Wright (Dale Evans). However, Patricia is accustomed to suave, athletic suitors and barely notices the timid accompanist. Seeking to win her affection, Joe impulsively tells a white lie, claiming to be a formidable masked professional wrestler known on the circuit as “The Devil’s Child.”
When Patricia expresses genuine fascination with the brutal grappler, Joe is trapped in his own web of exaggeration. To maintain the charade, his scheming promoter buddy, Superba (Lionel Stander), books Joe for a series of staged matches, relying on fixed routines to make the frail musician look like an unstoppable powerhouse. Complications escalate into outright chaos when genuine, heavyweight contenders take offense at the masked rookie’s sudden fame, challenging him to an unscripted, high-stakes championship showdown where no rehearsed falls can save him.
Cast
- Arthur Lake as Joe Bingham (“The Devil’s Child”)
- Dale Evans as Patricia Wright
- Lionel Stander as Superba
- George Meeker as Jeff Gardner
- Paul Hurst as Doc
- Marjorie Manners as June
- Sammy Stein as The Beast
- Dan Toby as Ring Announcer
Production Notes & Trivia
- Arthur Lake Beyond Dagwood: Best known to millions of cinema-goers as the clumsy, iconic Dagwood Bumstead in Columbia’s long-running 28-film Blondie franchise, Arthur Lake brought his signature physical slapstick and nervous comic timing to this standalone Republic comedy.
- Dale Evans Before Queen of the West: Filmed right before she permanently paired with Roy Rogers to become the definitive “Queen of the West,” Dale Evans showcases her sparkling musical talent and sharp comedic sensibilities as a big-band nightclub singer, performing featured numbers like “Hoedown Bill.”
- Lionel Stander’s Character Work: Character actor Lionel Stander turns in a hilarious, fast-talking performance as the cynical wrestling promoter. Stander, whose gravelly voice made him a favorite in 1930s screwball comedies (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town), would later face Hollywood blacklisting before achieving late-career television stardom in Hart to Hart.
