Home in San Antone

Raucous 60-minutes where Corrigan, Cleveland, and Frawley compete for the crown of Most Noisy. Hard to believe this was a studio production (Columbia), when it plays more like something from Monogram. I'm just sorry Acuff and Co. don't get more music time, since, as reviewer Audiemurph points out, the plot is a mess. Something about a stolen statue and a radio quiz show giving away a fantastic (for then) $200,000. Fans who tune in expecting a western will be disappointed. It's really a country musical pitched in a contemporary setting. Sort of odd seeing the Modernaires since their selections are often jazzy. Here, however, they're strictly conventional, probably to broaden audience appeal. Anyway, the film looks like a quickie and is mainly for fans of Acuff who really should have had more screen time instead of all that goofy comedic yelling.

(In passing—to my knowledge the first big payoff quiz show was TV's $64,000 Question {1955-58}.)