''Sky Full of Moon'' is a 1952 American

western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

directed by

Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Nor ...

and starring

Carleton Carpenter Carleton Upham Carpenter Jr. (July 10, 1926 – January 31, 2022) was an American film, television and stage actor, magician, songwriter, and novelist. Early and personal life Carpenter was born in Bennington, Vermont, where he attended Benni ...

Keenan Wynn Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead role, he had prominent billing in most ...

, and

Jan Sterling Jan Sterling (born Jane Sterling Adriance; April 3, 1921 – March 26, 2004) was an American film, television and stage actress. At her most active in films during the 1950s (immediately prior to which she had joined the Actors Studio), Sterling ...

. It was produced and distributed by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

Plot

Easy-going cowpoke Harley "Tumbleweed" Williams travels to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

, where a

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaq ...

is about to be held. Tumbleweed wants to win the prize money in

bronc riding Bronc riding, either bareback bronc or saddle bronc competition, is a rodeo event that involves a rodeo participant riding a bucking horse (sometimes called a ''bronc'' or '' bronco'') that attempts to throw or buck off the rider. Originally ...

, but for the moment he needs $8 to have the full $50 entry fee for the event. Looking for work, Tumbleweed goes to the Lucky 13 casino, run by a man named Al, where he meets the lovely Dixie Delmar, who dispenses change to the gambling customers. Tumbleweed ends up winning $40 on a slot machine, then runs up his winnings to $175 before getting greedy and losing it all. Dixie says she's been unable to find a job as a dancer and wants to return home to

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

, but before she goes, she tries to coax Tumbleweed into using a drill that will enable them to get at the money inside the casino's slots. Tumbleweed wins a $150 jackpot honestly, but Al turns up and sees the drill. On the lam, Dixie tries to steal Tumbleweed's hatful of silver dollars. But her conscience gets the better of her, and before leaving, she calls Al to tell him that Tumbleweed won the money fair and square. Tumbleweed returns to Vegas in time to enter the rodeo, but he loses the bronco riding contest and ends up broke, right back where he started.

Cast

as Tumbleweed *

as Dixie *

as Al *

Elaine Stewart Elaine Stewart (born Elsy Henrietta Maria Steinberg; May 31, 1930 – June 27, 2011) was an American actress and model. Life Stewart was born in Montclair, New Jersey, the daughter of Hedwig (Haenssler) and Ulrich E. Steinberg. She was one of ...

as Billie *

Robert Burton Robert Burton (8 February 1577 – 25 January 1640) was an English author and fellow of Oxford University, who wrote the encyclopedic tome '' The Anatomy of Melancholy''. Born in 1577 to a comfortably well-off family of the landed gentry, Bur ...

as Customer *

Emmett Lynn Emmett Earl Lynn (February 14, 1897 – October 20, 1958) was an American actor of the stage and screen. Early life Lynn was born in Muscatine, Iowa. When he was nine years old, Lynn became a song plugger in Denver, Colorado. From that ...

as Otis *

Douglass Dumbrille Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s. Life and career Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed ...

as Rodeo Official *

Jonathan Cott Jonathan Cott (born December 24, 1942) is an American author, journalist, and editor. Much of his work focuses on music, embracing both classical and rock. He has been a contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'' since the magazine's founding, ...

as Balladeer / Manager

Reception

According to MGM records, the film earned $362,000 in the US and Canada and $81,000 elsewhere, making a loss to the studio of $135,000.

References

External links

* * 1952 films 1952 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films 1950s English-language films Films set in the Las Vegas Valley Films shot in the Las Vegas Valley Gambling films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films directed by Norman Foster Films scored by Paul Sawtell American black-and-white films 1950s American films {{1950s-Western-film-stub