HANK WILLIAMS The SHOW HE NEVER GAVE

 

Hank Williams is being driven to Ohio for a show.  As he rides along he imagines what it would be like to give a show again in a small honky-tonk, thus the title Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave. The movie then cuts back and forth from Hank's concert in the bar and him riding in back of the Cadillac. Most of the film centers around the concert he is giving in the club.

Sneezy Waters portrays Hank Williams and while he doesn't really look or sound like Williams it's not that hard to suspend belief and think he's the legendary singer and you're getting to see an up-close concert. Sneezy performs twenty-three songs, most of which were hit songs for Hank, but he also does a couple of Luke The Drifter recitations, and a couple of cover songs. A special note about whoever cast the audience at the club, the people looked like "real" people and not just a bunch of actors, this really helped lead credence to making the film seem more real.

While Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave doesn't delve a lot into biographical material like An Evening With Hank Williams, Sr., it does touch on his life with some of the stage comments between songs. This movie is more akin to some of the "tribute" shows which currently tour the U.S. recreating concerts by The Beatles, Queen, Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, etc. Anyone interested in what it would have been like to see Williams do a concert in a small club will certainly enjoy this film.