Sky Full of Moon

MGM discovery Carleton Carpenter goes the “aw, shucks” route in this genre-defying tale of a small cowboy and the big city.

Virginal ranch hand Harley "Tumbleweeds’" Williams (Carpenter) dreams of hitting it big at the rodeo, and finally having some tales of his own to tell ’round the campfire. Armed with his season’s pay, he heads off to compete in the Las Vegas rodeo only to discover the cost of entry is higher than expected.

Desperate, Tumbleweeds tries to gamble his way to fortune, only to end up in way over his head with the wrong kind of right kind of girl—Dixie Delmar (Jan Sterling).

Sky Full of Moon bronco bucks from romance to film noir to coming-of-age tale, but feels like a smooth canter the whole time. Keenan Wynn is on hand to anchor the action with gruff gravitas. Keep your eyes peeled for Elaine Stewart in a brief part.