Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave

Name: Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave
Genre: Drama
Rating: 75
Cast: Sneezy Waters, Dixie Seatle, Sean McCann, Sean Hewitt, Jackie Washington

1981

1h 26m

Drama

List

Reviews

75%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

On the night of his death, the country singer (Sneezy Waters) imagines a special performance in a roadside bar.

Read Less

Watch on Prime Video

Stream Now

Prime Video

Watch Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave with a subscription on Prime Video.

Da X

Saw this on a lark watching TV in the mid 80s and was caught off guard by Sleepy Waters performance, who gives a very talented and realistic very human and heartfelt honky tonk performance as Hank Williams, Sr. using a real band who, themselves, give a realistic performance. Turns out that Waters, for 3 or 4 years before doing the movie actually was the lead in a stage play of the same name doing the same part. Some may think the photography is "off", but it was done this way to approximate the atmosphere of a 1952 honky tonk bar. Everyone of the cast does an excellent job and there's parts where I could swear it was a real gig with real people that it seems so spontaneous. I'm doing this review in 2023 after renting it from Netflix and it still works superbly almost 40 years later. Keep in mind that this is an imaginative story (after all, it's "the show he never gave"?). Although it's got an inevitably sad ending, hats way off to Sleepy Waters and the entire cast for transporting me 70 years back in time for an incredible performance.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/05/23

Full Review

barry t

A thousand times better than the wretched " I Saw the light" movie of several years ago. I've probably watched it fifty times over the years, and will never grow tired of it

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Interesting concept. I don't think the lead actor was the right fit, but I don't think anybody could be. I think the film could have used a little more plot than it had. Basically all it was was an imaginary concert. It could have been so much more. It was sort of fun to watch, it it felt more like a guy in a Hank Williams costume than anything else. He did not evoke Hank's spirit in any way, nor did he sound like him. It felt more like a tribute concert than a direct portrayal.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

as real as it gets flawless performances crafted in the tone of the era the doctor was not his driver in real life is the only flaw real good guitar, fiddle and pedal steel guitar work is totally entertaining you don't have to love American music to love this classic film that so few have ever witnessed

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

David Acomba

Director

Sneezy Waters

Hank Williams

Dixie Seatle

Betty Anne

Sean McCann

Jack

Sean Hewitt

The Doctor

Jackie Washington

The Janitor

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

View more photos

Synopsis

On the night of his death, the country singer (Sneezy Waters) imagines a special performance in a roadside bar.

Director: David Acomba
Screenwriter: Maynard Collins
Production Co: Film Consortium of Canada
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 12, 2017
Runtime: 1h 26m

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch!

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Let's keep in touch!

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Movies / TV

Celebrity

No Results Found

Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave

Where to Watch