Broadway Bill

Rating:
Summary: A HIDDEN DELIGHT.
Review: A cheerful horse trainer finds he has a winner. A very entertaining, lighthearted film which is very thirties, with Capra's early style in full bloom. For years, this film was actually considered lost. Good thing it wasn't! The title refers to a thoroughbred horse. Trivial though the plot may be, this film has great style: a happy film to watch. Trivia information: This film was remade as RIDING HIGH with Bing Crosby and Colleen Gray in 195O. Location footage was shot at the Tanforan Racetrack in San Mateo county in California. Watch for a 23 year-old blonde Lucille Ball as an extra - a switchboard operator! The cast is inspired and entertaining: Myrna Loy as Alice, Helen Vinson, Margaret Hamilton, Ward Bond, Inez Courtney and Jason Robards (Sr.). The nearly forgotten Warner Baxter plays the lead role of Dan Brooks. Originally, the film was released at 125 minutes.

Rating:
Summary: A forgotten Frank Capra gem
Review: A once-lost Capra film, with a plot revolving around a long-shot champion racehouse that everyone had written off as a nag. Great chemistry between Myrna Loy and Warner Baxter, who had a Clark Gable-ish charm as the fast-talking rogue who gets Bill his big break. Cast notes: Clarence Muse is cool as Baxter's sidekick, in a surprisingly strong role for an African-American actor at the time; Margaret Hamilton (aka the Wicked Witch of the West) plays "vinegar puss", the spinsterish landlady of one of Baxter's ne'er-do-well pals. Capra remade this film in 1952, with Bing Crosby in the lead role; I far prefer Baxter. This is a good classic film; the ending will slay you.

Rating:
Summary: For the Love of Horses
Review: Broadway Bill is the story of a man played by Warner Baxter, married to the daughter of a business tycoon, who has sacrificed his love for horses to work for his empire building father-in-law. He decides to break away from the life he hates, and he pins his hopes on Broadway Bill, a horse with a lot of heart. Along for the ride is Myrna Loy, his wife's younger sister who shares his disdain for the family empire and his love of horses. Baxter, a forgotten actor from the 1930's is alright in the central role, and Loy is really appealing as the girl secretly in love with him. The story has a lot of good moments, particularly those surrounding the betting and the racetrack. The parts of the story dealing with Baxter's in-laws aren't as well written or interesting (although I liked the way they ate dinner "together"), and the ending doesn't quite ring true. But all in all, it's an entertaining movie.