Starring Dick Powell, Louis Armstrong, Walter Catlett, and Anita Louise
Directed by Ray Enright
Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Like most minority performers in Hollywood during the 30's and 40's, Armstrong's roles were usually confined to specialty numbers that were easily censored for southern audiences. This is one of the few movies he had more of a major role in. How does the story of a sports store clerk who gets in over his head when he claims to be a jockey look now? Let's start at the prestigious sporting store Detridge & Frome as two sales clerks attempt to sell riding clothes and find out...
The Story: Peter Mason (Powell) suggests he and his fellow clerk Franklin Dexter (Catlett) attend a steeplechase at a local horse track to advertise their wares, posing as famous jockey Peter Randall and his valet. Peter figures it'll only be for a day or two...until he meets lovely Ellen Parker (Anita Louise) and is smitten by her. He keeps up the charade in order to be near her. Things get really hairy when two goofy gamblers (Allen Jenkins and Harold Huber) try to fix him up with the notoriously wild horse Jeepers Creepers. This equine fireball is the best jumper at the track, but he can only be tamed when horse caretaker Gabriel (Armstrong) plays the song he named after him. Now Peter's going to have to ride whether he wants to or not, but Gabriel and his friends have a way of keeping Jeepers Creepers on track.
The Song and Dance: Powell, Catlett, and Armstrong are basically the only reason to watch this today, besides some decent numbers. Powell reeks of charm, even when he's trying desperately to hang on to that horse. Catlett has a few amusing scenes fussing over Powell's dilly-dallying with the opposite sex and the possibility of them being discovered. Armstrong gets into a few good numbers and has a great time with that poor horse.
Favorite Number: Armstrong and the Dandridge Sisters (including Etta Jones and Dorothy Dandridge) really get the joint jumping with the wild jitterbug routine "Mutiny in the Nursery" at the night club that transforms familiar nursery rhymes into swinging tunes. The gangsters insist Mason prove himself to be what he claims with a song, which turns into the spoof of old-time weepers "Oh What a Horse Was Charlie," with Catlett showing off some decent dancing moves.
Of course, the big one here is the Oscar-nominated standard "Jeepers Creepers." It's heard a few times throughout the film, but most memorably when Armstrong sings it to the horse in the beginning. Creepers threw several men off his back, but Gabriel knows this horse loves nothing more than a good song.
Trivia: Based after the non-musical play The Hottentot from 1920. Warners filmed the original play three times, as a silent in 1923 (which partially survives), an early talkie in 1929 (which is lost), and a 1936 Joe E. Brown vehicle, Polo Joe.
What I Don't Like: For all of Armstrong's prominent role, he and most of the other black characters are still played as the broad stereotypes typical of the time. Despite his charm, Powell's role is thankless and a bit silly. No wonder he did one more movie at Warners, then moved to RKO for meatier parts. Ronald Regan, who shows up in the second half as a socialite who eggs Peter into that race and flirts with Ellen, has even less to do. None of the music in the film comes close to being as memorable as "Jeepers Creepers," either. Powell's one ballad was cut from the film, though he does get a line in.
The story is pretty cliche by this point, too...and was even in 1938. MGM beat Warners to the racing musicals starting line by over a year. The Broadway Melody of 1938 and A Day at the Races have very similar plots. The former also has spectacular Eleanor Powell numbers and the latter features the Marx Brothers. They go a lot further in distracting folks from seeing how threadbare and ridiculous the story is.
The Big Finale: Too silly for anyone besides major fans of Armstrong or Powell or those looking for a fairly cute time-waster on TCM.
Home Media: And indeed, it seems TCM is likely the only place you can see this one at the moment, as it doesn't appear to be currently available elsewhere on disc or streaming.
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