VM Victor Medina

This Warner Archive release is a Manufacture-On-Demand (MOD) DVD. It is made to be played in "play only" DVD devices, and may not play in some DVD recorders or PC drives. This DVD, however, played with no problems in the Toshiba DVD recorder used for this review,as well as on a Gateway PC.

THE SET-UP

Failed horse trainer Dan Brooks (Bing Crosby) takes one more shot at success when he finds a horse, Broadway Bill, with the talent to take him to the winner’s circle. Also stars Coleen Gray and Clarence Muse.

Produced and directed by Frank Capra.

THE DELIVERY

Many think that remakes and reboots are a new phenomenon in Hollywood, but that isn’t true. They were common in early Hollywood, as was the case of Riding High, which celebrated director Frank Capra remade from one of his own earlier films. His original 1934 film, Broadway Bill, starred Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy, and was a moderate hit. It was a solid film, but not quite a classic, so Capra decided to revisit it 16 years later in 1950. Crosby took over the lead role of Dan Brooks from Baxter, with Coleen Gray taking Loy’s role of Alice Higgins, Brooks’ future sister-in-law who carries a secret torch for him. More on the remake aspect in a minute.

The plot follows Brooks, who is about to marry into the very wealthy Higgins family thanks to his romance with Margaret Higgins (Frances Gifford). Patriarch J.L. (Charles Bickford) wants him to put away his childish notions of horse racing and run one of the Higgins’ family businesses, which Brooks refuses. With Alice as his loyal support, Brooks and his racing partner Whitey (the excellent Clarence Muse) set out to win the Imperial Derby with Broadway Bill, a horse that runs like the wind. With no money and few prospects, Brooks and company lead an underdog campaign to raise the money for the race entrance fee and give Broadway Bill a chance at glory.

As mentioned before, Capra had made the film as Broadway Bill in 1934, but saw the chance to remake it as a star vehicle for Bing Crosby. It’s a perfect pairing: Bing’s everyman personality carries the film, and Clarence Muse (reprising his character from the original film) is every bit his equal, and the two have great chemistry. Coleen Gray is excellent as well, even if she is a bit young for Bing, as the two characters grow closer as the film moves along.

Besides Muse, a number of other actors reprise their roles in this new version, but, due to budget constraints, Capra was forced to reuse some footage from the original, including the entire race scene at the end. Back then, the lack of home video and television airings made it easier to re-use old footage, and for the most part, the scenes are edited in with the new fairly seamlessly. That also meant using scenes with actors who had died in the years following the original, but it still works somehow.

In true Capra fashion, Riding High is an enjoyable film anchored with strong acting performances and a storyline that is both funny and sentimental. Capra knew how to populate his films with characters, and Riding High has plenty of them. Besides Muse, Raymond Walburn is fantastic as “Professor” Pettigrew, a race track con artist, as is William Demarest (My Three Sons) as Happy, Brooks’ friend. Even Oliver Hardy appears in a great cameo as a hopeless gambler at the racetrack taken in by a bad tip.

Riding High may not be among Capra’s best known films (or even among Bing Crosby’s, for that matter), but it is a entertaining film that holds up quite well. I am not too fond of the musicals of the era (I found the songs killed the pacing), but Riding High doesn’t feel like a musical, even while it managed to include a number of good songs that gave Crosby a chance to shine. The film’s signature song, Sunshine Cake, is quite catchy.

Riding High is a film well worth rediscovering. Crosby is an engaging presence, and the supporting cast is fantastic. Capra gives it his signature touch, which means a lot of laughs, a little drama, and you’ll even shed a tear at the end. It is surprisingly good.

VIDEO AND AUDIO

The video transfer for the film, which is actually an old Paramount Home Video transfer licensed to Warner Archive for the DVD re-release, is surprisingly good. There is some debris on the print, and specks are littered throughout the film. However, the black and white image is bold and has decent sharpness. The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio mix (from the original mono soundtrack) has some rough patches, with very minor distortion and some scratchy playback. It isn’t bad for a film of the age, but the quality is inconsistent.

SPECIAL FEATURES

None.

DVD SPECS

Release date: August 6, 2013

Rating: Not rated

Running time: 111 minutes

Aspect ratio: 1.37:1

Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles: English

Special features: None

Label: Warner Archive

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