Thoroughbreds Don't Cry

When Mickey Rooney died last month, I got a jones to watch some of his movies so when I went to the library, and this was among the films there, I had to get it especially since I knew this was the first one he made with Judy Garland. He plays a jockey and Ms. Garland plays the niece of the owner of the boardinghouse for jockeys. But the main character is played by Ronald Sinclair, another teen who's from England (actually Sinclair was from New Zealand), who has a horse he wants to enter into the America's Cup race. I'll stop there and just say it was quite fascinating watching Rooney and Garland bicker and also helping Sinclair in his troubles. Ms. Garland had one song she performed a few times in the movie. Her character dreams of stardom which, of course, is what happened to Judy in real life. Legendary singer Sophie Tucker plays her aunt but she doesn't have a number for some reason. All in all, Thoroughbreds Don't Cry was quite an entertaining programmer.

Young English boy (Ronald Sinclair) wants a jockey (Mickey Rooney) to ride his horse in an upcoming race. But the jockey's an arrogant jerk who doesn't want anything to do with the kid. Enter cutie Judy Garland, the niece of Rooney's landlady. She befriends Sinclair and gets Rooney to agree to ride his horse. Things are complicated when Mickey's crooked dad asks him to throw the race.

A rather pedestrian plot sparked some by the delightful Judy and energetic Mickey. This was the very first movie Mickey and Judy Garland did together. Nice support from C. Aubrey Smith and Sophie Tucker, who sadly does not sing. A watchable flick but nothing special.

MGM didn't quite know what to do with Judy Garland for the first two years she was under studio contract. After her song 'You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)' to Clark Gable's photograph in her short appearance in "Broadway Melody of 1938," the studio felt it had something unique in the mid-teen actress. Finding a script where it was contoured to her personality, MGM gave Garland her first lead in a movie in November 1937's "Thoroughbreds Don't Cry," with Mickey Rooney. The motion picture became the first of eight the two starred together, creating one of Hollywood's more famous and lovable pairings.

"Thoroughbreds Don't Cry" displays "the talents of Garland and Rooney as they were both on the cusp of superstardom," observed film critic Patrick Nash. "He is all energy and gruff attitude. Her wide-open face and big voice were already fully developed as was her natural comic flair. The movie is worth watching for one reason: to see the moment when Judy Garland just turned 15 and an almost 17 Mickey Rooney created their legendary onscreen chemistry and teamwork."

"Thoroughbreds Don't Cry" was intended to be a low-budgeted 'juvenile' fare with Rooney as a cock-sure horse jockey. He was supposed to play second fiddle to the studio's premier childhood actor, Freddie Bartholomew, but Freddie's adopted mother Aunt Cissy was haggling with MGM over his new contract. The studio then hired the young New Zealand acting sensation Ronald Sinclair to replace Bartholomew, playing arch-rival-turned friend Roger Calverton to Mickey. Roger is the grandson of Sir Peter Calverton (C. Aubrey Smith), who brought his English-raised prize horse over to the United States to be in America's top race, The Cup. Sinclair's Hollywood acting was short-lived: he eventually became producer/director Roger Corman's full-time editor after serving in World War Two.

Judy's role was a last-minute insertion by MGM scriptwriters. She's Cricket West, the daughter of Mother Ralph (Sophie Tucker), who runs a boarding house for the horse track's young jockeys, including Timmie Donovan (Mickey Rooney). Cricket has an eye towards Roger, who sees his grandfather dying, leaving him nothing in his will but his horse. Wanting to make peace between the two rivals, Cricket persuades Timmie to be friends with Roger, agreeing to ride his horse until he gets suspended for throwing a race. With little racing experience, Rogers is forced to ride the horse himself for the Cup.

The exciting horse racing footage seen in "Thoroughbreds Don't Cry" was filmed in the recently-open Santa Anita racetrack, the first bonafide horse track to operate in Southern California. Before its construction, Los Angeles horse racing fans had to journey across the Mexican border into Tijuana to enjoy the sport. When teenager Rooney became of legal age, the actor would spend many afternoons betting on his favorite horses at Santa Anita.

Mickey had become friends with Judy years earlier while both were attending Viola Lawler's Hollywood Professional School. Rooney proceeded Garland in Hollywood, first appearing in front of the camera in 1927. Mickey's popularity soared with the long-running Andy Hardy movies, the first of sixteen filmed in 1937's 'A Family Affair.' Rooney later remarked "Thoroughbreds Don't Cry" was an eye-opener for Garland, who began to feel she might have a future in acting. "Judy and I went to the preview together," recalled Rooney, "and as we watched ourselves on the screen, I sneaked a look every so often at Judy. She seemed rapt by what she saw up there: her own movie persona taking shape. I think it was that night that Judy's star was born." This was the first time Garland saw her credits top-billed. She later appeared in a couple of Andy Hardy movies, including 1938's "Andy Hardy Meets Debutante." Theirs was a close friendship which lasted until her untimely death in 1969.

In a role obviously intended for an absent Freddie Bartholomew, British teenager Ronald Sinclair (as Roger Calverton) arrives in the United States with his grandfather's potentially prize-winning horse "Pookah". At the race-track, young Sinclair admires brash jockey Mickey Rooney (as Timmie Donovan) and wants him to ride "The Pookah" to victory. Sinclair meets perky Judy Garland (as Cricket West) at Mr. Rooney's boarding house, which is run by her assertive aunt Sophie Tucker...

Rooney is typically commanding and Sinclair is a good stand-in for Bartholomew. Accurately predicting she will be a successful singer and actress, Ms. Garland shines in support. Of the other jockeys, tough Frankie Darro (as "Dink" Reid) stands out; he will try to beat Sinclair in the climactic big race. The ending suggests the three leads, plus Ms. Tucker and funny Forrester Harvey (as Wilkins) were on their way to a potential series. The title "Goin' to Town" would have fit nicely...

The most interesting scene has Rooney ardently massaging Sinclair's upper thighs while Garland, outside the bedroom, sings about "Goin' to Town". If director Alfred E. Green asked Rooney to try and avoid Sinclair's buttocks, the advice was ignored. Also, Rooney repeatedly pulls down Sinclair's pants and throws him on his bed. This comes after an unintentionally sexual scene with Rooney teaching Sinclair how to ride a horse. Today, this sort of horseplay is interpreted differently.

****** Thoroughbreds Don't Cry (11/25/37) Alfred E. Green ~ Ronald Sinclair, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Sophie Tucker

Left insolvent in America by the death of his grandfather, a young English lad learns that THOROUGHBREDS DON'T CRY. Now it's time for his new buddies, an irrepressible girl & an excitable jockey, to help him make his race horse a winner.

This little film, with a horse race plot both contrived & convoluted, is mere entertainment fluff. Its real significance is that it was the first movie to co-star Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland. Rooney is hyper-energetic & Garland exhibits her wide-eyed exuberance; together they hint at much better films to come in the future. Ronald Sinclair receives equal billing with them, and he does a good job with his role, but up against the Dynamic Duo he never really stood a chance. His celebrity would prove to be rather transitory.

Forrester Harvey does fine in a small performance as a jolly horse trainer. Wonderful old Sir C. Aubrey Smith lends a touch of class to his role as an English gentleman. But it is the inimitable Sophie Tucker who steals the film as Garland's mother, a big sharp-tongued woman you wouldn't want to trifle with. For some unfathomable reason, the script gives her no chance to sing. Unbelievable! At the very least, a Tucker/Garland duet could have made the film truly memorable.

Movie mavens will recognize Lionel Belmore as a butler & Elisha Cook, Jr. as a jockey, both unbilled.

A `pookah', by the way, is an Irish ghost horse.