Sporting Love

Stanley Lupino and Laddie Cliff are horse-crazy brothers who have lost all their money at the track. Now they've got their own horse to race, but no money, particularly after they've each sold the same yacht. Fortunately, their aunt Clarissa Selwynne has promised each of them four thousand pounds when they are maried, so they swiftly get wed, and promptly lose the money.

I took a look at a Pathescope digest of the movie version of one of Lupino's stage shows. It mostly shows in some odd editing, in which there's a lot of dialogue, and suddenly there's a dance or production number. This happens twice. Otherwise it's mugging and the two actors saying the same thing at the same time.

Lupino was the father of Ida Lupino, who had already begun her movie career and moved to America. Members of an old circus family, other members include Lupino Lane and Richard Lupino. Stanley died in 1942 at the age of 49.

Ahead of the new episode of the "House of Hammer" podcast, I watched the 1936 movie "Sporting Love" on Youtube. This is the first time I've watched the movie ahead of the podcast, and not the other way round as I thought it might be interesting not to have my opinion coloured by the hosts, prior to seeing it.

Two brothers, Percy (Stanley Lupino) and Peter Brace (Laddie Cliff) are desperate to avoid their creditors in order to stay in the Horse Racing business. If they can keep their main creditor at bay until the day of the Epsom Derby, they might be able to make enough to pay off everyone - but their schemes and lies are all coming home to roost and they boys have to pretend to be married to convince their rich aunt (Clarissa Selwynne) to give them some money.

The version available on Youtube that I watched was a 46-minute cut, some twenty minutes less than the original release. Without knowing exactly where those cuts came it's difficult to judge the impact of them, but from a plot point of view, I felt I understood what was happening. The editing is occasionally a little choppy, but the film does employ a wide range of transitional techniques and actually uses the cutting for some jokes at the start of Epsom day.

I can't say I've ever heard of Stanley Lupino, but his double act with Cliff here reminded me a little of Abbot and Costello, although with neither acting as the straight man. I found some of the lines of dialogue and the witticisms have held up pretty well, and I chuckled to myself a couple of times. There was also some physical slapstick style comedy, which is less my taste, but still was well done. The dance scenes I could have done without and the more serious of the two songs could have gone for me too, but as a farce it was lightweight and fun and I rather enjoyed it.

Stanley Lupino,father of Ida,made a number of films in the 1930s,mostly based on his stage plays.The best seem to have been made for ABPC including Over She Goes,Happy,and Hold My Hand.This was clearly one of his less successful films.Two impecunious brother have a horse which they want to run in the derby.The main creditor threatens to foreclose shortly before the derby is run.A rich aunt agrees that she will give them £4000 to clear off their debts on the basis that they are married.this they misleadingly claim in order to get the money.However the money is taken from them by many small creditors before they can reach the main creditor.he forecloses and they have lost their horse.Lupino bets on an outsider.It was not the tip he was given but it wins and so they are back in the clear.The copy I viewed only runs 46 minutes.this is because it has been made from a 9.5 mm sound copy that was made for the Pathescope home movie market in the 1930s.If it had not been it is likely that like so many other British lion films of that era it would be lost.So good that the film exists,just a shame it does not match up to his better work.