Harrigan's Kid

Talking one second and dead the next, come on....Were people this bad of actors back then?? I guess standards were very low back in the day..This movie could have been good. Horse racing was in its hey day back then and they still produce this garbage? I love horse racing so i forced myself to watch this on TCM and it is really unbelievable how terrible how the actors come off. Expectations must have been extremely low in the 40's.. I know times change but the whole thing and the ending were half azz at best. I hope this movie didn't make much money, or if it did i now know why senor citizens think the way they do about todays movies if this is what they are used to..

I was being lazy today and watching Turner Classic Movies and came across Harrigan's Kid. Not the greatest movie of all time but was kid of fun to watch. Benny McNeil, the cocky and headstrong young jockey has 2 strikes against him (accused of cheating) and is in danger of getting thrown out of horse racing all together when his "Owner" sells his contract to a big time Owner in hopes that Benny will work his way up in the ranks and when he does throw the BIG RACE! Harrigan, the old underhanded owner (with a heart of gold) and Garnet (the new owner and Harrigan's former owner) have some sort of score to settle. This movie is pretty cheesy but kept me from taking a shower and actually doing something with my morning.

The best scene is the last one, someone dies, I wont say who but it is totally sappy and fake and made me chuckle a bit, I gave this movie 1 extra star for the best, and most conveniently timed death scene in movie history!

It's Boys Town, but at a race track setting. Stars Robert Readick as Benny, the kid-wonder horse jockey. He wins a couple of controversial races, so he gets sent to a local track for more professional training. Co-stars Frank Craven as the trainer "Garnet". Turns out Readick only did two films - this one and "Canterville Ghost" the next year... guess he didn't like Hollywood. Benny keeps on getting in trouble while giving a younger jockey (Skip) some tips. Skip is played by Douglas Croft, who had also played the very first "Robin" in the 1943 film "Batman". Harrigan's Kid is entertaining, and teaches us some life lessons, but is a little dry by today's standards. Would love to know where it was filmed.. the mountains in the background look like Santa Anita, or Palm Springs. Turner Classic must not show this very often; as of May 1 2009, doesn't even have five votes yet. Directed by Charles Reisner, who had worked with Charlie Chaplin on a boatload of silent films.