Sporting Blood

In the very first film in which he received top billing, Clark Gable plays a gambler, no better than he ought to be, who by a variety of circumstances gets ownership along with Madge Evans of his late boss's prize thoroughbred. Lew Cody who played the boss departed this life abruptly and Gable and Evans are left with Kentucky Derby contender Tommy Boy.

In fact the horse is the star of the film with Tommy Boy being born in a thunderstorm where his mother is trapped in mud on Ernest Torrance's farm. Next to the horse the Scotch born Torrance who conveys a real love of the breed and sport is the most memorable in the film. Gable doesn't even appear until the film is half way over.

Some black players got a lot of work from this film and the usual racial stereotyping abounds. Still these people who are grooms, stable boys, exercise riders, etc. are the backbone of the racing industry and they're there also for love of the sport and atmosphere thereof.

The inevitable which is expected actually happens, the goal of everyone who is involved in thoroughbred racing. But the trip in Sporting Blood is a nice one as Tommy Boy foils the machinations of many greedy humans. You have to see how he does it..

SPORTING BLOOD which stars Madge Evans and Clark Gable is a film with its central thesis being the struggle for redemption of both an abused race horse named "Tommy Boy" and its owner Madge Evans. This film fairly bursts with love for horses and horse racing. In fact, the first thirty minutes are devoted to horses without any appearance on the part of the two stars. When they do enter the story, we immediately are thrust into a world of gangsters and their associates, including both Evans and Gable. Each has made compromises in order to get where they are. She sees a chance to straighten her life out when she inherits "Tommy Boy." The question is... can she? And what of her relationship with Gable? Is there enough decency left in him to chart a new course?

This film is a classic example of the old studio system at work. Both Madge Evans, and Clark Gable, were brand new at MGM. The studio bosses weren't at all sure how well either star would fare with the public. Hence, though each was working on another picture, the studio assigned them to work on weekends and holidays when they filmed SPORTING BLOOD. Only in Hollywood!

In fact, there is a sense of freshness about this film. It hasn't the ordinary Hollywood veneer to it. It makes no pretensions and avoids clichés typical of so many similar films of the 1930s. Evans and Gable are absolutely marvelous in their respective roles. Evans is especially fresh and beautiful. But... it is the way blacks are treated in this film that set it apart from most films of its time. "Tommy Boy's" trainer, Uncle Ben is black. He is as far removed from Stepin Fetchit as a teacher is from an illiterate. Indeed, Uncle Ben is central to the plot... and in as loving a manner as could be imagined. This alone sets out SPORTING BLOOD as a better film by far than many others of its day.

Finally, the camera technology was fairly crude in 1931. Film speeds were slow and the cameras sometimes weighed five hundred pounds. Remember this when you watch the racing scenes. The photography is impressive.

Sporting Blood was Clark Gable's first top-billed role, playing a gangster with a softer side, willing to take the shots but not at the expense at the life of a dumb animal. Just one problem though; he doesn't show up until halfway through! I've seen some movies in which it takes a long time for the top-billed star to show up but this is the most extreme example I've seen of this; so don't go in expecting Gable from scene 1. Sporting Blood has an odd narrative structure with characters introduced late in the game and a second half which largely contrasts the first half but it works. The first half takes place in a peaceful farm paradise, the latter in a world of gangsters in which Tommy Boy becomes a commodity merely being passed around.

Sporting Blood is a romantic tribute to the world of equestrianism, set in the horse racing heartland of Kentucky; and when I say romantic, I mean romantic. This is a movie which would have you believe an entire group of horses would come running to a horse being taken away in a truck as a sign of farewell. But the anamorphisation of animals doesn't end there; when Madge Evans proclaims, "What do I want to run him in the Derby for? For himself, for running for himself. Don't you think a horse has some rights, the same as you and me to run straight and honest and to give his best in order to win what he can." We're all guilty of it though, aren't we?

"Since the beginning of time the Horse has been Man's loyal friend...BUT Man has not always been the friend the Horse has to Man....", this section of the opening prologue confuses me; didn't early man hunt horses for food? But I digress. I found myself getting engaged in the story with the death of Tommy Boy's mother Southern Queen (was a real horse injured here?) and I believe must of this can be credited to the very naturalistic acting present in Sporting Blood. Unlike other films of the classic Hollywood era, Sporting Blood features African American actors in prominent roles. While they are still presented in a stereotypical manner and seem dim-witted at times, they are treated with more dignity and illicit genuine emotion, especially the black children near the beginning of the film feel just like real kids.

Sporting Blood gets a major benefit from its handsome production values, location filming and impressive race footage which gets right up close to the action. The film is full of in-depth compositions and extensive camera pans; just look at the gorgeous use of lighting and shadows when Tommy Boy is introduced to his new mother. It also wouldn't be pre-code without some drug use thrown in there, ok its horse narcotics but still ("We've hopped him up so much in the last few months that it ain't working like it used to"). Sporting Blood isn't the most intense film ever but is one with a relaxing charm to it.

Pleasant movie about a racehorse named Tommy Boy and his various owners. First half is best. It actually becomes less interesting when the focus shifts to Clark Gable and Madge Evans. It's no fault of theirs; their performances are fine and they have good chemistry. But the early parts with Ernest Torrence and the black stable hands is much more moving and powerful. After this it lags some but manages to pick up towards the end. Also worth mentioning is the portrayal of black characters in this film is exceptional for the time. They're treated like human beings with real emotions and families. The racing footage is nice, though I'm not big on horse racing so I am giving a layman's opinion there. It's a surprisingly good movie. I wasn't expecting much going in. Wonderful ending, too.

This is the first movie I have seen about horses that understands horses. It also understands, better than most, the ties that grow between the people that work with horses and their charges. The stable hands and breeder roles are developed. Indeed, the stable hands are all black and (for the time) are shown with a range of emotions, humanity, and (shockingly) as having families.

Furthermore the horses are represented as having community among themselves, communicating among themselves, and even caring about the fates of other horses. Add to this the remarkable and touching scenes between the stable hands (notably John Larkin and Eugene Jackson)and the horses throughout the film. The breeder is also notably tender hearted.

The starring roles and plot are well handled. Gable appears late in the film, but commands attention. The female lead is played with backbone and heart. The plot moves swiftly, but not at the expense of creating empathy with the situations at hand. I look forward to exploring further films directed by Charles Brabin.