Jour de chance

I have fond memories of seeing Frank Capra's "Riding High" on the late show and when it came available on DVD I wanted to share it with my fourteen year old daughter. A girl of great taste, my daughter is already a Bing Crosby fan and "Riding High" is a marvelous way to introduce youngsters to great character actors. Frank Capra always used the best actors to tell his stories and this time out he reached back to his original filming of the story ("Broadway Bill") for a fabulous cast. Raymond Walburn, Margaret Hamilton, Clarence Muse are pros who always delight. What great fun to see Oliver Hardy. William Demarest cracked us up as "Happy". Irving Bacon as the lunch counter man, Percy Kilbride, Ward Bond, Dub Taylor, Gene Lockhart. A who's who of the people who made the golden age of movies truly golden. "Riding High" has heart, songs and laughs. Gather the kids and have a great time.

A lovely remake of the director's own Broadway Bill, Riding High is full to the brim with comedy, action and romance. We don't get Myrna Loy this time (shame!), but Capra's handling is as adept as ever and he even allows Bing to sing a handful of trackside standards! Whilst the film cannot match the very best Capra/Riskin collaborations, it is nevertheless great fun, with Bing perfectly cast in the lead. My only complaint is in the over-abundance of stock footage from Broadway Bill (presumably due to financial constraints).

Sheer escapism, with a decent moral and lovely performances all round. Leave your cynicism at the door and you should have a ball!

I had long wanted to see this picture, manly because it's the last one of a certain rotund comedian who's usually known as part of a famous team and who I found as hilarious as usual. The picture itself, with Bing Crosby putting his usual charms to good use, is a lark especially with the rest of the supporting cast in tow. Leading lady Coleen Gray is fine as Crosby's main muse, Clarence Muse is divine as the trainer, William Demarest is his usual lovably grouchy self, among others in the fine cast which includes director Frank Capra's veterans from my favorite movie of his, It's a Wonderful Life: Charles Lane and Ward Bond. The songs are entertaining especially when Bing, Clarence, and Coleen sing that classic "Camptown Races". Nothing more to say except, Riding High gets a high recommendation from me.

...when he remade Broadway BILL (1934) as RIDING HIGH (1950). Recasting Bing Crosby as DAN BROOKS did not help a screenplay that was 'dated' in 34 let alone 50. This sad film has entire scenes lifted from the original with many of the supporting cast repeating their roles, unless they were dead. Though being older did not seem to matter to the Director. Nor that the Cars and Clothes in the background plates from 1934 did not match up too 1950s' standards. Not even 'der Bingel' singing can redeem this effort.

We rated both the original and the remake IMDb Four****Stars. Frank's touch was long gone and all that was left was CAPRA-CORN. That did not stop Mr. Capra though. After floundering around the 50's making some educational documentaries he wound up his career remaking LADY FOR A DAY (1933) as POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES (1961). Again a fine cast was let down on that IMDb Six******Star effort compared too the originals Eight********Stars. Sometimes it is better to quit while you were still ahead, right after STATE OF THE UNION (1948).

First, let me say "nuts" to the cinema snobs who carp about Capra recycling footage from Broadway BILL in order to bring this picture in on budget. If that's what it took, so be it. In my opinion, RIDING HIGH is far superior to the original picture in many ways. First, the original script was followed closely but was peppered with several "toppers". Second, the comedy sequences - especially the racetrack swindle scene - are much funnier in RIDING HIGH. It was a genuine stroke of genius to give habitual track inhabitant Oliver Hardy the role of the poor sap who sinks it all on "Doughboy". Most importantly, Bing Crosby is, as Capra states in his autobio, right as rain for the role of Dan Brooks. Warner Baxter was decidedly out-of-place and his dour personality put a serious dent in the dramatic success of Broadway BILL. Sure, Colleen Gray is not Myrna Loy. But she is wonderfully natural in this picture and a wonderful mate for Bing. Also vastly improved in this version is the relationship between Dan and Whitey (Clarence Muse in both pictures). There is no real chemistry between Baxter and Muse (Baxter even gives him a malicious kick in the pants at one point) whereas Crosby and Muse exude genuine affection for one another. Another big plus is Percy Kilbride as the feed man. The scene at the track where he tries to get his bill paid is one of the most hysterical examples of frustration in a character I've ever seen. And please don't complain about the songs. Burke and Van Heusen wrote outstanding material for Crosby and these songs fit the characters and situations just fine. And it's nice to have "Sunshine Cake", except for a few bars, sung on-set and not pre-recorded. Lynne Overman may have a slight edge as a Damon Runyon type, but Bill Demarest as Happy gets much bigger laughs. All-in-all, this is one of my very favorite Capra pictures. Bravo to the great director for hitting on the idea of remaking it, all to the better.