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i had heard of Riding High but never saw it until TCM presented the film a few weeks ago. thoroughly entertaining. thoroughly capra, with a few songs thrown in. thoroughly bing. what a combo. some stock capra personnel such as clarence muse, bill demarest (his usual grouchy self),charles lane (when i last heard, he passed his 100th b'day a few years ago). douglas dumbrille, jimmy gleason and etc. etc. "sunshine cake", camptown races", "the horse told me" round out the story musically. colleen gray was nice as the younger sis who won bing in the end. the big race was exciting; had me rooting as if it were for real. you can tell the scenes borrowed from "broadway bill", the grandstand showed the gals in early 30's garb in a 1950 movie. no wonder capra made another pic with bing, "here comes the groom".

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!

...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.

As a big Laurel and Hardy fan, I rented "Riding High" out of curiosity: Oliver Hardy makes a rare solo appearance here. Ollie is funny in his short cameo role, but his appearance is certainly not the only reason to see this film. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed this movie quite a bit.

Of course, I shouldn't have been too surprised. "Riding High" is directed by Frank Capra ("It's a Wonderful Life") and stars Bing Crosby. Briefly, Bing is a down-on-his-luck horse trainer trying to hit the big time with his one last chance: A horse named Broadway Bill. Yes, in many ways this is your typical sports underdog movie. There are, however, twists along the way. In fact, what happens in "the big race at the end" may very well take you by surprise.

A warning: This is the year 1950 and the "traditional" roles of men and women, not to mention blacks and whites, are clearly defined. If you can look beyond that, "Riding High" is a fun time.