Racing Lady

Racing Lady (1937)

** (out of 4)

Forgettable "B" picture from RKO about Ruth Martin (Ann Dvorak), a woman who plans to bring her father's (Harry Carey) racing stable back into power but finds herself hitting one hurdle after another. RACING LADY clocks in at 59-minutes so obviously you're not going to find any sort of character development or story that manages to do much. What we've basically got is a very predictable sports melodrama with all sorts of clichés that were already out-dated by 1937 standards. Even worse is that the screenplay really doesn't offer up anything new or original so all of these clichés just lead to a rather boring movie and even a slow one, which is really shocking considering how short this is. Dvorak brings some nice energy to her role and she tries her best to help keep the film moving but there's just nothing here for her to work with. Carey is good in his supporting bit as are Smith Ballew and Benrton Churchill but, again, they just don't have anything to work with. Hattie McDaniel and Willie Best are on hand delivering the type of good performances we expected of them but in the type of roles that really aren't that special. The film follows one predictable turn after another and the film is actually so lazy that they cut out any sort of story development in favor of title cards that move the action along.

Ann dvorak had already starred in some biggies by this time, including three on a match! She was huge in the 1930s. In this one, she's a horse trainer, sure that her horse can win any race. She has her ups and downs, finally getting her big chance. At the time, women horse trainers were rare, so she gets in the headlines every time. Co-stars harry carey as tom; hattie mcdaniel and willie best, a couple years before gone with the wind. It's pretty good, for a low budget film. Directed by wallace fox. It's okay. A 59 minute B film from rko pictures.... although dvorak was actually on the payroll of warner brothers at the time!

Mediocre script is almost saved by excellent, very talented cast.

Ann Dvorak really shines, and it is such a treat to watch that exotic face showing so many different emotions. She was usually great, but in "Racing Lady" she out-does herself.

She is very ably supported by the rest of the players, including the shamefully little-known Alex Hill as the jockey.

Willie Best and Hattie McDaniel, Harry Carey and that marvelous singer Smith Ballew, who doesn't sing here, are just a few of the highly talented actors who rescue this clichéd story.

It's a little movie, and has nothing spectacular but a stellar cast. But it's worth watching just for them.

Horse breeder Tom Martin has been having some bad luck. His daughter Ruth convinces him to enter a race. Their horse nearly wins but gets run into the rails by a crooked rival. Ruth takes on the job of training the horse's offspring, Katydid. She gains some fame as a female trainer. She enters Katydid in a claiming race. When she wins, rich amateur owner Steve Wendall claims Katydid. In order to stay close to her horse, she accepts the trainer job from Steve.

Quite frankly, I've never heard of Damon Runyon and I don't know anything about his writings. This is fine. There is a bit of horse sports story, a bit of female empowerment story, and a bit of romance. The one aspect that I don't like is the portrayal of the black folks. They are the stereotypical black servant family. They are house black folks and the man are called boys. They all talk a certain way. It's that era in time. It just feels a little wrong with today's eyes. The acting is generally fine although the romance can be a bit stilted. This is fine but not more than that.

This one-hour feature from RKO, about how Ann Dvorak wants to revive father Harry Carey's racing stable but winds up following a filly after it's picked up in a claiming race, moves along at too fast a pace to be particularly engrossing. Even the large number of fine actors in supporting roles -- not only Carey, but Berton Churchill, Hattie McDaniel and WIllie Best, can't make this much of a picture. Carey's slow, honest pace of dialogue conflicts with the limits imposed by the short length of the film, and the other supporting actors are given almost no time to work in their roles.

A movie only for fans of the actors involved.