Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland don't especially dance here at all, and Judy only belts out one or 2 songs in this sort of entertaining 1937 film.
As Judy's aunt here, Sophie Tucker, is way out of her league. This is the type of part that went to the usually reliable Jesse Ralph of the period. Tucker is somewhat subdued and in the racing scene, she is so nonchalant, she looks like she needs a chair to converse with the other women in front of her apartment building.
The premise here is a good one. C. Aubrey Smith and his grandson come to America to race their horse. They meet up with Mickey Rooney, a tough-minded jockey, who lives in the boarding house for jockeys run by Tucker and "niece" Judy Garland. Through chicanery, Rooney's crooked father gets him to throw a race. To make matters worse, Aubrey is felled by a fatal coronary while viewing the race.
Rooney agrees to race the horse again at a bigger race, but his father gets him thrown out for throwing the previous race. The grandson steps in to race the horse and we're all happy about as the characters sing along in a trailer at film's end.
This is rather bland fanfare with a good story line.
As Judy's aunt here, Sophie Tucker, is way out of her league. This is the type of part that went to the usually reliable Jesse Ralph of the period. Tucker is somewhat subdued and in the racing scene, she is so nonchalant, she looks like she needs a chair to converse with the other women in front of her apartment building.
The premise here is a good one. C. Aubrey Smith and his grandson come to America to race their horse. They meet up with Mickey Rooney, a tough-minded jockey, who lives in the boarding house for jockeys run by Tucker and "niece" Judy Garland. Through chicanery, Rooney's crooked father gets him to throw a race. To make matters worse, Aubrey is felled by a fatal coronary while viewing the race.
Rooney agrees to race the horse again at a bigger race, but his father gets him thrown out for throwing the previous race. The grandson steps in to race the horse and we're all happy about as the characters sing along in a trailer at film's end.
This is rather bland fanfare with a good story line.