User Reviews

This movie is so bad it was funny. The plot line is totally lame -- as in "what are we gonna do today? I don't know, let's win the Kentucky Derby." The acting, if you can call it that, was awful, the photography was lamentable going from too light to too dark, the writing was stiff and sophomoric, all in all, it was a good laugh! Johnny's family needs money, so of course, after being convicted of murder which he didn't do, he has to win the Kentucky Derby for "sis" and ma.

The scenes shot at "Churchill Downs" obviously were NOT Churchill, but then with a 1935 audience, I'd bet (no pun intended) few people would have even noticed. All in all, the only Kentucky connection was in effect an impersonated Churchill Downs, but then I'm just a nut for accuracy, so that's MY problem.

It's a typical B movie from 1935, but if you need a good laugh, try watching.

This film is from Puritan Pictures--not exactly a household name and the producers of ultra-low budget films. Seeing this film, I can understand why they never became a major player in Hollywood.

Eddie Nugent and Frank Coughlin, Jr. star in this film. As for Coughlin, he appeared in 130 films and TV shows and I best remember him as the wimpy young boy who became Captain Marvel in the serial "The Adventures of Captain Marvel".

The film begins with a bunch of black teens standing around singing and dancing. Then, a 'good black' tells these 'lady good for nothings' to cut it out and get to work! So much for a film that glowingly portrays blacks! However, at least it did give these young men a chance to appear in a film and get paid--plus they are quite good when you think about it--even though they are also one-dimensional racial stereotypes of the 'good old days in the Old South'!

A man comes to young Coughlin trying to get him to race in some sort of 'illegal track' under an assumed name (what this means, I don't know). He refuses, but since this is a bad B-movie, you are not at all surprised when 30 seconds later, Coughlin is told that his prize horse broke its leg--and his vow NEVER to race for such a track is out the window. However, the young man is cheated out of his winnings by the crook (wow, we didn't see that coming) and only seconds later a shot rings out and the crook is dead. The viewer clearly sees that Coughlin is NOT responsible but the authorities suspect him--and the evidence points to him. Now this next part makes no sense at all, Coughlin pleads guilty!!! His plan is to serve the two years under his assumed name--telling his loving family that he's riding in South America!! Does this make any sense? Well, in the bizarro world of this film, it does! And, Coughlin is sentenced to two years. What a dummy!

A year passes. A nosy reporter (Nugent) befriends the dumb Coughlin and pushes the Governor to commute his sentence. Now, Coughlin can ride his family's pride and joy in the Kentucky Derby. BUT, the mean old Warden cancels all paroles--and the idiot decides to escape (even though he's only got 10 more months to serve). So, the reporter has a hunch and goes to see if he can find Coughlin--and the Warden deputizes him!! At this point you might wonder if the boy will make good and win the big race, but more likely you'll wonder if anyone even cares!

Overall, the film suffers in most every way. Too much stock footage, some bad acting, a TERRIBLE script (filled with horrible clichés, insane plot twists and terrible dialog) and characters who are flat and silly all sink this film to the level of a barely watchable film. The only thing that provides any interest is the twist involving the evil District Attorney. A few terrible scenes in the film will illustrate what I mean about the writing and direction. One is the hamburger scene--that is so dumb and poorly done you need to see it for yourself. Also a horse that features stock footage and no narration or music--just an announcement at the end as to which horse won. Dull, Dumb and Dim-witted--this film wins the Triple-Crown of movie badness!

This film couldn't have been any worse if it had put two actors in a horse costume to play the horses. The entire cast seems completely undirected and recites their lines as if they were seeing the script for the very first time. The plot is okay, an average and predictable story for a B crime drama, but with the lack of direction and stagnant performances, this just ranks as one of the worst films of the 1930's. Junior Coghlan plays a young jockey who makes the mistake of writing at a track not accredited as a legal betting track, and he is framed for murdering his boss who refuses to pay him for his work. Escaping from prison, Junior ends up riding in a race any way while the people around him are fighting to keeping him from being returned to prison as they tie up loose ends in the murder case.

Margaret Mann, the octogenarian actress who played several grandmotherly roles in "The Little Rascals" shorts, is dressed in 1800's outfits and iss supposed to be Junior's mother. Patricia Scott as his sister and Edward J. Nugent as her boyfriend are equally bland. The only real juice comes from the two actors playing the one-dimensional villains, particularly Roy D'Arcy as a horse owner desperate to stop junior from riding. Another issue with this film is the different types of filming used, with obvious stock footage shoved in and different quality of film used for the newly film sequences.