Thoroughbreds Don't Cry

... who didn't even appear in it.

Sir Peter Calverton (C. Aubrey Smith) and his young grandson Roger (Ronald Sinclair) come to the United States from England with their racehorse Pooka. They seek out the best jockey around, Timmie Donovan (Mickey Rooney), who has a swelled head to match his reputation. Using some reverse psychology, the Calvertons get Timmie to agree to ride their horse in the upcoming big race, and the Calvertons really need that success because they are castle rich and bank poor.

Timmie and Roger come to be friends after a rocky start that includes both guys giving each other black eyes. But then Timmie gets word that his long-estranged father needs an expensive operation, and he's considering throwing the race to get the money he needs. Complications ensue.

This is hardly a prototype film for Mickey and Judy. In fact, Judy Garland and her fabulous voice take a backseat to the relationship between Mickey and Ronald Sinclair. There is some romance inserted, but it's an insinuation of an adolescent crush between Judy and Ronald versus Judy and Mickey.

Ronald Sinclair was a more than adequate placeholder for Freddie Bartholomew, who was supposed to have the part of young Roger Calverton. But he was in a contract dispute with MGM and on top of that , his voice started to change and crack just as filming began. Bartholomew missed a vital year of film work and would never really recapture the star power he had before 1937. As for Mickey and Judy, this film was like what "Manhattan Melodrama" was for Powell and Loy - maybe not great shakes in and of itself, but it did show the studio how much chemistry they had together.

Look out for Blossom Rock (Mama in the Addams Family) as a hospital switchboard operator. She played the same role in the Dr. Kildare/Dr. Gillespie movies. Also look fast for Elisha Cook Jr. Of the noirs in a bit part as a jockey.