Broadway Bill (1934)

A runaway heiress and her sister's husband join forces to race the latter's fast horse, Broadway Bill.

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Robert Riskin (screenplay), Mark Hellinger (based upon a story by),

Stars:

Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy, Walter Connolly

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Warner Baxter	...	Dan Brooks
Myrna Loy	...	Princess
Walter Connolly	...	J.L. Higgins
Helen Vinson	...	Margaret
Douglass Dumbrille	...	Eddie Morgan (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Raymond Walburn	...	Colonel Pettigrew
Lynne Overman	...	Happy McGuire
Clarence Muse	...	Whitey
Broadway Bill	...	Broadway Bill - a Horse
Margaret Hamilton	...	Edna
Frankie Darro	...	Ted Williams
George Cooper	...	Joe
George Meeker	...	Henry Early
Jason Robards Sr.	...	Arthur Winslow (as Jason Robards)
Ed Tucker	...	Jimmy Baker

Storyline

Tycoon J.L. Higgins controls his whole family, but one of his sons- in-law, Dan Brooks and his daughter Alice are fed up with that. Brooks quits his job as manager of J.L.'s paper box factory and devotes his life to his racing horse Broadway Bill, but his bank- roll is thin and the luck is against him, he is arrested because of $150 he owes somebody for horse food, but suddenly a planed fraud by somebody else seems to offer him a chance...

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Plot Keywords:

horse | heiress | animal in cast credits | family business | colonel | 

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Taglines:

The comedy successor to "It Happened One Night"

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 December 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Broadway Bill - A Vitória Será Tua

Filming Locations:

Tanforan Race Track, San Bruno, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Later remade as Riding High starring Bing Crosby.

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Quotes

Dan Brooks: Doesn't anything ever change in this mausoleum?
Alice Higgins: Yes. Bedspreads and underwear.

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Connections

Edited into Riding High (1950)

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Soundtracks

"Split-Pea Soup and Succotash"
(uncredited)
Composer Unknown
Sung several times by Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy

User Reviews

Capra-corn at the Race Track

Dan Brooks is tired of his dull life as the manager of a paper box manufacturing company, given to by his father in law, J.L. Higgins, a man obsessed with acquiring as many businesses and properties as he can. The only thing Dan seems to enjoy is racing his horse, Broadway Bill. When Higgins forces Dan to choose between his work or the horse, Dan continues the movie by choosing the latter, which causes his wife, Margaret, to stay behind and be disowned by the family. Dan, along with his stablehand Whitey, plans to race Broadway Bill in the $25,000 sweepstakes (and show Higgins that he wasn't wasting his time working on Broadway Bill), but needs to come across $500 for the entry fee. Dan, Whitey, Margaret's sister Alice (who really has a crush on Dan) and one of Dan's old friend's from his racetrack days, Col. Pettigrew, come up with every trick they know to get the money, while still dealing with a gambling syndicate trying to clean up on a rival horse by driving up the odds, Broadway Bill suffering from a cold, and Dan locked up for failing to pay the stable & feed bill. Very good film, but lacks the magic Capra had with his other films (It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, etc.) Baxter is good as Dan, but just doesn't seem right for the hopeful characteristics needed. Loy is a delight as Alice/Princess, Connelly repeats the same role he played in It Happened One Night, & Muse, Walburn, & Overman lend fine support as Whitey, the Colonel, and Happy respectively. Good script, using nice humorous touches, and a touching ending. Rating, 8.