DbcultAccessing Vault...
4.3/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 4.3/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Thoroughbred remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you are looking for a masterpiece of early sound cinema, you should probably keep looking. The Thoroughbred is one of those movies you watch on a rainy Sunday when you've already seen everything else.
It is definitely worth watching if you have a soft spot for 1930s horse racing tropes or if you just like seeing people in very tall trousers. If you want high-stakes action or nuanced characters, you will probably be bored out of your mind.
The plot is about as straight as the racetrack. Riley and Donovan are two trainers who hate each other for reasons that never really feel that important.
Then comes Tod Taylor. He's a jockey who is actually pretty good, but he has the ego of a modern-day influencer after his first big win.
I noticed that the way the rival jockeys hate Tod is almost funny. They look at him like he personally insulted their grandmothers just because he’s better at riding a horse.
Riley’s daughter, Colleen, is there to basically be the 'good girl.' She spends a lot of time fixing Tod’s bruises, which feels like a very specific 1930s way of saying she likes him.
The movie really kicks into gear when Margie shows up. She’s the 'come-on girl' for a gambler named Drake, and man, she does not have to work hard to ruin Tod’s life.
Tod goes from being a star athlete to a 'dissipated' wreck in what feels like five minutes of screen time. It’s the kind of speed-run of a moral collapse you only see in these old movies.
One scene with Margie and Tod at a table feels like it lasts forever. You can see the movie really trying to show us how 'bad' he’s becoming because he’s acting a bit silly and neglecting his training.
It reminded me a bit of the pacing in The Huntress, where things just happen because the script says it is time for them to happen. There isn't much build-up.
The gambling plot with Drake is also pretty standard. He wants Tod to throw the race to avoid jail, which is a huge jump in stakes that the movie doesn't quite earn.
The actual horse racing scenes are... okay. They have that shaky, early-sound-era look where you can't always tell which horse is which, but the dust looks real enough.
I liked the horse named Reckless. He’s probably the most consistent actor in the whole thing.
There is this one shot of a crowd cheering that looks like they just filmed a random group of people who had no idea what they were cheering for. It’s oddly charming in a low-budget way.
The ending is exactly what you think it is. Riley saves the day, Tod wins the race despite the 'dissipation,' and everyone is happy again.
It’s not a deep movie. It doesn't try to be.
It’s a lot like Pudd'nhead Wilson in the sense that it relies on these very old-fashioned ideas of honor and 'doing the right thing' at the last second.
Is it a great film? No. But it has a certain rhythm to it that is relaxing if you don't think too hard about it.
The way the actors talk is that fast, clipped 1930s style that makes even a conversation about oats sound like a life-or-death situation. It’s fun for a bit.
If you enjoy seeing how movies used to handle 'troubled youth' before they really knew how to write teenagers, you'll get a kick out of Tod. He’s a mess, but a polite one. 🐎
One more thing—the music in the background of the party scenes is weirdly loud. It makes it hard to hear the dialogue, but maybe that was for the best in those scenes.
I wouldn't go out of my way to find this unless you're doing a deep dive into the career of Pauline Garon. She's fine here, though she doesn't have a lot to do besides look worried or disappointed in Tod.
It’s a simple story about a boy and his horse and some very mean gamblers. Sometimes that's all you need for 70 minutes.
IMDb —
1915
Community
Log in to comment.
