Going Places 
                                           
Director: Ray Enright
Year: 1938
Rating: 7.0
An enjoyable lighthearted comedy from Warner Brothers directed by the always reliable Ray Enright. Enright was usually the choice to direct those Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell films that are so much fun. These were the days when a happy ending was guaranteed. If you think about it, that is really one of the big differences between today and the Golden Age of studio films. No matter the genre, you were going to go home feeling better than when you came in. Film has gotten so much darker since. Is that a reflection of us or the times I wonder. Not sure if that is good or bad but when I am in the need of a happy ending, I go for an oldie. This was a sure thing no matter how silly it is and this hits silly with a horseshoe. And I felt better.



It has one of those great Warner casts as well - lots of recognizable faces and some great surprises. It stars Dick Powell who was still in what were termed his Juvenile roles - i.e. clean-cut, innocent and romantic as in all those Busby Berkeley musicals. He sings here as well. His character Peter works at a hum-drum job in a clothing store and is bored out of his mind. He comes up with a great but idiotic idea - go to a steeplechase race with his colleague (the frantic comedian Walter Catlett) and pose as a famous steeplechase rider in order to promote the clothes from his store. What could go wrong?



He soon falls in love with a sweetie (Anita Louise who was more famous as a socialite than an actress) and has to continue his pretense to impress her. Her cousin is played by Ronald Reagan. Two broke gamblers (Allen Jenkins and Harold Huber) who are hitchhiking see an incredibly fast horse racing about and put together a plan to get Peter (who they think is a famous rider) to tame this horse and win the big race. Lots of happenstances take place that as we all expect put Peter on the ornery wild horse in the race. The race is very funny. Powell is as always pleasant and it would be another decade before he got edgier roles that he turned out to be terrific in (Murder, My Sweet).



The surprise here were the black actors who show up. A surprise because none of them are listed on the poster. Now as expected they are all in servant roles - Louis Armstrong in a large role sings a few songs - his hit Jeepers Creepers being one. There is a large ensemble musical number when all the black staff gather and sing - one being Maxine Sullivan. Rochester shows up for good measure. How we are supposed to feel about these stereotypical roles? I don't know but I was sure glad to see them. But I think about all the actors in that big number and wonder what their stories were - how much musical talent was there that has been lost by time. Who never got a chance because of the rules of society. Ward Bond pops in as a cop and Thurston Hall is wonderful as the often-flabbergasted owner of the horses and every year goes on an exotic trip - to see his mistress in New York. I had never heard of this film and it was a delight.