Beery, Rooney And A Horse

Radio Record, Volume XII, Issue 32, 20 January 1939, Page 18

Beery, Rooney And A Horse

{"Stablemates-’’ -M-G-M. Directed by Sam. Wood. Starring’ Walface © Beery, Mickey Rooney. Retcase: ' Date indefinite.] N 1931, Wallace Berry and _ little Jackie Cooper made, if not. history, at least something of a sensation with a pie-' ture called ‘‘The Champ,"’ in which a broken-down pugilist became a new man, physically and morally, under the influence ‘of a@-small boy. "M-G-M’s new ‘picture . "Stablemates," diifers from "The Champ" ‘only to’ the extent that ‘Mickey -Rooney substitutes ‘for Jackie Cooper -as Beery’s cause of uplift, and the race-track replaces the boxing:ring. That "Stablemates" will create as much ‘of a-sensation is unlikely, for success. is not so ‘easily duplicated. © But, in its cut-and-dried .fashion, it is. quite :@ good picture. -To.me, "Stablemates"*. was principally interesting as a ‘contest for, ‘acting honours’ between the’ Beery,

‘the Rooney, and a horse named Lady Q. The humans go at it so enthusiastically that they over-act noticeably in several parts, particularly the tearful ones; but the horse, rémaining natural and welltrained, walks off with the decision. Man And Boy RITING about several of. Mickey Ficoney’s recent pictures, I have deseribed him as the finest juvenile. actor. on the sereen. After seeing "Stablemates" I will qualify that by saying he- will remain so ‘only .as long as his directors make him use more restraint in emotional passages. Both he and Wallace Beery are often guilty of the technique known as "mugging" (baldly, that means pulling faces}. At other times, their ‘partnership ‘produces:some splendid acting. . Beery, of course, is as dilapidated and :beery as ever (only this time it’s gin). He’s a disgraced ‘veterinary surgeon ‘who ° knows horses: inside ‘and out, but is wanted by the police on a criminal charge. Stable-boy Rooney, having acquired -.a ‘lame ‘thoroughbred

‘which has. been .sentenced to the glue-factory, persuades him to perform a difficult operation on the horse. This being successful, they set up in partnership, and Beery’s regeneration through the devotion and trust of the boy is soon so far

aiivanced that they adapt one. another as father and son. And Then The Race . POLLOWS an idyllic episode on a farm, shattered by the menace of the law, which is on Beery’s trail. Follows renunciation, misunderstanding, reconciliation , and the customary finale of the big

race on which all hopes -are pinned. Surprise, kiddies, the horse wins! And then Beery (the law having caught up) ‘goes -off to take his medicine like a ney man, while the Rooney smiles through his tears and comforts himself with the thought that it won’t be long, anyway, before they can 71] be together again. I don’t object to the tears, but the parting kiss on the Beery visage from a tough little guy like the Rooney might very well, I think, have been omitted. Good Scenes S you may have: gathered, the story of "Stablemates" is. caulked to the gunwales : with’ hokum; but it has one standout ‘sequence when: Beery, fortified with’ gin, ‘operates on the horse by the light of a torch. Very good also is the sequence down on the farm when Beery runs the risk of bringing the score to half-a-dozen for a -dominating female who has buried. five. husbands. He. prefers to take ‘his chances with the Law. .

The race-track atmosphere ‘and ‘the scenes where Mickey rides his nag to victory ‘are handled as efficiently .as Hollywood always handles these things. Though one ‘knows .the: horse can’t- lose, the big 2zace could hardly be more exciting if-one had a bet on the ‘outcome.