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A Day at the Races
MGM Pictures
Released: June 11, 1937
Runtime: 111 minutes
In his second film with the Marx Brothers, Allan Jones gets in touch with his inner horseman as he plays alongside Hi Hat the racehorse.
Sanitarium owner Judy Standish is in financial trouble and needs help fast. She also needs to ensure that wealthy Mrs. Upjohn remains a patient if the facility is to survive. Gil Stewart, her boyfriend, is also trying to help but is also pursuing a singing career. Trouble arises when Mrs. Upjohn prepares to leave the sanitarium due to her dissatisfaction with the doctors. She raves about a Dr. Hugo Hackenbush that she saw some time ago and Judy’s friend, Tony, overhears. Seeing Dr. Hackenbush as their only chance, he asks him to come to the sanitarium. However, unknown to Tony, he actually contacted Dr. Hackenbush the veterinary horse doctor…
Meanwhile, Gil surprises Judy with what he thinks will be good news: he just bought a race horse, Hi Hat, and hopes he can win big at the races. Judy thinks it is a terrible idea and gives him the cold shoulder for a few days. Once Dr. Hackenbush arrives, Mrs. Upjohn extends her stay at the hospital, but Dr. Hackebush soon runs into trouble as antagonist Dr. Steinberg (part of the sanitarium staff) sets out to reveal him as a fraud. Over at the race track, Gil’s jockey friend, Stuffy, helps him train Hi Hat for the next race, but the horses’ running times are not very good. Even worse, Gil is running out of money to board him. In the evening, Judy, Mrs. Upjohn, and Dr. Hackenbush attend a water-ballet carnival where Gil sings “Blue Venetian Waters.” It is all that Judy can do but not ignore his romantic charm. After his performance, Tony plays “Prelude in C sharp minor” on the piano and Stuffy joins him with a bit of “Prelude in C Sharp Minor” and later with a reprise of “Blue Venetian Waters” on the harp.
Eventually, Dr. Steinberg calls forth a real physician to reveal Dr. Hackenbush’s incompetence. After a hilarious attempt at examining Mrs. Upjohn with his “nurses” Stuffy and Tony, Gil and the three are on the run from the police. They take refuge with Hi Hat in a barn with Judy’s help. Just as Judy is beginning to lose hope, Gil lifts her spirits with the song, “Tomorrow is Another Day.” Also, a group of black spiritual singers and lindy hoppers come in to cheer them up. They perform a spiritual song and “All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm.” The police soon find them and they ride away on Hi Hat, who jumps over barriers with ease and escapes. So, they enter him in the upcoming steeplechase race, but the police are out to prevent him from running. So, Dr. Hackenbush, Tony, and Stuffy pull several gags in efforts to stall the race while Gil and Judy sneak Hi Hat to the starting line. Their plan works and Hi Hat comes into first place. The sanitarium is saved and everyone rejoices on the race track with Dr. Hackenbush singing “A Message from the Man in the Moon” to Mrs. Upjohn and Gil leading the group in a reprise of “Tomorrow is Another Day.”
Credits
Director…Sam Wood
Writers…Robert Pirosh, George Seaton, Geroge Oppenheimer
Producer…Max Siegel, Sam Wood, Irving Thalberg, Lwarence Weingarten
Cinematography…Joseph Ruttenberg
Editor…Frank E. Hull
Art Director…Cedric Gibbons, Stan Rogers, Edwin B. Willis
Sound…Douglas Shearer
Music Department…Leo Arnaud, George Bassman, Roger Edens, Paul Marquardt, Merrill Pye, Franz Waxman
Cast
Grouch Marx…Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush
Chico Marx…Tony
Harpo Marx…Stuffy
Allan Jones…Gil Stewart
Maureen O’Sullivan…Judy Standish
Margaret Dumont…Emil Upjohn
Leonard Ceeley…Whitmore
Douglass Dumbrille…J.D. Morgan
Esther Muir…Flo Marlowe
Sig Ruman…Dr. Steinberg
Robert Middlemass…Sheriff
Vivien Fay…Solo dancer
Ivie Anderson…Singer in roadhouse and barn
The Crinoline Choir…themselves
Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers…themselves
Awards
1938 nominated for an Oscar for Best Dance Direction by Dave Gould (“All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm”)
Soundtrack
• “All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm”
o Sung by Ivie Anderson and the Crinoline Choir, danced to by Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers
o Music: Bronislau Kaper, Walter Jurmann
o Lyrics: Gus Kahn
• “Blue Venetian Waters”
o Sung by Allan Jones, Played by Harpo Marx on the harp
o Music: Bronislau Kaper, Walter Jurmann
o Lyrics: Gus Kahn
• “Tomorrow is Another Day”
o Sung by Allan Jones in the barn scene, briefly reprised at end of the Crinoline Choir’s performance, and reprised by Allan Jones and chorus at the end
o Music: Bronislau Kaper, Walter Jurmann
o Lyrics: Gus Kahn
• “Prelude in C sharp minor, Op. 3”
o Played by Chico Marx on the piano
o Written by Sergei Rachmaninoff
• “A Message from the Man in the Moon”
o Sung briefly by Groucho Marx at the end
o **The “A Day at the Races” DVD Special Features includes a promo-cut recording of Allan Jones singing this song in the Audio Vault. He was supposed to sing it in the film, but it was cut**
o Music: Bronislau Kaper, Walter Jurmann
o Lyrics: Gus Kahn
• Prelude in C sharp minor
o Played by Harpo on the piano briefly
o Music: Sergei Rachmaninoff