Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more

 

Broadway Bill (1934)

Director: Frank Capra

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Scripted by Robert Riskin from a story by Mark Hellinger, this is an early sample of Capracorn, with Connolly as a tyrannical tycoon who uses his three sons-in-law as yes men. One of the three (Baxter) rebels, tells Connolly he is a shark preying on small businesses, and goes back to his earlier life on the racetrack, hoping to make a champion of his horse Broadway Bill. His wife (Vinson) turns her back on him, but her rebellious younger sister (Loy) delightedly abets him. Complications ensue, since the horse won't run unless its rooster pal is on hand, conmanship is required to raise the Derby entrance fee, and the fix proves to be on. Gallant Broadway Bill nevertheless wins (though his heart bursts with the effort), justifying the faith of all the small-time punters who had bet on him. Baxter is consoled by his realisation that Loy loves him, and the chastened Connolly (surprise, surprise) gives his empire back to the little people. Ethically dubious and mostly tedious, it was remade by Capra as Riding High in 1950, re-using some of the racetrack footage.

Author: TM 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Features

Making a name for himself

Making a name for himself

Sin Nombre's Cary Joji Fukunaga learned his lessons well.

To the letter

Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.

Mind over matter

David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.

Fool's gold

Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.

We are the championed

Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."

A history of violence

Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.

True romantic

James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.

Playing in the dark

MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.

Junk bonds

Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.