Going Places (1938) User Reviews

Exhibit A as to why Dick Powell wanted out of his Warner Brothers contract

[AlsExGal · 5/10 · 5 May 2016]

Powell is a sporting goods salesman who goes out to the track using a well known jockey's name trying to drum up business for their sporting goods by using and wearing those goods. But the imitation is too good. Anita Louise is the niece of a rich uncle who owns a stable of racehorses, and at first wants Powell to ride the wild horse, "Jeepers Creepers" in the Steeple chase, but then changes her mind and wants him to ride her own fast but tame horse, Lady Ellen. Powell's problem is that he takes a shine to the girl and just can't say no, but he is NOT a jockey! For the girl's sake he doesn't want to lose the race nor does he want to make a fool of himself and get trampled in the process. Louis Armstrong is the groom who can only calm the wild horse by playing "Jeepers Creepers" on his trumpet. Allan Jenkins is a gangster-type who has this inside information on the horse and is leaning on Powell to throw the race AND ride the wild horse, NOT the tamer fast horse Anita Louise wants Powell to ride. How will this turn out? Watch and find out, but first make a pot of coffee. It's a snoozer folks.

On the positive side, there are some great tunes and Powell's charm and voice are usually enough to carry almost any film through. Plus there is the great Satchmo singing "Jeepers Creepers". However, the plot, point by point, is just so inane yet boring. Ray Enright directed this film, and I've noticed that he directed more than his share of dogs over at WB. I'm not sure if Warner Brothers gave Ray the dogs to direct because he was Ray Enright, or if the films were dogs because of the way he directed them. Let's just say that Ray Enright as director in the credit is usually not the mark of quality.

My recommendation - if you are a Dick Powell completist and can keep your attention focused on Powell, his antics, and his singing, this is probably going to at least keep you awake. Otherwise, have it on hand if you ever have a severe case of insomnia, because "Going Places" is a film that goes nowhere.

One Man on a Horse

[lugonian · 7/10 · 19 September 2003]

GOING PLACES (Warner Brothers, 1938), directed by Ray Enright, capitalizes on the then current trend of horse racing stories, the most famous of the time being MGM's A DAY AT THE RACES and SARATOGA (both 1937), and 20th Century-Fox's KENTUCKY (1938), among others. The writers of GOING PLACES bring a more modern approach to an oft-filmed story based on the William Collier play, "The Hottentot," previously lensed as a silent in 1923, an early talkie in 1929, and again as POLO JOE (1936) with Joe E. Brown. Starring Dick Powell in his third of four comedies with occasional songs produced during the 1938-39 period, this ranks the best and funniest of the four in many ways. First it presents Powell as likable leading man, as he had been for quite some time, and secondly, unlike his earlier effort in THE COWBOY FROM BROOKLYN (1938), Powell shows his fine flare for comedy. As with COWBOY FROM BROOKLYN, his character is also afraid of horses, but in GOING PLACES, it doesn't come out as silly and/ or forced. GOING PLACES is given fine support from Anita Louise, a very attractive blonde co-star, along with some fine character actors, Allen Jenkins and Harold Huber, and especially Walter Catlett, whose presence and comedic timing in confusion is most welcome here.

As for the story, Powell plays Peter Mason, a sporting goods salesman at Detridge & Frome, with Franklin Dexter (Catlett) as his fellow assistant. Because Peter feels that not being able to sell their sporting goods is hurting business, he goes to Walter Frome (Robert Warwick), president of the company about this situation, and it is suggested that the store should advertise in order to improve sales and send someone to the Maryland steeple chase to demonstrate the horse riding outfits. Unable to get Peter Randall, the best gentleman rider in the world now vacationing in Australia, to do the demonstrating (and since the company has the rights to his name in advertising), it is suggested that Peter stand in and pose as Randall, with Dexter acting as his valet. Peter and Dexter then drive over to Maryland with a stock of sporting goods as an advertising stunt. Arriving at the hotel there, Peter makes the acquaintance a couple of Peter Randall fans, Cora Withering (Minna Gombell), and her beautiful niece, Ellen Parker (Anita Louise), who both know of the famous Peter Randall, but don't know of his physical appearance. Because of this pretense, Peter finds himself talked into riding Ellen's horse, Jeepers Creepers, in an upcoming race, causing Peter, who is terribly afraid of horses, to get the creepers. Along the way, Peter and Dexter encounter of race track gamblers down on their luck, Maxie (Harold Huber) and Droopy (Allen Jenkins), who insist that Peter ride in the race so they can collect on the winnings.

Featured in the supporting cast are: Ronald Reagan as Jack Withering; Larry Williams as Frank Kendall; Thurston Hall as Colonel Harvey Withering; Joyce Compton as Jean; Eddie Anderson as George; Louie Armstrong as Gabriel; and Maxine Sullivan as a maid and specialty singer.

With the music and lyrics by Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer, the songs are as follows: "Jeepers Creepers" (sung by Louis Armstrong); "Say It With a Kiss" (very briefly sung by Dick Powell on the piano/ possibly a deleted song or number); "Oh, What a Horse Was Charley" (sung by Dick Powell, Walter Catlett, Allen Jenkins and Harold Huber); and "Mutiny in the Nursery" (sung by Louie Armstrong, Dick Powell, Anita Louise, Maxine Sullivan and others). Of the four tunes, only "Jeepers Creepers" remains the most memorable, being honored for an Academy Award as Best Song for 1939, losing to "Over the Rainbow" from THE WIZARD OF OZ (MGM). The "Oh, What a Horse Was Charley" segment is quite amusing, in which Powell tries to prove to Jenkins and Huber that he is only a composer, not the famous horse rider. In order to convince them, Powell, along with Catlett, make up the words to his new composition, ending with all four men participating in the song with their own "made up" lyrics, ending with Huber and Jenkins playing horsey and galloping out of the hotel room. "Mutiny in the Nursery" is a catchy but not-to-memorable jive number featuring nursery rhymes, including "Little Bo-Peep" to the lyrics.

In spite of some of its shortcomings, GOING PLACES is highlighted with several funny sequences, including two segments where Powell rides Jeepers Creepers, first accidentally landing on the horse's back by falling from the top of the barn, going about the country road minus a saddle, giving the people the impression of what a great rider he is while all along he is quite fearful and wants to get off. The climatic race is equally funny when Powell, Jockey # 13, rides Jeepers Creepers only to have the horse run off the track and around town, rushing through the back yards of residences and laundry lines, followed by the overly familiar routine where the horse runs through the ditch, causing the ditch-diggers to flop out one by one. With the help of the bugle playing Louie Armstrong and his musician friends, orchestrating to the tune "Jeepers Creepers," does the wild horse tame itself and return to the track where it belongs. Many of the comic gags presented here are standard and typical for the likes of such comedians as the Marx Brothers (A DAY AT THE RACES, 1937) or Abbott and Costello (IT AIN'T HAY, 1943), but in watching Powell doing the same makes GOING PLACES, which can be seen on cable television's Turner Classic Movies, both interesting viewing at 84 minutes, as well as a real curio. (***)

A silly plot is redeemed by good music featuring Louis Armstrong and some very funny comedy.

[Art-22 · 7/10 · 25 October 1998]

It's easy to forgive the inane plot when the music and comedy are so much fun. First, there's the great Louis Armstrong singing and playing his trumpet in two songs, including the Oscar-nominated "Jeepers Creepers." He plays a horse groom, so what is he doing leading an all-black orchestra and a dozen or so black singers and dancers at a party? Never mind the incongruencies - just enjoy the big production number of "Mutiny in the Nursery." Louis is in good form in this early role. The comedy is mostly supplied by two masters of comedy, Allan Jenkins and Harold Huber, as likeable but inept crooks trying to eke out a living betting on horses. I was in stitches when they try to get Dick Powell to be a jockey in a race, and in desperation, Powell says he know nothing about horses (which is true) and writes songs (which is not). They insist he write a song then and there to convince them. While Powell and his boss, Walter Catlett, grope for words, they are the ones who supply most of the lyrics to "Oh, What a Horse Was Charlie." It's one of the funniest scenes you will see in a 1930's movie, all done verbally without slapstick. Then, of course, there is Powell, impersonating a famous jockey as an advertising ploy, falling in love with Anita Louise, and winding up riding a dangerous horse in the Maryland Steeplechase even though his riding experience is practically nil. The horse is called "Jeepers Creepers" and runs well only when he hears the song of the same name. Powell can't possibly win the race after running outside the course for a while and taking a spill on one of the hurdles. Or can he?

DIck Powell at his best

[xredgarnetx · 7/10 · 12 January 2007]

GOING PLACES is a slight comedy about horse racing that features a terrific cast of supporting players, many of them like Walter Catlett and Thurston Hall some of the best characters actors ever seen on screen. Powell, in his pre-hardboiled detective days, plays a store clerk who poses as a jockey for promotional reasons among the horse set in Maryland. Catlett is his co-worker who poses as his valet. Much identify confusion and merriment ensue, with several musical interludes, the most memorable being Mr. Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong debuting the classic number, JEEPERS CREEPERS, which in the movie is the name of a cantankerous race horse the horse-shy Powell ends up riding. This sort of film and in some cases the exact same plot had been done before and would be done again many times, with better known names like Bob Hope, Abbott and Costello and The Marx Brothers. Horse racing was at its most popular in the 1930s and '40s, only to quickly decline in the TV era. The highlight of the movie is an amusing musical number called "Charlie the Horse" sung in four-part harmony by Powell, Catlett and two silly thugs who are pushing the horse-hating Powell to race. It may remind some of something out of GUYS AND DOLLS.

Simple Programmer

[Maleejandra · 7/10 · 3 February 2008]

Sporting goods salesman Peter Mason (Dick Powell) is tired of getting customers that don't buy anything. He hatches an idea to advertise, and his co-worker thinks it'd be a bright idea for him to pose as Peter Randall, a famous jockey. He does so, but finds himself wrapped up in a scheme to win big by riding Jeepers Creepers, a strong but unruly horse. Anita Louise appears as the love interest, Ronald Reagan as the horse's owner, and Louis Armstrong as a stable hand who tames the horse with song. Nothing in this movie is really important; it is just something fun to watch to pass the time.

The music is fun, especially the big dance number close to the end of the film. It seemingly has no place in the film, but it showcases Armstrong well. Powell carries the film along, but do not expect anything unusual in his performance. This is yet another musical that he was at this time tired of making.

A Period Piece, Racial Warts and All

[lawprof · 24 February 2002]

This pre-war comedy of impersonation and manners at a race course is amusing. Watching Louis Armstrong and hearing him sing the old standard, "Jeepers Creepers," makes the movie. Hollywood's casual acceptance of racial bias and denigration of blacks is cooly reflected by two race track gamblers addressing Armstrong as "Uncle Tom" when they meet him.

First, Mercer's name got my attention ...

[pronker · 7/10 · 13 January 2019]

... in the credits, and what followed was fun enough for a rating of 7/10. Mercer's talents shine in the "Oh What A Horse Was Charley (Until He Got A Charley Horse)" number with Allen Jenkins (!) warbling, along with Powell and others, about a horse. This number made me LOL and when the four singers got into the spirit and pranced around the piano, it was grand fun.

Powell may be tired of this sort of role and looking to get out, yet he performed like a trouper as the go-getter who only wants his business to do better. He sure isn't getting any help from his stick in the mud boss or the owner of the store, who are content to let their inventory stay in the store until it rots. Powell gets the idea of using an endorsement from a famous horseman, and even better, the horseman resides in Australia and so is ripe for impersonation. Down goes non-horseman Powell to Horse Country to impersonate an Australian and tout his store's goods. This succeeds about as well as you think it would.

Louis Armstrong plays "Jeepers Creepers" such a fun and silly song, and he also leads the orchestra in a number based on nursery rhymes. Even though the song isn't much, seeing Armstrong as a younger man really was interesting because I recall him mainly from the 60s TV performances. There were topical references in the film to world events and some clever dialogue (nervous Powell says "I thought you said coffin" when Catlett says "I ordered coffee" as their room's buzzer sounds), and other favorite performers abounded: Anita Louise for being pretty and sweet when she wanted so badly for her colors to win, Allen Jenkins who could be threatening as well as comical, Thurston Hall as a blustering wretch who cheated on Minna Gombell before she threatened to pull the plug on the monies she handed out to him for his "hunting expeditions." The expeditions involved younger women as "game."

I recommend this film as filled with antics revolving around horses and although I've not ridden in a few decades, vicarious thrills are to be gained by watching the riding footage.

kind of a remake of A Day at the Races...

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 17 October 2010]

All the pieces are there - great cast, good story. Dick Powell, Allen Jenkins, Ron Reagan, and the amazing Louis Armstrong. Too many musical numbers, maybe ? and that bit where they prance Alan Jenkins around the apartment while they sing "Oh what a horse was Charlie" .... that must have been someone's favorite bit. They should have given more screen time to Cora and Colonel Withering. They don't show this one very often on Turner Classics... either it's not up to snuff, or maybe it's a rights issue. Very similar plot to the Marx Brothers' "Day at the Races", which came out the year before. Dick Powell pretends to be famed sportsman Peter Randall, which backfires later in the film. The horse at the center of all the excitement will only go when he hears L. Armstrong belt out the "Jeepers Creepers", which incidentally was the song from Warren & Mercer nominated for an Oscar, the film's only nomination. Directed by Ray Enright, who had started with Mack Sennett, served in WW I, then returned to the industry to work at Warner Brothers.

"Jeepers Creepers where'd you get those weepers."

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 4 January 2006]

Going Places was one of those films that made Dick Powell more determined than ever to get better parts or leave Warner Brothers. After one more film there, he did just that.

Powell plays a sporting goods salesman in a department store and gets persuaded to impersonate a noted horseman and polo player who happens to be in Australia at the moment. Department store executive Walter Catlett is looking to market his wares among Maryland's horsey set and gets the bizarre notion to have Powell masquerade there. Catch is that just like in Cowboy from Brooklyn, Powell is deathly afraid of horses.

I think you can see where the rest of this is going. It's in the tradition of race track comedies like A Day At the Races or It Ain't Hay. Of course those films were in the hands of comedians like the Marx Brothers and Abbott and Costello. Now Powell does look uncomfortable throughout and maybe his desperate wish not to be doing these kind of films translates into awkwardness.

Powell was one of the most realistic at self assessment of his talents. He said himself he was not a national icon like Bing Crosby or creative like Fred Astaire. His days in musical films were numbered any way it was sliced. He had to break out or see his career go up the spout.

But here in Going Places he wasn't even given anything good to sing. A few songs in the comic vein. The big hit number is Jeepers Creepers which sure was a big hit in 1938 and sung by the inimitable Louis Armstrong. Satchmo plays the groom of a horse named Jeepers Creepers who's one wild nag. Satch soothes the savage beast with his rendition of the song.

Of course he endures some of the racial stereotyping of the day as well in the role. That could never have been to his liking, even to get a big song hit.

Such Warner Brother veterans as Anita Louise, Allen Jenkins, Harold Huber and Ronald Reagan fill out the cast. Of his fellow contractees at Warner Brothers, Reagan for the rest of his life always singled out Pat O'Brien and Dick Powell as the most encouraging to a young player looking to rise.

Only fans of the players named above should bother with this one.

A lot to like and a lot to hate...definitely a mixed bag.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 15 March 2009]

This is a very forgettable though enjoyable little film that has a lot going for it as well as a lot to hate. It's a very mixed bag, that's for sure! First, what to like. Dick Powell plays a nice likable guy (as usual) and there is some decent comedy in the film. It's the sort of nice time-passer they made so well during the era--a mindless but fun little bit of escapism. Plus, you do get to see a very early performance by Ronald Reagan as well as Louis Armstrong. Of the two, Armstrong definitely comes off best, as his singing is great and you are left wondering why he didn't make more films during the 1930s. Reagan is there mostly as window dressing and has little to do. He's not bad, but also not particularly noticeable.

Now for the bad. If you are looking for a film to show your politically correct friends or to show to a local chapter of the NAACP, keep looking! Most of the Black people in the film are the typical stereotypical happy singing idiots that Hollywood loved during the 30s and 40s. It's sad to see Louis Armstrong, for instance, forced to play such a demeaning part--he was better than this. Also, the plot itself was majorly lame--really, really lame! Many films back then loved the idea of an animal or athlete responding magically to music. Most often it's a particular tune that makes the animal/athlete respond. In this case, the horse 'Jeepers Peepers' responds when he hears the song named for him. In the case of the Three Stooges, it was 'Pop Goes the Weasel' that made Curly box like a madman. There are countless other examples, but regardless this is a terribly contrived and stupid story element. Finally, although it's not as big a concern, it was awfully dumb to have Dick Powell playing an Aussie--especially since he sounded less Australian than Louis Armstrong or the horse!! Still, despite these many bad parts of the film, there are many genuinely good moments and you can't help but like Powell--no matter how contrived it all is.

Going Places was quite an entertaining musical comedy for me!

[tavm · 9/10 · 13 February 2019]

Well, since it's Black History Month and I usually review films in chronological order concerning African-Americans in them during this time, this movie was next on my list. First, Louis Armstrong plays a horse trainer who's in charge of a horse named Jeepers Creepers and the only way he can tame that horse is by playing the song of that name on his trumpet. And he not only sings that song but another one called "Mutiny in the Nursery" along with Maxine Sullivan, the Dandridge Sisters consisting of Dorothy, Vivian, and Etta Jones, as well as white leads Dick Powell and Anita Louise. Eddie Anderson appears as a trainer of another horse named Lady Ellen. And someone named George Reed appears as a butler named Sam. Other fine supporting turns came from Walter Catlett and Thurston Hall. And since I always like to cite when players from my favorite movie-It's a Wonderful Life-appear in something else, here Ward Bond plays a cop who confronts Allen Jenkins when he has a horse walking with him at night on the road. Oh, and this was one of future president Ronald Reagan's early film appearances introing himself with an announcer-like speech not unlike when he was on radio previously. In summary, Going Places was a very funny movie with many entertaining musical numbers.

Usual 1930s predictable plot with one very funny bit and lots of the usual racism of the day.

[tles7 · 4/10 · 14 October 2018]

Predictable WB silly musical story but there is a wonderful impromptu number at the piano with two gangsters and the two male leads that comes out of nowhere,It is delightful and very much a surprise and the best thing in the movie. It wareminiscent of the two gangsters from Guys and Dolls.

It is fun to see Louis Armstrong younger and doing some numbers. Of course, these are the black cast numbers totally isolated from the rest of the movie so the southern distributers could cut all these scenes out of the film when it was distributed. Otherwise, all the black maids and butlers were standing motionless in the background of any other dialog scenes.

One disturbing thought...when stars have stuntmen like Dick Powell had for the horserides...you only saw the stuntman from a distance and when he got close, he would hide his face to the side. Louis Armstrong had a stunt person riding the scooter for him but even in a close up ride, they didn't try to hide his face in this one closeup sequence. I would hate to think that they thought the the audience wouldn't notice because "they all look alike". Weirdly disturbing.

Great song--and that's it

[rhoda-9 · 4/10 · 1 May 2020]

There is one reason to see this movie, and it's not Dick Powell. The movie is currently on youtube so just go 11 minutes in and you can see and hear the one and only Louis Armstrong serenading a race horse with the tune named after him, "Jeepers Creepers." It won the Best Song Academy Award for that year, and it sure deserved it. Pure joy. No need to bother with the rest of the flick, a drab, trite little thing that was Powell's third flop in a row and clearly got him thinking he had better get another string for his bow--the result being the seedy, nervy criminal or detective he played in later films such as Johnny O'Clock.

Horseplay and slapstick...in a lower key than most screwball comedies from this era

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 23 February 2010]

Sporting goods salesman uses the alias of a lauded horse-jockey from Australia to infiltrate Georgian high society to help promote his employer...how soon do you think it will be before he's on a racehorse himself? Semi-musical farce with romantic interludes also features Louis Armstrong performing the Oscar-nominated "Jeepers Creepers" to an unbroken horse who appreciates good jazz. Some amusing complications in an otherwise overly-familiar script adapted from the play "The Hottentot" by Victor Mapes and William Collier--it took even more writers to come up with the screenplay! In the lead, Dick Powell has such an easy, unassuming nature, one tends to give the film greater compliments than it really deserves. Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer wrote the songs, all novelty numbers. ** from ****

Satchmo Serenades a Racehorse in this light Screwball Comedy

[erichkaroly · 8/10 · 3 May 2020]

A light screwball comedy, based on the play "The Hottentot" that had already been made into 2 films, it's now best known for a Youtube-popularized musical scene with Louis Armstrong playing trumpet to a horse.

With dialogue as fast-paced and clever as it is silly, it sets its tone at the outset, with a wink, in a shop specializing in riding outfits. As with the British 70s series "Are You Being Served?", distinct personalities and social classes set up the characters for farcical misunderstandings of all sorts, and before you can say "Jeepers Creepers" 3 times, we are off to the races - quite literally.

The music is from Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer. Several songs were cut that were good enough to later enjoy successful recordings, so they may have been planning a full out movie musical at the outset. What remains is a story with a handful of songs that all come out of the actual plot. An early scene of 4 of the leading players attempting to write a song at the piano is terrific - neither of the 4 are actual songwriters. The writing and the performances distinguish a very ordinary nursery rhyme of a tune, which serves as a plot motif throughout the story:

-Oh, what a horse was Charlie. Till he got a charlie horse!

"Jeepers Creepers", now a novelty standard, originated with this mostly forgotten film, and was even nominated for an Oscar. It introduces the great Satchmo, and the horse he serenades on his trumpet. Louis Armstrong plays the scene as always with such forthrightness as to transcend the cultural stereotyping of the part, helping us to suspend disbelief. He believes the horse responds to the song, and the 'choreography' of the horse's reactions is so clever, and we happily go along 'for the ride'. It reminded me of a scene in one of Katharine Hepburn's last films, "Can This Be Love?" Temporarily stranded with a horse in Central Park, she talks her way through her concerns about marrying again - with the horse. Like Louis, she plays it so cleanly that you could almost forget who she is talking to.

Which brings us to the 3rd and last musical interlude, a full-out production number starting off the 3rd Act. It's a smartly put together pastiche of actual nursery rhymes that travels amongst several of the different sets of characters at the horse race.

-There's music in the nursery, There's music in the nursery. 'Cause Mother Goose is on the loose, Her kids are swingin' out.

Led by Louis leading a band that looks like they are suited in waiters' jackets, it would be an amusing suspension of disbelief if slavery and prejudice had never existed. Maxine Sullivan appears as a maid opening window above, her voice as clear and lovely as an angel. A group of young Afr-Am men divided in to 3 trios sing and move with elan. And the leads, Dick Powell and Anita Louise waltz into the center of it all with all the innocence of new love. The whole scene is awash with joy, the centerpiece of the film, reminding us what its actual purpose is.

And finally, the great race itself, 25 cents to see a Steeple Chase. That is probably not far off from the admission price to the film itself.

Director Ray Enright started out cutting for Mack Sennett, and it shows. It's an impressive even thrilling action piece, as the horse has to leave the race per se (for plot reasons) and cut through a number of unwelcoming neighboring environments, and of course, this is many decades before CGI. In contemporary music terms - its all done "acoustic". Au naturel. Fantastic leaps, and the one that really got me - a course down and through and out of a construction gully in one take.

I was looking forward to seeing Harrison Ford's take on "Call of the Wild" last year, until I found out the dog was going to be CGI. It may be that we arent going to accept putting animals through the ringer to make these kinds of films anymore. I don't know enough about the matter to know if a film like either of these could be and sometimes was made without abusing the animal, but the real thing is as endearing as it is thrilling, and the horse sure looks like it is having a good time. if that's not the case, than kudos to the editing, and to the discontinuation of the practice. But like the ivory used for piano keys, I will miss it.

"All's well that ends well", as expected, and the 2 comic "heavies" of the story (stalwarts Harold Huber and Allen Jenkins placing bets for the Mob), get their comeuppance after providing comic relief throughout the entire picture.

My favorite moment: After a short and simple vaudevillian bit on pacing that takes place in a hotel lobby, Louis Armstrong has a brief encounter with one of the 2 Mob bettors, and his reaction to learning which horse the guy has placed his bet on :

-You got a bet on Jeepers Creepers? {Shakes head} Ummm. You've got misery. {Final look back, as he ascends staircase} Ummm.