Do you like musical comedies? Then this is your cup of tea. It has two really terrific musical entries. Donald O'Connor is a good dancer, but he is not particularly creative. Me and my shadow is terrific, but not entirely original.
The plot has a lot of fluff. O'Connor plays the part of a fast talking salesman. He tries to sell his wares in a town of 275. When it's time to leave, Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride see him run after a stagecoach. They desperately need someone to run against a good runner who is a resident of another nearby town. They arrest him. He meets a beautiful resident of the town, and that makes the place more appealing. There are many non essential threads that lead us away from the "race", but we are intended to be amused by all the going ons.
Finally the day of the race arrives. O'Connor is not ready to race: he's been threatened by his girl friend's other boy friend, and he's been up all night baby sitting a sick horse.
That essentially is the plot. The race itself is a variation on the story of the Tortoise and the Hare.
It is a period piece: it is interesting as a part of the history of film, but one can watch much better films that O'Connor and Main and Kilbride have starred in. It is interesting to see once, but not worth more than a casual look when other better films are available.
The plot has a lot of fluff. O'Connor plays the part of a fast talking salesman. He tries to sell his wares in a town of 275. When it's time to leave, Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride see him run after a stagecoach. They desperately need someone to run against a good runner who is a resident of another nearby town. They arrest him. He meets a beautiful resident of the town, and that makes the place more appealing. There are many non essential threads that lead us away from the "race", but we are intended to be amused by all the going ons.
Finally the day of the race arrives. O'Connor is not ready to race: he's been threatened by his girl friend's other boy friend, and he's been up all night baby sitting a sick horse.
That essentially is the plot. The race itself is a variation on the story of the Tortoise and the Hare.
It is a period piece: it is interesting as a part of the history of film, but one can watch much better films that O'Connor and Main and Kilbride have starred in. It is interesting to see once, but not worth more than a casual look when other better films are available.