Saratoga (film)

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Movie
German title Saratoga
Original title Saratoga
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1937
length 94 minutes
Rod
Director Jack Conway
script Anita Loos ,
Robert E. Hopkins
production Bernard H. Hyman
music Edward Ward
camera Ray June
cut Elmo Veron
occupation

Saratoga is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Jack Conway. The main roles were played by Clark Gable and Jean Harlow.

action

The bookmaker Duke Bradley reluctantly accepts a promissory note on his friend Frank Clayton's horse farm. But out of affection for Frank and his father, he accepts. When Frank dies of a heart attack during an important horse race, Duke promises his daughter Carol, who has just returned from a trip to Europe, to forget the promissory note. Her fiancé, millionaire Hartley Madison, wants to pay Duke off, but Carol vows to pay the debt herself before their wedding. To do this, she wants to accompany Duke on his travels from racetrack to racetrack and collaborate. Duke and Carol, who were previously friends, begin to fall in love.

Duke tries to convince Hartley to bet large amounts. Hartley had won a large sum at Duke years ago. Carol has the suspicion of being used by Duke. She promises Hartley that she will marry him as soon as her horse has won the great "Saratoga race". Hartley puts a large amount on Carol's horse at Duke. The favorite of the race, however, is a horse owned by Fritzi Kiffmeyer, an old friend of Duke's. The race must be decided by a finish photo. Carol hopes Kiffmeyer's horse wins because she doesn't want Duke to be ruined. Kiffmeyer's horse is declared the winner. Carol and Duke find each other again.

background

The theme song Saratoga , sung by Grace Saxon and the "Four Esquires", was written by Walter Donaldson (melody) and Bob Wright and Chet Forrest (lyrics). These three also composed the song The Horse with the Dreamy Eyes . Cliff Edwards, a singer known at the time by the stage name "Ukulele Ike", accompanied the song on his ukulele .

MGM had the film shot in Lexington , Kentucky, USA, and at the Saratoga Race Track, a horse racing track in Saratoga Springs , New York , USA . The film architect Cedric Gibbons and the set designer Edwin B. Willis provided the set design for the film . Douglas Shearer was the sound engineer .

For the role of Carol Clayton, Carole Lombard was initially planned, who for contractual reasons - she was under contract with Paramount Pictures at the time - could not participate. Clark Gable and Jean Harlow had already made seven films together, so studio boss Louis B. Mayer decided to give the role to Harlow.

The film is the last with Jean Harlow. In May 1937, when about 90% of the film was shot, Harlow collapsed on the set and passed away a week later. The remaining scenes were shot with Mary Dees, who was only filmed from behind. The voice was dubbed with Paula Winslowe. First, Mayer wanted to re-shoot the Harlow scenes with another actress. Actresses like Virginia Bruce or Jean Arthur were considered. But test screenings with the old scenes had shown that the audience would not accept the film without Jean Harlow.

The film premiered on July 23, 1937 in the United States. While the film was shown in cinemas in Austria as early as 1938, it did not appear in Germany until September 16, 1988 in a TV premiere on ARD . Worldwide the film grossed 3.3 million US dollars.

Reviews

The Lexicon of International Films described the film as "an entertaining but conventionally staged comedy." Variety described the film as a glamorous comedy-drama, with one of Jean Harlow's best performances.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. See Notes on tcm.com (English)
  2. See Articles on tcm.com (English)
  3. See Box Office on imdb.com
  4. Saratoga. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 26, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  5. See Saratoga . In: Variety , 1936.