When asked who the most talented actor in Hollywood was in the late 1930s and early ‘40s, many actors would say, “Mickey Rooney.” The child star grew up to be 5 feet, 2 inches of pure talent, displaying his many abilities in over 300 films throughout his long career. Due to his slight stature and limitless energy, he was a natural choice to play a jockey. In 1980, he earned his fourth and final Oscar nomination for his performance as a former jockey in “The Black Stallion.” However, four decades earlier, he played two equally memorable riders in 1937’s “Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry” and 1944’s “National Velvet.”
‘Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry’
Sir Peter Calverton (C. Aubrey Smith) and his nephew, Roger (Ronald Sinclair), travel from England with their champion racehorse, The Pookah, to enter him in the American Cup. Roger observes jockey Timmie Donovan (Rooney) win a race with his signature “come-from-behind” tactic and decides he must ride The Pookah.Timmie suggests that they enter the horse in a handicap race before the cup. Due to the shock of losing the race, Sir Peter dies of a heart attack, as this was their only hope of regaining financial solvency.
This film is notable for the first screen pairing of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, who would go on to make nine more films together. Unlike most of their later pairings, the two youngsters are not a couple in this film. However, their natural chemistry is unmistakable, particularly in their only one-on-one scene, when Cricket (Garland) finds Timmie in a drugstore and asks him to help Roger save The Pookah.
‘National Velvet’
Velvet Brown (Elizabeth Taylor) is a young girl in the small town of Sewels, England, who dreams of nothing but owning and riding horses. One day, she meets young vagabond Mi Taylor (Rooney). Their conversation is interrupted when a horse leaps over the wall of a nearby pasture. Velvet is immediately enamored with the horse and names it The Pie. Coincidentally, Mi was on his way to her house, since her mother’s name is in his late father’s address book.Velvet’s mother (Anne Revere) tells her that Mi’s father was her trainer when she swam the English Channel in her youth. She agrees to let Mi become Mr. Brown’s (Donald Crisp) assistant, but won’t tell him the truth about his father until he’s proven himself. Meanwhile, Mi steals their hidden savings. As he prepares to make his getaway, he’s interrupted by Velvet, who is oblivious to his ulterior motives.
When The Pie’s owner raffles him off, Mi buys the family tickets, against Mr. Brown’s wishes, and Velvet wins. She decides to enter him in the Grand National horse race when Mi tells her that The Pie cleared a stone wall the size of the toughest jump.
When Velvet asks Mi to ride the horse, he reveals that he was once a jockey but has lost his nerve since causing a racetrack accident which resulted in another rider’s death. However, that night, he finally finds the confidence to mount The Pie and rides around the dark, deserted racetrack. Upon returning to the trailer, he finds Velvet in the riding silks. She tells him she wants to ride her horse to victory in the race, disguised as a boy.
A Tale of Two Jockeys
These films are not similar, but there are certain key elements which connect them. In one, Rooney plays a young up-and-coming jockey, Timmie Donovan, who’s tricked into making the wrong decision. He starts tough and cocky but turns out to be a regular guy on the inside, who has just put up barriers to protect himself in a life of hard knocks.
In the other, he plays a worldly-wise, embittered former jockey who has lost his direction in life. While Mi Taylor seems essentially the same, he is a much darker character. He is obviously out to use the Browns as best he can and must be reformed by their kindness and honesty, rather than just revealing a naturally good nature.
“Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry” is a warmhearted, fun movie, featuring generous doses of humor to offset the dramatic segments. “National Velvet,” while very engaging, is somewhat dampened by an unsatisfying ending. We just see a faraway shot of two silhouettes. This is doubtless because Rooney had to film all his scenes in one month before reporting for basic training to serve in World War II.
