SPORTING BLOOD

US, 1931, 83 minutes, Black and white.
Clark Gable, Madge Evans, Ernest Torrance.
Directed by Charles Brabin.

Sporting Blood is of historical interest as an early Clark Gable film. In 1930-31, he made almost a dozen films. He portrays the debonair gangster who repents.

The film is one of the earliest on the racing theme - using authentic racing locations in such states as Kentucky with its Churchill Downs. There is a great deal of dialogue about horses and human sympathy for them. The film reflects the interests of the Depression with the focus on the wealthy. There are stereotype gangsters - and a focus on the heroine who is a reformed gangster’s moll. There are parallels drawn between her rehabilitation and that of the champion horse who is brought up well, sold and exploited, returned to its owners for an eventual win! The film is brief, looks authentic with its horse racing sequences, but relies on stereotypes for its characters and romance.