Thoroughbreds Don't Cry Reviews

Judy Garland's first starring role and her first of many movies with Mickey Rooney is a predictable racehorse story with a couple of tunes tossed in to liven up the hokum plot. Young Roger Calverton (Ronald Sinclair, a 14-year-old then being groomed as the new Freddie Bartholomew) arrives in the US with his crusty grandpa Sir Peter (C. Aubrey Smith). The Calvertons own a racehorse named The Pookah and want to put it on American tracks and make a killing. They offer young jockey Tim Donahue (17-year-old Rooney) the chance to ride and Tim accepts, feeling that this is a winning horse he can take to the finish line ahead of the pack. Unfortunately, Tim unwisely falls victim to the scheming of his no-good father and pulls back on The Pookah's reins during the big race. The horse loses, Tim's dad makes a fortune, and Sir Peter dies of shock. Tim is overwhelmed with guilt, but his friendship with Cricket West (Garland) helps him mend his ways. Given Rooney's stature, it was only natural that he play a jockey or an ex-jockey and in years to come he did it many times, most notably in NATIONAL VELVET; STABLEMATES; and THE BLACK STALLION.