Come on George

Come on George (1939)

Tagline: "George is an old stable hand and is the only one who can control a psychopathic racehorse"

Starring: George Formby, Pat Kirkwood, Joss Ambler

Featured Racecourse: Northolt Park

Director: Anthony Kimmins
Producer: Jack Kitchin 
Writers: Anthony Kimmins, Leslie Arliss, Val Valentine

Release Date: November 1939
Runtime: 91 mins (B&W)

IMDB Synopsis: George befriends a race horse only to discover that it has a reputation for attacking any jockey that comes near it just before a big race. There are the inevitable gang of villains, car chases, a comic brain specialist and a girl for George to fall for and to sing his cheeky-chappie songs at.

Where to Buy: Amazon

Personal Review


An excellent story line where George gets wrongly accused of pick pocketing at Northolt Racecourse and in his hasty escape he ends up in the box of rogue horse "Maneater". He builds up a special relationship with the horse and is the only jockey who is able to handle him effectively - that is until George really finds out who the horse is and then he gets frightened. Some psycho therapy and a few bangs on the head later George is able to ride the horse in the Belgrave Plate but can he overcome a fall at the water jump?

There are some excellent chase scenes throughout the film with George trying to escape from the police and Sir Charles Bailey (Joss Ambler). I also like the way George is introduced into the film, he appears to be walking along with the other jockeys behind a fence in his checked silks and cap, a young boys asks him for a tip and then he emerges from the fence cycling on an ice cream bike! George also belts a couple of classic racing songs on the ukulele "I Won't Let The Stable Down" and "I'm Making Headway Now" which fit in really well with the film. George Formby used to be an apprentice jockey so the riding of horses came naturally to him and he performed all of his own stunts in this film - I thought the horse "Maneater" was extremely well trained, mad as a hatter one minute and then as calm as a summer sea the next. Overall very good acting and the film production was well executed.

I had never even heard of Northolt Park racecourse until I researched this film so it was great to see plenty of footage of this now defunct course and how very modern it looked. The racecourse was opened in May 1929 and consisted of a left handed oval track of 10 furlongs and offered races from 5 furlongs up to 2 miles. Northolt was the first racecourse to introduce a precise timing mechanism using special adaptions on the starting stalls and finishing line. The last meeting at the race track was June 1940 because after that the War Office commandeered the course for a POW camp and depot. The racecourse did not open again after the war and a housing estate was put in it's place, however the entrance gates for the course "The Benjamin Barriers" can still be seen today close to Northolt railway station (the gates and train station are both featured in the film). 

The Belgrave Plate at the end of the film shows some good close up action from Northolt Racecourse and the race itself is very believable despite "Maneater" losing 10 lengths at the start and being remounted after falling at the water jump (you couldn't do that today). All in all the race is a great end to a lovely film.

This is my favourite George Formby film and it's so good to be able to see action from one of Britain's old courses. The plot and the songs are very good and there are lots of funny one liners and comedy chases within the film. Well worth a watch. (Rating 8/10)

Favourite Quotes
Sir Charles Bailey: "He’ll never stay on"
Bannerman: "He will if he does as I told him, don’t tap him you idiot, beat the daylight out of him, come on show him who’s master"
Sir Charles Bailey: "Man eater’s done it again, he’s done it again"
Bannerman: "Well what do you expect when…"
Sir Charles Bailey: "What do I expect, listen Bannerman, did you persuade me to buy that horse?"
Bannerman: "Yes but..."
Sir Charles Bailey: "Didn’t I pay a record price for him and give you a free hand to train him and you ask me what I expect"
Bannerman: "Well I.."
Sir Charles Bailey: "I want a racehorse whose going to win races, not an unmanageable brute who savages everyone who comes near him and who throws every jockey who gets on his back"


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