Flying Fifty-Five
Flying Fifty-Five (1939)
Tagline: "With all that he cared for on the line, he staked everything on Flying Fifty-Five".
Starring: Derrick De Marney, Nacey Burne, Marius Goring, Peter Gawthorne
Featured Racecourse: Cheltenham
Director: Reginald Denham
Producer: Victor M. Greene
Writers: Edgar Wallace, Vernon Clancey, Kenneth Home, Victor M. Greene
Release Date: May 1939
Runtime: 87 mins (B&W)
Wikipedia Synopsis: After being disinherited by his wealthy father, an amateur jockey goes to work under an assumed name at a rural racing stables. Confusion arises when he is mistakenly reported to have been murdered.
Where to Buy: Amazon
Film Links: IMDB, BFI, Wikipedia
Starring: Derrick De Marney, Nacey Burne, Marius Goring, Peter Gawthorne
Featured Racecourse: Cheltenham
Director: Reginald Denham
Producer: Victor M. Greene
Writers: Edgar Wallace, Vernon Clancey, Kenneth Home, Victor M. Greene
Release Date: May 1939
Runtime: 87 mins (B&W)
Wikipedia Synopsis: After being disinherited by his wealthy father, an amateur jockey goes to work under an assumed name at a rural racing stables. Confusion arises when he is mistakenly reported to have been murdered.
Where to Buy: Amazon
Film Links: IMDB, BFI, Wikipedia
Personal Review
An excellent storyline centred around bribery, a rural racing stable and an unruly horse called Flying Fifty-Five. Derrick De Marney is very suave as the amateur jockey Bill Urquhart and there are some comical scenes when he gets drunk with alcoholic Charles Barrington (Marius Goring). Arch enemies Jonas Urquhart (Peter Gawthorne) and Jacques Gregory (D Clarke-Smith) were both really good and Ronald Shiner (Scrubby Oaks) was his ususal funny self. The cinematogrpahy was very good and the racing scenes at Cheltenham were particulary excellent.
The film features top class views of Cheltenham racecourse as it used to be with the old stands, parade ring and winners enclosure and it was also good to see how an objection used to be notified to the members of the public, a red flag on the numbers board. In addition it was amazing to see how a Stewards Enquiry was conducted in the old days. I've been to Cheltenham racecourse on a number of occasions and you wouldn't recognise the place as being the same racecourse in the film. There is also a superb race sequence at the end of the film with plenty of close-up jumping action and not one speeded up section.
I really like this film and it probably just pips Take A Chance for me as it purely focuses on horse racing and it was great to get an insight into how a rural stable used to operate in the 1930s. Derrick De Marney was a very smooth actor and once again I love all the other characters in the film and the old English dialogue as well as seeing Cheltenham as it used to be. (Rating 9/10)
Favourite Quotes
Jebson: "Goodnight Mrs Batten, I said goodnight Mrs Batten."
Aunt Eliza: "I Know you did I just didn't answer."
Mrs Fortescue: "Where's our horse darling?"
Archie Fortescue: "Well if they were running the other way he'd be first."
MOVIE STILLS
