I've Gotta Horse
I've Gotta Horse (1965)
Tagline: "Wonderful Songs, wonderful Film"
Starring: Scott Anthony, Geoffrey Bateman, John Bindonm Judi Dench
Featured Racecourses: Epsom, Yarmouth
Director: Kenneth Hume
Producer: Kenneth Hume & Larry Parnes
Writers: Kenneth Hume, Larry Parnes, Ronald Chesney & Ronald Wolfe
Release Date: July 1965
Runtime: 87 mins
Wikipedia Synopsis: Based on the star's famous love of animals, this musical comedy portrays Billy setting out to add a sheepdog to his vast entourage of animals and coming back with an irresistible horse named Armitage instead. To his manager's horror, Billy smuggles the horse backstage during rehearsals for his big show and the horse proceeds to create havoc. Little do either of them know that Armitage is actually a thoroughbred racehorse. Then Billy's horse contracts pneumonia and Billy must choose between love of his horse and the big show..
Where to Buy: Amazon
Personal Review
"I've Gotta Horse" is a semi-autobiographical British musical comedy starring 1960's pop star Billy Fury which centres around his summer show in Great Yarmouth and his love of animals. Billy buys a racehorse at an auction and has to look after the animal in between rehearsals at the theatre which ultimately leads to chaos when he has to hide the horse backstage. The horse is entered in a race at Yarmouth and finishes third at big odds before succumbing to pneumonia a few days later. Billy's manager buys him another racehorse which has an entry in the Epsom Derby - the only problem being that the summer show in Yarmouth opens on the same day. Billy and the cast of the show head over to Epsom to watch the big race but will they get back in time for the curtain call?
Billy Fury was not the greatest of actors but his boyish good looks and wonderful singing voice more than make up for that, in fact he had the same number of hits as the Beatles in the 1960s (24) without any of them topping the charts. He sadly died of a heart attack in 1983 when only 42 years old. His love interest in the film, Jo, is played by Amanda Barrie who by then had already featured in two Carry On films (Cabby & Cleo) and later went on to play Alma in Coronation Street. The love interest was not just confined to the film though - the two of them went on to have a proper relationship but Amanda ultimately turned down Fury's wedding proposal.
Hymie Campbell, Billy's manager in the film, was played brilliantly by Michael Medwin who appeared is numerous theatre productions, TV shows and films during his sixty year career. The belligerent theatre owner Mr Bartholomew was played by Bill Fraser who also appeared briefly in the racing films "Dead Cert" and "Just My Luck" as did his wife Mrs Bartholomew, Majorie Rhodes, who played Norman Wisdom's mother in the latter. She also appeared in another racing related film called "Over the Odds" in 1961 about a bookmaker struggling to cope with his two mother-in-laws, but I can't find any copies of that movie anywhere. The stage hand Jock was played by Peter Gilmore who also appeared in nine Carry On films including the same two that Amanda Barrie appeared in. Leslie Dwyer played Fury's personal assistant Bert and he also appeared in another racing film seventeen years previously where he played the butler Sam Hillcott in the Calendar. Finally the young boy Peter who looks after Fury's horses was played by Michael Cashman (Lord Cashman CBE) - better known for playing Colin Russell in Eastenders (the first gay kiss in a British soap opera) and now a Labour peer in the House of Lords!
The first horse racing scene in the movie is filmed at Great Yarmouth racecourse, just down the road from the Royal Aquarium Theatre and in the featured race Fury's horse Armitage finishes third at longs odds. Yarmouth racecourse looks a lot different now but the old stands at the track in the sixties looked very quaint. The second race in the film shows Fury's horse Anselmo finishing fourth in the 1964 Derby at Epsom racecourse which is actually a true sequence of events. Fury did in fact own Anselmo and the horse was trained by Lester Piggot's father Keith and ridden by leading 18 year old apprentice Paul Cook who was having his first ride in the Classic. The 15/8 favourite Santa Claus won the race, ridden by fifty year old Australian jockey Scobie Beasley but Anselmo belied his odds to finish a close up fourth. Apparently Billy Fury was very excited in the paddock before the race and was smoking incessantly near the Queen, something not allowed at the time. The Derby race in the film features footage of the actual 1964 race mixed with footage of Fury and his entourage in the stands and the whole sequence works very well.
As well as Fury's own horse Anselmo appearing in the fast-moving musical comedy, his numerous dogs also hogged the limelight including a Great Dane, Alsation and Chiwawa named Speedy and later on we get a glimpse of a rabbit and a chimpanzee! The various musical numbers in the film are low budget but at the same time endearing and I particularly like the "I've Gotta Horse" song at the end of the film and the "You've Got To Look Right for the Part" song featuring Jon Pertwee (he of Worzel Gummidge and Doctor Who fame) in the London department store. Popular sixties bands "The Bachelors" from Ireland and Billy's backing group "The Gamblers" both played themselves in the film.
The "I've Gotta Horse" plot is very flimsy but if you forget about that and focus on the glorious colour footage of Great Yarmouth and the Royal Aquarium Theatre (later called the Royalty Theatre and sadly now closed) as well as the musical numbers and horse racing action in the film you can immerse yourself in a slice of the swinging sixties. (Rating 8/10)
Favourite Quotes
Billy Fury: "Did you give him a good work out this morning?"
Jockey: "Yeah of course sir"
Bert: "Fast isn't he"
Hymie: "Rubbish"
Jockey: "Well I'll have to push him, he needs a lot of this"
Billy Fury: "Oh you don't have to use the whip"
Jockey: "If I don't sir I'll never get him to the start on time"
MOVIE STILLS
