Talk:A Day at the Races (film)

Untitled
Apart from Ivie Anderson, there seems to be no members of the (30's)Duke Ellington Band that appear in the musical number "All God's Children Got Rhythm". Compare to how the Ellington Band is featured (more dignified, which was the Duke's trademark) in another MGM film "Cabin in the Sky" (1943).I've read a book by trumpeter Rex Stewart (Jazz Masters of the 30's) that mentions the Ellington band being in Hollywood for "Day at the Races" which leads me to think that they just recorded the number for the film.203.171.196.81 12:34, 10 September 2007 (UTC)Matthew BG 10 September 2007

Musical numbers
Given how fairly detailed the main article is, I find it a little odd that the whole two musical sequences, the middle-section show and the stable dance are brushed off in the Plot Summary with just “Later, Whitmore attempts to get Hackenbush fired by having Mrs. Upjohn catch him in a compromising situation with a blonde floozie” & “Hackenbush, Tony, Stuffy and Gil hide out in Hi-Hat's stable, where Judy soon joins them”. I know these scenes don’t have any connection to the overall story per se, and were clearly added to the movie very bluntly, but they take up a lot of time (up to about 17 minutes of the film) and they should be at least mentioned in some way.

Here’s my input: a) “At a night gala at which Gil performs along Vivien Fay and her ballet (“On Blue Venetian Waters”), Hackenbush invites a blonde floozie named Flo and Mrs. Upjohn to his room at the sanitarium without the latter knowing of the other woman. Being persecuted, Tony and Stuffy blend with the musicians and perform their signature Chico/Harpo musical performances, including a scene in which Stuffy tears a piano apart in anger. Whitmore attempts to get Hackenbush fired by having Mrs. Upjohn catch him in a compromising situation with Flo.”

b) “Hackenbush, Tony, Stuffy and Gil hide out in Hi-Hat's stable, where Judy soon joins them. The Brothers and eventually Gil try to comfort Judy (“Tomorrow Is Another Day”), who is upset by the negative light of the situation at the sanitarium. Near the stable, Stuffy starts sympathizing with a community of poor folk who believe him to be Archangel Gabriel (“Gabriel (Who Dat Man)”). As the musical number progresses (“All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm”, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen”), the police arrives and the Brothers intent to disguise themselves by painting their faces with grease in blackface. The attempt fails as everybody runs off and Whitmore finally exposes Hackenbush as a horse doctor with a letter he received from the Florida Medical Board. Morgan is about to have them arrested when Hi-Hat hears Morgan's voice and bolts, jumping several obstacles in the way.”

c) “Stuffy realizes that the mud-covered horses were switched after the accident, and Morgan's jockey was riding Hi-Hat in the finish, thus making Hi-Hat the winner. The black folk arrive at the race and start walking with Gil, Judy and the Brothers through the racetrack, singing the final number (“A Message from the Man in the Moon”)”.190.190.199.11 (talk) 17:03, 12 October 2020 (UTC)

My input was removed and I'd like to know why. 181.229.126.150 (talk) 06:00, 25 January 2021 (UTC)


 * There is just one reason why your plot expansions have been repeatedly removed. There is a 700-word limit set on the plot section per WP:FILMPLOT. Otherwise, the plot section becomes too large for the article. You have consistently violated this guideline. Binksternet (talk) 08:12, 18 April 2021 (UTC)