Broadway Bill

Broadway Bill was a relatively minor Frank Capra picture that was later remade by Capra with Bing Crosby. This DVD is the original version in which Warner Baxter, the leading man was afraid of horses. This becomes problematic in a story about a fast-talking rogue who gives up his wife and job for his true love -- a horse.

It's hard to go wrong with Frank Capra, provided you appreciate his classic, all-American shtick. But Broadway Bill the DVD is a little like Broadway Bill the fictional horse: it's a virtual unknown that the fat-cats over at Paramount couldn't look past their money give any support. Don't expect much in the way of fancy remastering or surround sound. This old nag is just as grainy as the first day she was projected and the Dolby Digital sound needs compression badly. The only not-so-special feature is an introduction by Frank Capra Jr. that was filmed in 1992, presumably for the VHS release that was then stapled into this DVD.

You can't blame Paramount for giving Broadway Bill the bum's rush. On the list of Frank Capra movies to own this one is way down on the list. Still, those willing to take a chance on a longshot might strike it lucky with some unexpected fun. Broadway Bill isn't just any bronco, he's a symbol of hope for all the hard-luck American working bums looking to thumb their nose at The Man and bet their lives on a fairy tale because they've got nothing left to lose. Never mind what happens when the regular Joes strike it rich and become The Enemy. Broadway Bill dances right over that question in its morally and economically dubious ending.

It's not hard to appreciate the irony in American propaganda, so the real joy of Broadway Bill is as a showcase for the hypocrisy inherent in the American Dream. There's an unfairly stereotyped and unreasonably loyal black assistant, a starry-eyed princess who isn't allowed to play with the boys, a reformed tycoon who decides to give it all back to the people, and the horse -- well, I don't want to give away the ending, so all I'll say is "glue."

The irony in Broadway Bill is fun and all, but at the end of the day, working class mugs like us gotta ask ourselves, do we wanna waste our hard-earned bread on a throwaway disappointment from the thirties when Frank Capra has so many better films we could slap our mitts on? Probably we don't.