Grade: D
Synopsis: A washed up jockey agent (William Holden) trains a rich runaway.
Boots Malone is an interesting failure. The script does a great job of fleshing out the little details of race track life, from claim races to saddle sizes and just about everything in between, writer Milton Holmes effortlessly packs in quite a bit of information.
Unfortunately, the story itself is rather trite, with a very annoying Johnny Stewart softening up a somewhat miscast William Holden. Stewart’s character is fairly unlikable from the get-go, coming off as quite whiney at times, while Holden just doesn’t seem to fit amongst the dirty, rural track folk, even though his charisma still shines though.
Then there are their scenes together. While it’s clear director William Dieterle wanted these moments to appear touching and heartfelt, they haven’t aged well, and come across today as laughable, bordering on creepy. These scenes just don’t work on an emotional level and, as a result, the film’s emotional underpinning never really gels.
Boots Malone almost redeems itself with a somewhat somber ending, but instead opts for the more traditional, if improbable, one that mirrors the “almost” nature of the entire film.
Synopsis: Despite his miscasting, Holden still manages to carry the film, and the various bits of racing trivia keep things somewhat interesting, but just barely.
