That's My Man

It’s a really good picture on a movie on Blu-ray

A good drama-sports movie rarely seen. Remember seeing it as a kid and stuck with me through out the years.

Horse racing was once a major pastime in America, one of the most popular sports in the country. That’s My Man was director Frank Borzage’s second film for Republic Pictures, after the successful I’ve Always Loved You. The 1947 film follows the fortunes of a bookkeeper that yearns to own a racehorse. The bookkeeper’s dreams come true when he raises a young colt named Gallant Man. While the horse becomes an undefeated champion, the man becomes sidetracked by gambling problems that threaten to destroy his family. Fully restored here to its original 99-minute length after decades of questionable edits, That’s My Man starts out strong but stumbles around the last turn.A man, a woman, and a horse all meet inside a cab. What sounds like a bad joke turns into the screwball opening for That’s My Man. It is a somewhat misleading opening for a film filled with the anguish of a bad marriage. Don Ameche smoothly plays Joe Grange, a man looking to leave his current life behind so he can nurture Gallant Man into a champion race horse. Caught in the rain, Joe has managed to fit the horse into the cab of a friendly driver played by Roscoe Karns. Joe is desperate to find a place for Gallant Man to spend the night, having been kicked out of his own place. By sheer coincidence, he meets Ronnie (Catherine McLeod). The two have instant chemistry despite Joe’s insane request to stow Gallant Man inside Ronnie’s city apartment. Love is in the air as they eventually get married.That’s My Man would not work if the romance between Joe and Ronnie wasn’t believable. Catherine McLeod plays the demure housewife hoping against hope that Joe will change his ways for her. It tries to be a tearjerker at times with its melodramatic developments, though it never really goes for the jugular. Don Ameche is excellent in an understated way as the smooth-talking Joe, an unlikable character with a degenerate gambling problem. Joe misses the birth of his son for his first love, poker. Joe says all the right things to Ronnie as he woos her, but you can tell he is going to break her heart again.No one but Joe had believed in Gallant Man’s talent The determined bookkeeper becomes a successful trainer when the horse goes undefeated. One thing this film gets right is the authentic feel of the racing from its period, down to the gambling industry which has always surrounded it. You would think that Joe has it all and would be content with a beautiful wife in Ronnie and owning a legendary horse that has made him rich. Sadly, Joe turns more and more to gambling as he neglects his wife and growing family. He admits at one point that family life may not be for him.Things come to a head when the handicappers want to add more weight to Gallant Man, forcing Joe to prematurely retire the now legendary horse. Joe and his horse are so closely identified with one another that it feels like Joe is being put out to pasture as well.That’s My Man is an interesting piece of film history, a decent movie from noted director Frank Borzage. One can kind of understand why it didn’t become a hit, the movie violates several rules for any good Hollywood script. The horse racing aspect was likely a crowd-pleaser in its day but the focus on Joe’s domestic problems made it an atypical romance for Hollywood’s audiences in 1947. Featuring a handful of strong performances and fairly authentic racing action, it almost plays out as a morality tale about the dangers of gambling on family life. It never quite develops in a proper manner. and the script feels like one-part screwball comedy, two-parts bittersweet romance.One can find my thoughts on the technical merits of this Blu-ray at DoBlu.com with complete 1080P screencaps.

As a Don Ameche fan I have to say that the film is great. The Blu-ray picture and sound are very good. The concern I wish to raise that this Blu-ray is Region A and, therefore, cannot be played on the vast majority of blu-ray players in this country. This seems to be that same with all Olive Films blu-ray releases. Fortunately, I recently purchased a multi-region blu-ray player on Amazon.