Going Places is a 1938 musical comedy film directed by Ray Enright. The film stars Dick Powell and Anita Louise. Going Places is based on the 1920 play The Hottentot by William Collier Sr. and Victor Mapes.
Director: Ray Enright
Production Company: Cosmopolitan Productions, Warner Bros.
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Cast: Dick Powell, Anita Louise, Allen Jenkins, Ronald Reagan, Walter Catlett, Harold Huber, Larry Williams, Thurston Hall, Minna Gombell, Louis Armstrong
US Box Office: Unknown
Film Format: Black & White
Genre: Comedy, Musical
Release Date: December 31, 1938
Plot Summary: As part of a marketing stunt for his company, salesman Peter Mason (Dick Powell) agrees to pose as the professional horse jockey Peter Randall and to attend the Maryland Steeplechase race as a guest. In Maryland, Peter meets the beautiful Ellen Parker (Anita Louise), the niece of the wealthy horse owner Col. Harvey Withering (Thurston Hall). However, Peter soon gets more than he bargained for when a pair of crooked con men (Allen Jenkins, Harold Huber) force him to actually enter the race! Peter is especially shocked when he learns that he will be forced to ride “Jeepers Creepers”, a wild and unruly horse who only responds when his trainer Gabe (Louis Armstrong) plays music for him.
Production: In the mid-1930s Warner Bros. producer Hal B. Wallis and studio boss Jack L. Warner began working on a musical comedy film based on the Broadway play The Hottentot (1920), which was created by William Collier Sr. and Victor Mapes. Warner Bros. had previously released The Hottentot (1929), an early sound comedy based on the play, and before that the play was adapted into a 1922 silent film of the same name. Ray Enright, a prolific comedy and musical director for Warner Bros., was chosen to direct the adaptation, titled Going Places. Sig Herzig, Jerry Wald, Maurice Leo, and Earl Baldwin all worked on the screenplay for Going Places.
Producer Hal B. Wallis chose Dick Powell to play the part of Peter Mason, a salesman who impersonates a horse jockey to attend a big race but gets more than bargained for when he himself is forced to enter the race. Powell was one of Warner Bros.’s biggest musical stars at the time. Going Places was made near the end of his stint with the studio. Powell was bored by the repetitive nature of musical comedies he had to make for the studio and chose not to renew his contract after filming Naughty but Nice (1939). Ray Enright had previously directed Powell in Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934), Dames (1934), The Singing Marine (1937), and Hard to Get (1938). Anita Louise was cast as Ellen Parker, Peter’s love interest in the film. Louise appeared in a variety of different films, but recently starred in the comedies Brides Are Like That (1936) and The Go Getter (1937). Jazz singer and trumpeter Louis Armstrong notably has a supporting role in Going Places as Gabe, the trainer of the horse that Peter has to ride. He recently made appearances in Artists and Models (1937) and Every Day’s a Holiday (1937).
Ray Enright began shooting Going Places in August of 1938 and filming wrapped up in September. Interior scenes were shot on set at Warner Bros. Burbank Studios. Many of the exterior scenes, including Peter’s chaotic ride through the forest and the Maryland Steeplechase race, were shot on outdoors lots owned by Warner Bros. in Burbank, California.
Fun Facts and Trivia: The songs “Say It with a Kiss” and “They Say” (both of which had music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Johnny Mercer) were created for Going Places but were largely cut from the finished film. “Say It with a Kiss” was sung by Maxine Sullivan and Dick Powell and featured Louis Armstrong playing the trumpet. The song’s melody was just used as background music in the final film, though Victor Records released a solo version of the song just sung by Sullivan. “They Say” was originally intended to be Powell’s big solo song, but it was also cut from the film and only used as background music.
Ronald Reagan has a supporting role in Going Places as Jack Withering, the cousin of Ellen Parker. Although the role was fairly minor, Reagan was the fourth-billed star in credits. Regan’s most popular films were Knute Rockne, All American (1940) and Kings Row (1942); though in modern times he is better known for being the 33rd Governor of California (1967-1975) and the 40th President of the United States (1981-1989). One of the singers in the “Mutiny in the Nursery” number was Dorothy Dandridge. She was fifteen years old during filming and was a member of the Dandridge Sisters singing group at the time. Dandridge later became an actress and won critical acclaim for her role in Carmen Jones (1954).
Reception: Going Places was released in the United States on December 31, 1938 and it went into wide release in early 1939. Going Places performed poorly at the box office. The film’s disappointing box office results may have been due to stiff competition from Sweethearts (1938), an MGM technicolor musical starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, which was released less than two weeks before Going Places.
In modern times Going Places is best known for featuring the Oscar-nominated song “Jeepers Creepers.” Louis Armstrong performs the song multiple times in the film and Dick Powell also sings the song during the race scene. Three versions of “Jeepers Creepers” were released on vinyl records in 1939: Louis Armstrong’s original version, a cover by bandleader Larry Clinton, and another cover by bandleader Al Donahue. “Jeepers Creepers” later served as the namesake for the horror film Jeepers Creepers (2001) and a version of the song performed by Paul Whiteman appears in that film.
Oscars: Going Places was nominated for one Oscar at the 11th Academy Awards ceremony: Best Song (for “Jeepers Creepers” with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Johnny Mercer). “Jeepers Creepers” lost the Oscar to “Thanks for the Memory” from The Big Broadcast of 1938.
Why You Should See It: Going Places is an average, but charming and likeable musical comedy. The film features plenty of funny moments. The interactions between Allen Jenkins (“Droopy”) and Harold Huber (Maxie) are comical. Even though the two are supposed to be the film’s antagonists, they have quite a few funny moments, especially Jenkins. Dick Powell also has plenty of funny scenes, including some goofy hijinks during the race.
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