Long Shot

2242. LONG SHOT (1939-usa). WITH Gordon Jones, Marsha Hunt, Harry Davenport. This hot-to-trot racing adventure is as much fun as a one-way ticket to Saratoga in August. It is the story of old Henry Sharron, a kind-hearted and scrupulously honest racehorse owner. Lately all of Sharron’s mounts have been inexplicably fading down the stretch. At first he writes off his losses to bad luck. As time passes and that luck stubbornly refuses to change, Sharron senses that something is amiss. By now, it is too late for him to salvage his stable and ranch. He becomes despondent; rather than sell his prized horse, he turns it loose in the Arizona hills. Sharron has been keeping his problems from his beloved niece Martha. She is his only relative, and he has been putting her through college. Martha is the object of the affection of fellow stable owner Lew Ralston. You immediately can tell that Ralston is the cause of Sharron’s woes. For one thing, his horses always mysteriously beat Sharron’s. For another, he is constantly proposing marriage to Martha even though he is old enough to be her father. Also, he just looks slimy. Sharron would prefer that Martha hook up romantically with handsome young horse trainer Jeff Clayton. What follows is a humdinger of a yarn in which Jeff and Martha (and – you guessed it!- Uncle Henry’s favorite horse) come together in an attempt to thwart Ralston. 69 minutes. Racing Drama