The Blue Boy is a painting, of course. It’s also, on this occasion, the name of a race horse. Stan, a groomsman, is instructed to put him on the grand piano. Can you guess what follows?
As often, it’s not the idea that counts so much, it’s the execution of the idea. As we’ve observed before, on so many occasions, the variations here are quite classically diffusive—as in Mozart, say, putting “Ah vous dirai-je, Maman” through its paces. Special commendation for what happens to that statue, the quite remarkable performance of that horse, and the almost Atlas-like burden that Hardy has to heft, and actually appears to heft quite successfully.