Runtime: 71 minutes
Directed by: John Ford
Starring: Henry B. Walthall, Gertrude Astor, Peaches Jackson, J. Farrell McDonald, Winston Miller
From: Fox
Yes, I did watch this racehorse movie because the Kentucky Derby is tomorrow. It is what has to be John Ford's strangest movie; you see, the tale itself revolving around the ups and downs of a filly horse's life and its original owners isn't that peculiar. It probably isn't a spoiler for me to state that this horse ends up having multiple owners. What IS bizarre: often, there are intertitles which provide the thoughts of the animal! That's right, in essence talking equine. It's all pretty weird in an otherwise nice, charming story where the lead quadruped has a sweet relationship w/ a young girl. Of course, there are the regrettable aspects of a key horse being named “Confederate” and an accident that was done on screen by an obvious tripwire where I hope that no man or animal was actually hurt doing the stunt.
As there isn't much else to say about this breezy 71 minute tale, I'll mention some real life details to close it out. The print on the Criterion Channel did not come w/ any sort of soundtrack so you'll have to provide your own. 60's jazz was what I listened to, more because I was inspired to at the moment and less because I thought it'd fit the movie. Mom was always excited to see the big horse races so I know she would have eagerly anticipated tomorrow's big race, not to mention the other two races in the Triple Crown. Mom was a big fan of the animal since she was a little girl.
And this features several real life thoroughbreds, the most famous of which was Man o' War. War is one of the best racehorses of all time, losing only once and among other accomplishments as stud, was the grandfather of Seabiscuit. The only time it lost... it was to a horse named Upset. From what I understand the canard concerning this causing that meaning of the word is a wife's tale and it was used to mean “a surprising result” decades before the race.
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