Written by Susan Granger
WestportNow Specials
Horse racing provides exciting entertainment. The beauty and agility of racehorses is unparalleled, and there is a fascinating subculture associated with the sport. Greeks raced their horses at the first Olympic Games, but organized racing for prestigious prizes was not established until the early 17th century, when King James I of England was the first known jockey. It was.
By the 18th century, horse racing was formalized and steeplechase was invented. The Belmont Stakes was first held in his 1867, the Preakness in his 1873, and the first Kentucky Derby in his 1875. With these three major races postponed or canceled this year, you can stream these epic horse racing movies (listed alphabetically) on Apple TV. , Prime Video, Netflix, Vudu and/or Fandango NOW.
“Black Stallion” (1979), directed by Carol Ballard and starring Mickey Rooney, Teri Garr, Hoyt Axton, and Kelly Reno. Based on the children’s book by Walter Farley, it follows a young boy’s adventures with his beloved Arabian stallion, from a tragic shipwreck to a championship race. The majority of filming took place on the island of Sardinia, with Toronto used for East Coast scenes. Innovative sound editor Alan Splett received a special award for attaching a microphone to the horse’s belly during a racing scene to capture the horse’s actual hoof sounds and breathing.
“Casey’s Shadow” (1978), directed by Martin Ritt, refers to a young boy, Casey Bourdelle (Michael Hershew), and a colt that follows him like a “shadow.” His father (Walter Matthau) trains Quarter Horses. As opposed to a flat race, a Quarter Horse race is a race where horses run quickly around a 400-mile course. It began running along forest trails in the Jamestown Colony of Virginia in the early 1600s. Off screen, Matthau was a big gambler, and he once estimated he lost more than $1 million betting on races over the years.
“A day at the races” In Sam Wood’s The Marx Brothers (1937), the Marx Brothers and Groucho play Hugo Z. Hackenbush, a veterinarian posing as a neurologist and treating hypochondriacs like Margaret Dumont. He is being treated at the hospital. The silly slapstick seems much more important than the steeplechase that had to be filmed twice. In both cases, someone recommended betting on Chico Marx even though it was scripted for another horse to win. Chico’s only excuse was, “The odds were 20-1.” When Ivy Anderson sings “All God Chill’n Got Rhythm,” he gets a glimpse of young Dorothy Dandridge as one of her children. And, like “Gone with the Wind,” it ends with the line, “Tomorrow is another day.”
“Dreamer” Directed by John Gatins, 2005 was inspired by the 1993 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies race in which Mariah’s Storm broke her leg. Ten-year-old Cale Crane (Dakota Fanning) is confident that with her care this promising mare can nurse her back to health and become a winner. Co-stars include Kurt Russell and Kris Kristofferson.A very popular work that is commonplace but heartwarming.
“Great Dan Patch” (1949), directed by Joseph M. Newman, is also known as “Dan Patch” and “Ride the Reckless Mile.” Defying all pacers and trotters, Dan Patch was known as the Wonder Horse and was arguably the greatest harness racehorse in the history of two-wheeled salkies. He was a large mahogany brown stallion and was very gentle, especially with children. At the end of the race, he nodded as if to thank the audience for their applause. The story revolves around Dan’s owner (Dennis O’Keeffe) and the two women who loved him (Gail Russell, Ruth Warwick).
“Hidalgo” (2004), directed by Joe Johnston and starring Viggo Mortensen, Omar Sharif, and Malcolm McDowell. Based on the real-life jockey Frank T. Hopkins, who races his beloved Mustang against Bedouins in the world’s longest and toughest horse race through the barren Saudi Arabian desert. There is. The scene where Frank realizes his knife is too short to fight the swordsman and decides to throw the knife instead is an homage to “Indiana Jones” and his famous gun scene. Viggo Mortensen, who performed many of the stunts himself, later purchased the horse that played the title character.
“National Velvet” (1944), directed by Clarence Brown and starring Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney. In this adaptation of Enid Bagnold’s novel, a 12-year-old British girl is determined to enter her horse in the prestigious Grand National sweepstakes. Despite the locale, no attempt was made to adopt an English accent. Elizabeth Taylor fell from King Charles (aka The Pie) and broke her hip, an injury that would haunt her for the rest of her life. After filming finished, MGM presented King Charles to Elizabeth. King Charles was Man O’War’s grandson and was trained (by his father, S. Sylvan Simon) as a show jumper.
“Phar Lap” (1983), directed by Simon Wincer and starring Tom Barrington and Richard Morgan, follows the legendary New Zealand-born racehorse who died mysteriously in America in 1933, probably from poisoning. After his death, Phar Lap’s stuffed skin was donated to Melbourne Museum and his skeleton to the National Museum of Australia in Canberra.
“Seabiscuit” (2003), directed by Gary Ross and starring Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, and Jeff Bridges. Based on Laura Hillenbrand’s best-selling novel set during the Great Depression, this film follows a fallen horse who shocked the racing world by competing with Triple Crown winner War Admiral. The Seabiscuit/War Admiral race, originally held at Pimlico, was filmed at Keeneland Racetrack in Lexington, Kentucky. Seabiscuit’s calming and steady companions were a mongrel named Pocatel and a mare named Pumpkin. Both accompanied him to all his races.
“Secretariat” (2010), directed by Randall Wallace and starring Diane Lane, John Malkovich, and James Cromwell. Introducing not only an amazing thoroughbred, but also a determined housewife, Penny Chenery. Additionally, we present newsreel footage of Secretariat winning his 1973 Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths to win the Triple Crown. All racing scenes have been recreated, with the exception of historic Preakness footage. Some of the close-up shots were taken by mounting a lightweight digital camera close to the horses galloping around the racetrack. Five different horses played Secretariat, each with special makeup to recreate his three “white socks”, facial stripes, and stars.
(Editor’s note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism under Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated summa cum laude in journalism from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to her writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been active as an anchorwoman and film and drama critic on radio and television for many years. Read her reviews at www.susanranger.com. )
