The Red Pony (1949)

Excellent screen version of John Steinbeck's short novel, with effective and renowned Aaron Copeland score to match. It's more than just a story about a boy and his love for his pony that gets sick and dies; it's about life and fitting in, about who we are and how we choose to be accepted. Everyone does a fine job on the screen. Best perhaps is Louis Calhern as Grandpa, who once led a wagon train across the plains. Robert Mitchum is the laconic ranch hand Billy Buck. Definitely worth a watch.

I was told that this movie, unlike Steinbeck's original story, had a happy ending. Well... yes and no. At the very end of the film, everybody's laughing. (A little manaically, in my opinion.) But the movie is still about an unhappy family, and it's full of tense, strained scenes at the breakfast table. Nor does "happy ending" mean that we escape the bad things that happen in the book.

There were some nice wildlife and scenery shots of Steinbeck country, but I could have used more.

The children in the film, except for the main character, are horrible yelling little bullies. I took positive delight in their oppression by the very recognizable Wicked Witch of the West as their schoolteacher.

Robert Mitchum's character, who at first is presented as the hero who knows everything there is to know about horses, is gradually revealed as someone who promises more than he can deliver. The uncovering of his flaws and instability is very well done. In general, the movie avoids too much cliche (except in the hokey daydream sequences), and examines its own stereotypes (the old settler, the perfect horse trainer, the incompetent city slicker) in interesting ways.

The parents and grandfather are slightly strange characters, who give the little boy so many conflicting and unspoken commands that I felt very sorry for him trying to grow up in such a crazy environment. Yet it's all under the surface of a wholesome and respectable ranch life. Myrna Loy is cold and gives orders to everyone; she'd be right at home with a riding crop in her hand. She's in the middle between her husband and her father, who have little patience for one another. Mealtime scenes are authentically tense, if not exactly fun to watch.

Aaron Copland's music is given high billing, but if you've heard the suite, you've heard all the good stuff. A lot of the score is boilerplate with just a hint of Copland's style.

This movie is not for kids. It's quite disturbing in a subtle way that gets under your skin. I'll be thinking about it long after watching it.

The DVD has no features other than "play movie" and scene selection. The movie is in Technicolor.

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I remember like yesterday sitting in the "picture show" with my father dressed in his Sunday Suit and me with my pretty dress on watching The Red Pony. I must have been about 8 to 10 years old and today I am 65 years of age and I am on Amazon.com about to order the DVD so that I can sit in front of our 62" plasma with my grandchildren and enjoy "once again" the Red Pony as I pass "them" the popcorn in a brown paper bag. Such Memories...

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This is a fine family film with a first rate cast, based on Steinbeck's short stories of course. The score by Aaron Copland is just great, as is the photography by Tony Gaudio. It's one of the very few times Republic Pictures used Technicolor instead of their inferior two color Trucolor system. Even though the packaging proclaims "Digitally Mastered from the Original Film Negative", it's just so-so quality wise, about equal to the earlier Laserdisc release. Technicolor can and should look much better than this! The packaging also indicates the original theatrical trailer is included (as it was on the Laserdisc) but I couldn't find it on the DVD. Apparently Artisan just doesn't care much about their classic film library, unless John Wayne is involved, and even there some of the end product is mediocre (such as "The Quiet Man"). Don't hold your breath waiting for a restoration or special edition from these clowns. It's a very good film and the price is right. Buy it!

Want The Red Pony (1949) Discount?

In an effort to connect with his son, Fred Tiflin (Louis Calhern) buys him a pony: A fantastic cinnamon red colored pony with a white blaze and a flowing creamy mane and tail. Fred is dismayed when young Tom (Peter Miles) turns to the ranch-hand (Robert Mitchum) instead of him for help in training the unbroken gelding and gets even more fed up when the pony, named Gabilan, becomes Tom's singular obsession. Drama and tragedy take center stage, but there is plenty of pony for fans of the Welsh breed. This movie was remade for TV in 1978, but somebody got the definition of "pony" confused with "foal" and a Thoroughbred colt was cast as Gabilan. Based on a short story called The Promise in a collection entitled The Red Pony by John Steinbeck.

Staci Layne Wilson

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