National Velvet

National Velvet (1944)

Genres - Drama, Language & Literature, Sports & Recreation, Children's/Family  |   Sub-Genres - Animal Picture, Childhood Drama  |   Release Date - Dec 14, 1944 (USA - Unknown), Jan 26, 1945 (USA)  |   Run Time - 125 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - G
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

Although National Velvet was the first starring role for 11-year-old Elizabeth Taylor, the early part of the film belongs to Mickey Rooney in the showier role of Mike Taylor, a headstrong English ex-jockey. Soured on life by a serious accident, Mike plans to steal from the country family that has taken him in, but his resolve is weakened by the kindness of young Velvet (Taylor). The two find a common bond in their love of horses. Velvet wins an "unbreakable" horse in a raffle, and enters the animal in the Grand National Sweepstakes. Though Mike is unable to ride the horse, he aids Velvet in her plan to disguise herself as a jockey; she wins the race...but the story isn't over quite yet. Co-starring as Velvet's mother is Anne Revere, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance. National Velvet is based on the novel by Enid Bagnold.

Characteristics

Keywords

champion, competition, family, girl, horse, horse-racing, horse-trainer, steeplechase

Attributes

High Artistic Quality, High Production Values