Inevitably compared to Seabiscuit and inevitably found wanting, The Great Dan Patch is nevertheless a "nice" little horse-racing flick. Of course, "nice" is not what most people want out of horse-racing; they want excitement and suspense, and here Dan simply falls a little short. Dan is a gentle film, and one that focuses more on the people surrounding the amazing horse than on the animal itself. True, the trotting segments and races offer a fair degree of excitement, but they fall short of what one expects: they have life but they lack thrills. This leaves a tremendous burden on the part of the story focuses on the humans, and here Dan doesn't make it into the winner's circle. The largely fictional story that the screenwriters have crafted is quite unoriginal and lacking in surprises. It works on a purely mechanical level, and it keeps the film moving, but it doesn't truly engage. The cast, fortunately, helps, with Dennis O'Keefe good as Dan's owner, Ruth Warrick excellent as his selfish wife and Gail Russell fine (and quite lovely) as the woman O'Keefe is clearly intended for.