(Some Spoilers) Heart-felt and touching movie based on the Anna Sewell story of a majestic prince of a horse who both reveled and suffered through a slew of owners, good and bad,and in the end came back to the one person who saved his life twice. Once from a deadly case of chills and later from a raging barn fire, and who reluctantly had to give him away Joe Green,both Andrews Knott as a teenager and Ian Kelsey as a young man, to live out the remainder of his life in a peaceful and loving home. Written by Miss. Sewell as a statement against animal cruelty back in 19th century England the story about Black Beauty has become since it was published in 1877, a year before Anna Sewell death, one of the most beloved and read children, as well as adult, stories about horses ever penned.
Folded at Farmer Gray's, Sean Bean, farm out of the mare Duchess the young colt grew up to be a striking black horse, with a white heart-shaped star on his forehead. The horse could run with the grace of an champion Olympic track and field runner and with such blinding speed that it seemed as if he had wings attached to his hoofs. Given away to Squire Gordon, Peter Davidson, and his wife, Rosalind Ayers, the horse named by Mrs. Gordon "Black Beauty" had the happiest times of his life with both John Manly, Jim Carter, and young Joe Green taking care of and looking after him. It was later when Mistress Gordon's health was failing that she and her husband Squire Gordon had to move out of England to a much warmer climate, on the European continent, that life started turning bleak for the black stallion.
This decision to move lead to the Gordon's dispersement of their farm and all it's horses which included Black Beauty. Sold to the snobbish and unfeeling Lady Wexmire, Eleanor Bron, who among other things had the horse, as well as the reddish or chestnut mare and white pony Ginger and Merrylegs who were also sold to her along with Black Beauty. Forced to wear a torturous bearing rein, to make him look royal & regal, almost drove the proud and handsome equine insane with pain.
With his knees damaged from the constant riding and jumping for the sporting events Lady Wexmire's entered him into Black Beauty, along with Ginger, were auctioned off as horses to work for for Hansen Cabs, or taxis, in London. It wasn't easy for Black Beauty to adjust to the hard cobble stone and big city streets after roaming and running on the grass and rolling hills of rural England all his life It's with the love and guidance of his new owner London Cabbie Jerry Barker, David Thewlis, that Beauty did his best and provided Jerry and his family a decent income to live on. Poor Ginger who already had a weak and damaged heart wasn't that lucky dying from the stress of pulling a cab though the London streets. It wasn't long before Jerry himself came down with pneumonia that caused him to give up riding his horse-drawn Hansen Cab and, sadly, his faithful friend Black Beauty as the big bay horse was once again auctioned off, this time to a grain dealer outside of London.
Working as a pack-horse pulling wagon-loads of grain from one town to another it took less the a year for Beauty to completely break down and no longer be useful to his new owner, or anyone else, and was just about ready to end up as either glue or pet food. Beauty reached the end of the line with no one wanting the once strikingly handsome but now old lame and broken down back equine.
At a horse auction, which looked like curtains for him, Black Beauty spotted Joe who at first didn't recognize him but later when he heard Beauty's distinctive wail knew that he had at last found his long lost friend that Joe so long ago promised he'd never leave or ever forget. Black Beauty was happily bought by the now adult Joe Green and given a place to stay at his farm to live out his last days as happily as his did his early years together with Joe.
Sweet and touching movie about friendships between man and animal, as well as man and his fellow man. The movie shows how all creatures on God's good earth both big and small human and animal are all endowed with a God-given heart and soul that when treated with both love kindness and understanding can overcome any obstacle, no matter how big and formidable it is, that's placed before them.
