Starring an exuberant, fresh-faced Elizabeth Taylor (only 12 years old at the time), National Velvet (which is now 70 years old) is certainly one of the less dated family pictures from that particular era of Hollywood movie-making.
In a small, English, coastal town (in the 1920s) it's summer holidays for the Brown children. And when a beautiful, chestnut-coloured horse (who Velvet christens "The Pie") enters into the story, the scenario immediately transforms into a "dream-come-true" when Mi Taylor convinces the wide-eyed Velvet to enter this magnificent steed into the Grand National race being held at Aintree.
This first-rate production was expertly directed by Clarence Brown.
Here's a film where the rapport and chemistry between the actors was right on the mark. Here's a story where all of the characters were quite likable and the viewer finds themselves cheering Velvet on to victory, as if it were the most natural reaction of all.
So, whether you happen to be a enthusiastic horse-hugger, or not, National Velvet is a vintage, Hollywood gem that you're bound to enjoy, time and again.
In a small, English, coastal town (in the 1920s) it's summer holidays for the Brown children. And when a beautiful, chestnut-coloured horse (who Velvet christens "The Pie") enters into the story, the scenario immediately transforms into a "dream-come-true" when Mi Taylor convinces the wide-eyed Velvet to enter this magnificent steed into the Grand National race being held at Aintree.
This first-rate production was expertly directed by Clarence Brown.
Here's a film where the rapport and chemistry between the actors was right on the mark. Here's a story where all of the characters were quite likable and the viewer finds themselves cheering Velvet on to victory, as if it were the most natural reaction of all.
So, whether you happen to be a enthusiastic horse-hugger, or not, National Velvet is a vintage, Hollywood gem that you're bound to enjoy, time and again.