National Velvet

Yes. Indeed! - Regardless of National Velvet now being 70 years old, this entertaining, heart-warming tale about trust, personal victory and following one's dream is, without a doubt, an endearing, MGM classic that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

With an excellent cast, headlined by Elizabeth Taylor (12 at the time), Mickey Rooney, and Anne Revere, National Velvet's story is a rather charming "horse tale" that jauntily crosses the finish line as a bona-fide winner.

This lush, Technicolor treat (which was adapted from Enid Bagnold's novel of the same name) was set in the 1920s (in England) in the rural, coastal county of Sussex.

A real stand-out performance in this first-rate picture was that of Anne Revere (who played Velvet's mother, Araminty Brown). Revere won an Oscar for her "Best Supporting Actress" role.

I certainly recommend National Velvet highly to anyone who truly enjoys a big, wholesome slice of vintage, Hollywood movie-making.

I watched National Velvet ages ago, before Elizabeth Taylor ( who plays the jockey) befriended Michael Jackson. Anyway, I remembered this movie because of Rachael Blackmore's historic achievement in 2021 to be the first woman to win the Grand National. Art and life and all that, well done to everyone.

"National Velvet" tells the story of Velvet Brown, a young English girl with dreams of entering her beloved horse into competition at the prestigious Grand National horse race. The film follows her as she trains her horse with the aid of a former jockey and the support of her parents.

While "National Velvet" is a family film that fact shouldn't deter anyone who typically views such films with derision. The film is indeed one that will appeal to the entire family, not just attention-addled youngsters. It even managed to land five Oscar nominations, hardly a sign of slacking off for a general audience.

Anne Revere, in the part of Velvet's mother, actually won an Oscar for her performance. She was indeed excellent in the role but it is 12-year old Elizabeth Taylor who steals the show. She is a charming presence and exhibits a talent beyond her years. Also on board is Oscar-winner Donald Crisp as Velvet's father, Mickey Rooney as former jockey Mi Taylor and Angela Lansbury (in one of her earliest film roles) as Velvet's older sister.

The film's lustrous Technicolor makes for an attractive viewing experience while the editing secured the second of the film's two Oscars. Additionally, the film was nominated for its direction (by Clarence Brown), cinematography & art direction. The score by ten-time Oscar nominee Herbert Stothart is also worth mentioning, though it went unnominated.

All in all, "National Velvet" is a wonderful family film that deserves a higher rating. I realize that the prospect of watching a film about a girl and her horse isn't exactly going to thrill some people but this one is worth taking a chance on.

There's a family that enjoys the life it lives (on the south coast on England, late 1920s), that takes in a wayward traveller to give, sustenance and shelter, he becomes the father's helper (delivery boy), and it soon turns out he has much more to give; as he makes a friend of Velvet who desires, and together they combine, devise, conspire, to acquire a race horse (steeplechaser), there's some luck involved of course, although the father is displeased and shows some ire (not for too long though); the said horse is called The Pie and he can fly, jumping obstacles of scale he does not shy, gets a chance to race Grand National, jockey change leads to fantastical, in a beauty of a film, might make you cry.

A lot of directors have broached childhood:Truffaut,Bunuel,Pialat,Comencini,Loach ,but no one did it as Clarence Brown used to do:his world is a rosy one ,a protected one where any dream can come true if you believe in it.Not realistic?Not that much :take "the yearling" for instance:the young hero's pal's death is not passed over in silence but Jody did tell him and us that somewhere in Heaven there are prairies full of coypus.In "National Velvet" ,the mother ,quoting the Book of Ecclesiastes ,tells her daughter that there's a time for everything,even a time to die.

Colors display something magic,closer to fairy tales than to a realistic story:this small town,with its colorful characters,its school where the teacher loves all of her students whom she's going to miss during the long holiday,its butcher's shop.The heroine's parents own it and their house suffuses with understanding,tenderness and love.The race is ,as far as Velvet is concerned , entirely implausible ,but it's nicely filmed.

A top-notch cast cannot fail to win over the audience:the couple Anne Revere/Donald Crisp are parents every child dreams of;Elizabeth Taylor has always been an underrated actress,to think that about 20 years later,she would be Martha in "who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?"!;Mickey Rooney 's pouty mouth and sullen expression avoid pathos and melodramatic effects.And there's also a young Angela Landsbury,long before "murder she wrote" ,on the threshold of a brilliant career.

It may not appeal to Today's children ,who got used to special effects and action-packed stories.But for the adults who've still got their child's soul,it's a true delight.