Misty

Even better in real life! Went to the 100th anniversary of Pony Penning day and it brought this movie to life! I highly recommend going if you get the chance. Beautiful beach, super fun carnival, and watching the ponies swim across was definitely the highlight of our trip! They are so beautiful! And there were so many foals!

I first saw this film around 1967 at a children's matinée, and I remember the young girls in the audience were really getting into it, especially at the line by the grandfather, "The Phantom's a piece of wind and sky." With the advent of DVDs, I sought to find this film, but it took me about three years to find out the title, which I had forgotten, then another month to locate a copy, since it was out of print on video.

I can appreciate more now why the girls in the audience that day loved this film. It's very charming. It has a very Disney/family style, a very solid, down-to-earth plot (none of that impossible modern "Spy Kids" stuff that relies on CGI effects), a lot of focus on animals and nature, a realistic style, subtle humor, cute pieces of dialog, a well-meshed plot, a warm family feeling, and a happy ending. A film like this shows that guns aren't needed to make a plot exciting or engrossing.

Another subtlety that stands out now is that the film is educational, in the same way that Disneyland used to be educational in the early 1960s: endless tidbits of knowledge are imparted via the dialog, such as that a "hand" is equal to four inches, or that a foal should not be fed sugar since that turns the horse into a biter, or that "breaking" a horse is different (and crueler) than "gentling" a horse. It's hard to come away from the film without having learned more about horses, or without having developed more of an appreciation of horses. Also, the locations and history of the annual pony roundup are authentic, so a bit of geographical and historical knowledge is imparted, as well.

The scenery is also very nice, with a lot of sandy beaches, sand dunes, coastal pine forest, and open fields with horses running free. The small town feeling with its carnival and everybody knowing everybody else is also very nice. Other than the old-fashioned clothes and hair styles, this film seems a lot more modern than its 1961 date would suggest, and it still stands up well in this modern era without seeming excessively sweet or having ridiculous humor. There are also some gender equality issues thrown into the plot, which makes it ahead of its time. The grandparent-grandchild relationship might be a bit contrived, as is the subject matter of horses, and the boy performing a heroic deed by saving a horse from drowning, but unless one is looking to be critical, such aspects of the plot don't seem out-of-place.

This is a solid family film that should still be enjoyable for all ages, especially for horse lovers.

If you've read the Misty books by Marguerite Henry, or even the modern Misty Inn book series, you'll love this film. It was filmed on the actual Chincoteague and Assateague islands.

We just witnessed the 2023 Annual Pony Swim between Assateague and Chincoteague islands a few days ago, and it was beautiful.

Every year, the Island Theatre on Main Street, Chincoteague shows this movie free for most of Pony Swim week (Pony Swim is traditionally the last Wednesday of July).

You can see Misty's hoof prints in cement in front of the Island Theatre in Chincoteague, and see Misty (taxidermied) in the local Chincoteague museum.

Beebes' ranch is still there. We even visited the Beebes' graves in the Greenwood cemetery.

We have the DVD at home so we can re-watch it whenever we miss Chincoteague.

The Koch DVD label has just released MISTY on DVD, and they have gone the extra mile by presenting the film in its original widescreen aspect ratio (2:35-1). In widescreen, much of the Chincoteague scenery is quite breathtaking, with wide green vistas, etc. The movie is still the same charming family film that it was back in 1961. Many people have no idea how popular that film was, back in its day. I believe it was one of the highest grossing (non-Disney) family films of the year. It was produced by Robert Radnitz, who specialized in excellent quality family programming (ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS, WHERE THE LILIES BLOOM, MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, and SOUNDER)

When I was a kid, my family went on vacation year after year to Chincoteague Island (off the Virginia Coast). It was a nice quiet place with sort of a Mayberry charm, though, like most places, it's not exactly the same any more. One of the old memories I have of the island was their adoration of the book and movie about Misty. Everywhere you went, shops sold the books as well as horse souvenirs. And, oddly, the local movie theater was STILL showing the movie MISTY--years after it first debuted. Up through the 1970s, they STILL were showing the film (in addition to other films, thank goodness). The reason? Well, the original title of the book was "Misty of Chincoteague" and was about one of the many wild ponies roaming this and nearby Assateague Island. And wow did everyone seem to love it, though not being an especially great horse lover, I didn't see what all the fuss was about and never saw the film when I visited the island.

Years later, I decided to finally give the film a look--after all, maybe I was missing something. After seeing it, I really don't think I was missing anything. If you adore horses, then you'll no doubt be able to look past the pathetic acting and bare-bones budget. If you aren't a fan of horse films, then the films many, many short-comings will seem even more apparent. The bottom line is that I felt the film was incredibly dull and the print looked as if it was filmed with a Super 8mm camera. The only things that interested me were scenes of the island before it became a tourist mecca--THAT was interesting.

So if you see the movie, you'll need to ask yourself, "am I a rabid fan of the books or of ponies?". If so, then by all means see this film. Otherwise, don't say I didn't warn you--it's really bad.