The Story of Seabiscuit

For its time, it was a nice movie. Shirley Temple was in adulthood even more lovely than as a child. Rosemary DeCamp can't lose, what a great actress.! One can't forget Barry FitGerald. Yes, the race between War Admiral and Seabiscuit used real footage. AND now, all these years later, 2003, we have the thrill of a new movie coming out in July. This time, author Laura Hillenbrand's great book will be produced with her supervision of the film. If the film is as good as the book which is truly a work of great art and literature, far more than a horse book, namely a character study of the horse and the four men who made Seabiscuit a great horse, we will complete the circle and the legend of Seabiscuit. Can't wait.!

"The Story of Seabiscuit", which was shown recently on TCM, is a film that is pleasant to sit through, but inferior to the much better "Seabiscuit" that came out on 2003, based on the magnificent book by Laura Hillenbrand and directed by Gary Ross. This 1949 movie was perhaps a vehicle for an adult Shirley Temple. As directed by David Butler, the film has some good moments.

The best thing in the movie is the irresistible Barry Fitzgerald. As Shawn O'Hara, he comes to America to work with horses at the Milford Farms. He arrives with his niece, Margaret. Shawn knows a lot about horses and he spots Seabiscuit right away. His love for the horse puts him at odds with George, the head trainer. Since Seabiscuit doesn't show anything at the beginning and Shawn's health seems to deteriorate, Shawn and Margaret decide to go on to California to work with the Howards, a couple that appreciate Shawn's advice.

Among the recommendations Shawn tells the Howards, is to buy Seabiscuit from Mr. Milford for the sum of six thousand dollars. After Shawn resumes training the horse, and with the help of Ted Knowles, the jockey, Seabiscuit begins to respond and win. Seabiscuit was a legend in the sport.

The story is conventional, but totally watchable by the presence of Barry Fitzgerald. He steals every scene in which he appears. Shirley Temple is not believable with her Irish accent, but she is a sweet figure in the story. Lon McCallister, playing Ted, is fine. Rosemarie DeCamp is an elegant figure who doesn't get much to do.

The film doesn't attempt to be anything but a semi documentary about Seabiscuit and its trainer and the relationship between them. Horse race fans will have a good time with the film thanks to Mr. Fitzgerald's contribution.

Horse racing was part of my life since birth, albeit not so much any more. So these are the kinds of movies I always like. Most important for this movie is, that Barry Fitzgerald always makes me smile, and Shirley Temple is terrific memory for almost everyone.

These are the reasons that everyone should be happy to enjoy this movie at least once. However I don't know if I would go out of my way to see this again. It is unfortunate that this movie, like so many of previous decades, was not considerate of the actual history of the event, but chose to create a plot loosely based on a true event. The 2003 version "Seabiscuit" is truly wonderful and is a part of my home collection. This is the primary reason I gave it a vote of 5.

The imagery is fun and I like the way the movie edits play together, but it is not likely to be in the top ten for many people. Even so I recommend this for all who enjoy Fitzgerald or Temple, and of course lovers of all horse stories.

Shirley Temple was just 21 during filming in 1946 and with another movie that year marked the end of her film career. Here she plays a fictional character, Margaret O'Hara. She and her uncle traveled from Ireland to Kentucky, he to assist in horse training and she to study to become a nurse. Seems that it was rumored her uncle had a special skill and maybe spoke to Leprechauns to gain insight into how a horse will perform.

The characters are fictional, as are many of the story lines associated with them in this movie. What is factual is the actual story of Seabiscuit, a somewhat smaller racehorse, that had more and more racing success as he matured. When he was a 5-yr-old he was almost unbeatable.

The movie is in color but in a couple of scenes where actual archive racing film is used, the movie scenes are filmed in B&W to appear consistent with the old footage.

I never actually watched any movies with Sirley Temple as a child star so I can't compare, but here she does just fine. The movie is well-made and entertaining.

At home on DVD from my public library.

Had to see the movie after reading the wonderful bestseller about Seabiscuit. Supposedly uses the real footage of the match race between War Admiral and Seabiscuit. Acting aside, the historic race alone is worth viewing the movie.