The Great Dan Patch

Yes, generally this was a "nice" classic-era tale, the kind you don't often see post-1960s film but as a big, big fan of horse racing, I was disappointed.

Since "Dan Patch" has such a famous name in his sport, I was hoping to see all the details on film. Instead, what I got was mainly melodrama, a story about a guy (Dennis O'Keefe as "David Palmer") married to a social- climbing wife (Ruth Warrick as "Ruth Treadwell") but really more interested in another woman. The latter, "Cissy Lathrop," is a nicer, warmer lady whom the male lead should have married in the first place, but, she didn't come along early enough in the man's life. He had already committed to the annoying and too ambitious "Ruth."

Anyway, the only good thing about the romance angle was seeing the pretty face of Gail Russell (Cissy), but I'd rather have witnessed a lot more horse racing story in here than what was found. By the way, has there ever been a stable hand that looked Russell? I doubt it.

At least she, the old harness racing buggies, a few of the racing scenes and fairgrounds-type atmosphere were all nostalgic. But, it really wasn't much of a "sports film," which was I hoped to see.

Surprisingly good.

Gail Russell is always wonderful and she's fine in this. She's one of the best. When you think how she died at such a young age from alcoholism, it's tragic. (For more details on her life, see the 12-minute documentary about her on the DVD release of Seven Men from Now.)

She's the main reason I went looking for this movie, and I wasn't disappointed.

Any movie with some of my favorite actors all working in the same scene is worth watching. Seeing John Hoyt, Henry Hull, and Gail Russell in several scenes together...a delight.

The movie's also got Ruth Warrick (the wife in Citizen Kane), Charlotte Greenwood, Dennis O'Keefe, Arthur Honeycutt, Clarence Muse, Harry Lauter, Davis Roberts, and Earle Hodgins in a tiny role (one line)--all of them among my favorites and all of them highly enjoyable.

The story's not bad and those performances are first rate.

One of the only drawbacks is a typical one of the times when this was made: the black characters are all subservient, but they were at least treated by the other characters and by the story itself with respect and they've got some depth of character to play.

The script gets a little preachy toward the end, laying in a message about a mismatched marriage, and it's a message we've already gotten in this story well before the ending.

One thing really stands out in the performances, something true to the era the story's set in, the late 1890s and early 1900s. People in those days held a lot back, they didn't just gush their emotions out. And the actors are subtle. They hold back a lot. The first scene between father and son (Hull and O'Keefe) is impressive. The joy at their reunion is there, but they keep it inside and don't make a show of it. Same with the relationship between the trainer and his daughter (Hoyt and Russell): restrained, but full of unspoken words and emotions. All the characters perform with the same restraint, the same modulation. The director, Joseph Newman, must've had a hand in that.

Satisfying family fare.

This feature is a solid drama based loosely on the career of the famous race horse Dan Patch, with a good emphasis on the lives of the persons who owned and trained him. Although it certainly emphasizes what a unique and nearly unbeatable horse Dan Patch was, it looks even more closely at the dramas taking place among the human characters.

Much of the story focuses on the son (played by Dennis O'Keefe) of the horse's original owner, who is torn between a successful career and an ambitious wife on the one hand, and his passion for horses and attachment to old friends on the other. The supporting cast does a good job, with Henry Hull as the father, John Hoyt as the old-time horse trainer, and Gail Russell as the trainer's daughter. Ruth Warrick also succeeds in the thankless role of O'Keefe's wife.

Although most of the production is done in a very straightforward manner, it still works all right because the issues faced by the characters are easy to identify with. Aside from being somewhat predictable and sometimes a bit plain-looking, it's a solid feature.

David Palmer (Dennis O'Keefe) has graduated from college as a chemist but returns to his father's horse farm in Indiana to sort things out. He has been engaged to a beautiful schoolteacher (Ruth Warrick) and they will probably wed soon. David's father raises harness-racing horses and is very excited about a stallion named Joe Patchen. Training the horse is his longtime employee and his teenage daughter, Cissy (Gail Russell). But, at his first race, Joe P has an unfortunate accident and ruins one his legs. Undeterred, Mr. Palmer Sr. decides to breed the horse and see what happens. Fast forward three years. David is married and far wealthier, due to an invention. His wife couldn't be happier but, David feels something is missing. He begins spending more time with Joe's son, horse Dan Patch, who is even swifter than his sire. Cissy, too, has blossomed into a beautiful, sweet young lady who secretly loves David. With Dan Patch winning race after race, David gets caught up in the excitement, as does the entire country. But, could his personal life with his wife suffer? Does he truly love Cissy, too? This 1949 film highlights the true story of a horse, Dan Patch, who set many records for harness racing and was well-loved throughout the whole USA. Few have heard of him today, unfortunately, but many viewers will love watching his "tale". The cast is quite nice, with O'Keefe a dignified, handsome leading man and Russell unusually pretty. Watch out for Warrick, who went on to fame in the soaps! She makes a darn good "villianess". All of the supporting actors are very fine as well. Naturally, the film's look is the standard of the times but the editing and camera shots are interesting. Costumes, sets, script, and direction are worthy. Of course, there is some obvious political "incorrectness", as the horse farm's workers are African-American and shown in a mostly subservient role. Likely it is historically accurate to their positions but, they are shown here as stereotypically "step-and-fetch-its" without much intelligence. That's too bad but the story is still a good one and worth watching, despite its problems. If you love horses, you should try to find dear Dan P. I got mine at the Dollar Tree store, for a buck, and it brought much more pleasure than it cost.

A good family film with a lovely performance from Gail Russell. It is a fine film for race fans. It will entertain the younger set also.