Il vendicatore silenzioso

I saw this movie as a pre-teen when it was first released and it has been one of my favorite films among the hundreds I have seen. Bring along the kleenex for this movie will bring tears to the eyes of everyone.

This is Fred MacMurray's BEST movie! It is awesome! It makes you laugh, cry, and rejoice at the end. The music is outstanding. The actors are great! The horse is beautiful. It is such a heartwarming story, one you will never forget once you have seen it. i don't understand why it is not available on vhs or dvd. There is another version with different actors available of this movie, i have it, but it's not near as good, doesn't rate compared to this movie version. PLEASE make it available to purchase! i'd buy it in a heartbeat! Thanks! GOD BLESS! : )

Like "Lassie come home", if there is a movie i'll always remember, it is indeed the lovable "Smoky" and his loyal master McMurray.Fifty years ago, alone in a theater watching the film, having a hard time to see the screen because the tears in my eyes blurred the only scene i could never forget. I think it's near the end, when the true love of McMurray for his animal and Smoky's attachment for his real friend, burst you out of emotions. Glad i was alone, no one could laugh at me. The day after, when i narrated to my young friend, between the double features I have seen: "Going my way" with Bing Crosby as a priest, and "Smoky", i preferred and enjoyed by 200 yards, the latter, he did not understand why... Since many years, i searched as hard as Fred for his horse, without any luck to find the DVD or VHS. May be he did not pass my way yet! Or i have not cross their path. But one thing i am sure: no other horse did or never will surpass him on any screen.

"Smoky" is quintessential family fare, with no surprises or plot twists; As a reader remarked, "man finds horse, man loses horse, man finds horse". Is it my imagination or are many horse stories similar? "War Horse" and "Black Beauty" had much the same theme as "Smoky".

In this one, Fred MacMurray arrives at a ranch under a cloud of suspicion. His cowboy credentials are impeccable, but some ranch hands have heard stories. All goes well until Bruce Cabot shows up and pleads with Our Hero to get him a job. But it turns out that Cabot is his ne'er-do-well brother, and Fred took the rap for him in another state. Fred has, meanwhile, found and broken a wild horse that is the envy of the local horsemen. Cabot finds the horse 'ornery' and despises it. Naturally, things happen, Fred and the horse are separated, and the horse ends up with - you guessed it, Cabot. From here you can fill in the blanks.

The movie, filmed in and around Utah's Zion National Park, is gorgeous to look at while the movie itself has a very pedestrian feel. No new ground is broken in the story and co-star Anne Baxter has very little to do despite being the manager of the ranch. Burl Ives gets to sing some songs in the bunkhouse. Kids will like this picture more than adults will, and it is a pleasant way to spend 90 minutes.

I can still remember walking home in silence beside my mother after having seen Smokey at our local Loew's theater in Yonkers, New York. I was so moved by this film, that I have never forgotten it. That was over 50 years ago and I only wish that a VHS or DVD copy was available so that I would be able to share this movie with my children and grandchildren. I enjoyed Smokey far better than National Velvet or Black Beauty. Fred MacMurray is excellent as the lead who has to deal with the emotional upheaval of losing his beloved horse. What happens to this fine animal will cause you to get a few lumps in your throat before the finale. A keeper if we could manage to find a copy!