The Great Dan Patch

Saw this movie for the second time on Archive.org (I previously saw it on a community channel from Manitoba; I live in Ontario but have access to Neepawa Access Television Network) while on a Christmas break. This week I've been binge watching movies about or centered around my favorite sports (horse racing and curling); seen Run for The Roses, Ready to Run and this title (and for curling, Gerri Curls and Men With Brooms).

This is overall a decent movie, though not without its flaws. I'm a factional owner of Standardbreds so a few things stuck out at me ;)

Dan Patch (April 29, 1896 - July 11, 1916) was indeed an excellent Standardbred *Pacing* champion (and not a trotter as he was referred to in the movie) who was so strong in open company that connections of other horses refused to race against him. There was. Again, creative licensing.

This movie is *loosely* based on the horse but mainly a fictional telling of the lives of his (movie fictional) connections. If you are looking for a more accurate picture about horse racing unfortunately this isn't it, but there are so few about Standardbreds and it's isn't terrible.

What Man O' War was to flat thoroughbred racing Dan Patch was to the sport of harness racing. During the Teddy Roosevelt era in our history this horse was a much a sports hero as Christy Mathewson or John L. Sullivan. He retired undefeated and as the film shows many of his races were simply against the clock as he tried to beat his own pacing speed records which stood for many years.

But the film The Great Dan Patch is about his original owners who bred and trained him and the trouble that one of them had with the women in his life. Dennis O'Keefe who was raised on an Indiana farm by father Henry Hull and aunt Charlotte Greenwood had a love of horses, but also a love of science. He patented some chemistry formulas and became wealthy. However two women are in love with O'Keefe. Gail Russell who is the daughter of Dan Patch's original trainer John Hoyt and Ruth Warrick who is the town school teacher.

O'Keefe's life would have been real simple had he married Russell who shares his interest in horses. But Warrick marries a man who will allow her to live and circulate in high society. She's got an interesting part, it's almost like O'Keefe married the grandmother of Harriet Craig.

If you're expecting a Secretariat like movie with the emphasis on the horse, this will not be the film for you. The Great Dan Patch just keeps on winning harness races as the humans around him make great big mistakes in their personal lives.

It's a decent film, but I would like to have seen more of the horse.

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.

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.

This movie is about 30% accurate, but manages to capture the essence and appeal of the big horse, Dan Patch. The horse was unbeaten in 11 years of racing on the track and, by all accounts, kind and gentle off the track. The level of the horses appeal can be measured by the fact that the day after the horse died, the owner, M. W. Savage, also died. I believe the two female leads turn, Gail Russell and Ruth Warwick turned in exceptional performances, with Ms. Warwick giving a performance of award-Winning caliber. Maybe Claire Trevor deserved the best supporting actress Oscar that year, but I think Ms. Warwick deserved at least a nomination. The rest of the cast gave workmanlike performances. Truth may be stranger than fiction, but, in this case, fiction can make a better movie than fact.