O Vale da Ternura

Herbert J. Yates presents John Steinbeck's THE RED PONY (Feldman Productions/Milestone Productions/REPUBLIC PICTURES, 1949) Starring Myrna Loy, Robert Mitchum, Louis Calhern. Written by John Steinbeck, Directed by Lewis Milestone, Original Music by Aaron Copland.

REPUBLIC PICTURES, long the mainstay of the "B" Western, the Juvenile Comedy Series and (of course) the Saturday Matinée Serial, occasionally brought out through release a truly remarkable film. Case in point, we present you with The John Ford & Merion C. Cooper Argosy Production of THE QUIET MAN (1952). Films of such stature are rare anywhere and particularly so when produced (at least in part) by an outfit such as "The Thrill Factory". There were many others over the years; but as we said in the whole they were rare.

LIKEWISE we have the case of this John Steinbeck tale of family, generational gaps, hero worship, fraud and ultimate discovery of mutual humanity; with of all its virtues, frailties and foibles notwithstanding. The screen adaptation is a surprisingly successful blending of emotion all around the spectrum. Although we have a setting in the American West , in the early part of the 20th Century, well after the Frontier had been tamed; we find the story to be universally relevant and relative to all in any time, setting or situation.

FOR a project that is at least partially founded in a "poverty row", lesser tiered Hollywood Studio, the film marshals first rate talent from the best of that available. The Cast, featuring such luminaries as: Myrna Loy, Robert Mitchum and Louis Calhern, is equally well supported in the lower portions by fine performers with less well names. Shepherd Standwick, Margaret Hamilton, a young Nino Tempo and an even younger Beau Bridges (yeah, Lloyd's Son, Jeff's Bro). We're also treated to an uncredited appearance by Pro Wrestler, 'Wee Willie' Davis as a truck driver.

THE cinematography is beautiful and the open country natural settings are truly breath taking. Stark realism, as exemplified by the ranch buildings and corrals, barn, etc., receives an outstanding dose of contrast by the finely conceived and rendered dream sequences. One tends to magnify the intensity of the other. The inclusion of the Technicolor Process is used to the utmost level; making for the best and most natural palette on any screen.

LEST we forget our hearing, we must make mention of the beautiful original score composed by Mr. Aaron Copland. The theme and the incidental music, while sounding like vintage Copland, still manages to be a unique overall composition; deserving to be classified as a symphonic masterpiece, had it been written in another era.

IN the hands of veteran Director's Director, Mr. Lewis Milestone, the story manages to Classify itself as being virtually unclassifiable. You'll find no pigeon holing or square and round pegging here. What could well be called a Western, a Comedy, a Coming of Age Tale, a Family Story or a Juvenile Tale, could be and would be classified in any of these categories; ergo, it's in essence none of these.

AND that my dear Schultz, is what we believe to be the real criterion for true, singular classification and uniqueness. That's It and That's All, Story Over!

POODLE SCHNITZ!!

Like John Garfield, Robert Mitchum is yet another one of my very favourite actors from that particular, by-gone era of moviedom history.

If you ask me, Mitchum was such an easy-to-like actor. Without any apparent pretentiousness, he casually projected just the right kind of masculinity (on-screen) which unanimously appealed to both men and women, alike.

So, with keeping that in mind - Is it any wonder that I found the best scenes in The Red Pony to clearly be the ones where Mitchum played a direct part in the action? I mean, without this dude's presence I probably wouldn't have enjoyed this film to the degree that I did and I most likely would've rated it somewhat lower, as well.

For the most part - I'd say that The Red Pony (which was beautifully filmed in lush Technicolor) was a film that would be best enjoyed by children. There really wasn't much of a tale in this sentimental, Hollywood Western to hold the rapt attention of an adult.

There is an unusual abundance of talent associated with this film. The screenplay was written by one of the great American writers of the 20th century, John Steinbeck, taken from his excellent short novel of the same name. The score was written by Aaron Copland, perhaps the most noted composer in American history. The director, Lewis Milestone, made many fine pictures over a long career including Academy Award winner 'All Quiet on the Western Front.'

All that talent doesn't necessarily mean that 'The Red Pony' is going to be the greatest movie of all time, though it is a good one. Milestone's direction and Copland's score are both fine, but I didn't feel like Steinbeck's script was nearly as good as his book.

We often complain when a favorite work of literature is changed considerably by the movies, but what do you say when it's a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author doing it to his own work? Although I don't think this filmed version lives up to the novel, it still covers the same ground. It's about a boy growing up on a farm in Steinbeck's beloved Salinas Valley in California, where he learns some lessons about life. One of them is that the things you think you want the most sometimes come at a much higher price than you were prepared to pay. My favorite actor in this movie was Myrna Loy as the mother. Where did I ever get the idea that she wasn't supposed to be that good an actress? I must have had her mixed up with someone else.

The Red Pony was an early novel of John Steinbeck dealing with memories of his childhood in the Salinas Valley in California. It was Republic's prestige film for 1949 away from the B westerns that were the company's bread and butter. Herbert J. Yates even had the good sense not to have wife Vera Hruba Ralston in it.

He probably spent half the studio budget signing as stars Myrna Loy who was free lancing and Robert Mitchum from RKO. In Mitchum's case it might have been a question of a favor or two owed to Howard Hughes. Both studios were B picture companies.

The story takes place like Steinbeck's other classic, East of Eden, during the years before American entry into World War I. The Tiflin family has recently moved on that ranch. For Myrna Loy it was a case of going back to her roots on both the screen and the film, in real life she grew up on a ranch in Montana. But her husband Sheppard Strudwick is a school teacher and a city kid and feels an outsider. Especially when their kid Peter Miles starts hanging around with ranch hand Robert Mitchum.

Anyway the lad is given a roan colored pony, a really good looking and smart animal as well. The pony and the boy take to each other and Miles follows Mitchum's instructions on care and feeding implicitly. He even teaches the pony some tricks one of which will innocently bring about the animal's ultimate demise and a Tiflin family crisis.

Though the Tiflins are quite a bit up the economic scale from the Baxters, The Red Pony is very similar in plot in a lot of respects to the Marjorie Keneston Rawlings classic, The Yearling. Both are nice family films in which the boy protagonists face crises involving their respective pets. They also have some disturbing scenes in them, young Peter Miles's scrape with some buzzards might give real little kids nightmares. I may have some myself tonight.

Still if you are willing to risk the bad dreams, The Red Pony is a fine family film that still holds up well after 59 years.

Young dreamer Peter Miles (as Tom Tiflin) receives "The Red Pony" as a gift from father Shepperd Strudwick (as Fred Tiflin). But, the boy receives help in training the animal not from his distant dad, but from ranch-land Robert Mitchum (as Billy Buck). When tragedy strikes, the lad learns some of life's lessons. The cast is certainly capable, especially with mother Myrna Loy (as Alice Tiflin) in the mix. But, the triad of adults does not approach the seething subtext present in "Shane" (1953). And, John Steinbeck's screenplay does not evoke the passion of similar films, like "The Yearling" (1947).

For these reasons, "The Red Pony" isn't as well-remembered. Still, it's an excellent production, with some fairly interesting character dynamics. Director Lewis Milestone and photographer Tony Gaudio contribute beautifully. This was the last film for Mr. Gaudio, who must have, although not finally nominated, received some "Academy Award" consideration for "Best Color Cinematography". Aaron Copland's musical score is also award-worthy. Louis Calhern (as grandfather) and Margaret Hamilton (as teacher) add support. Watch for Beau (son of Lloyd) Bridges and Nino Tempo (brother of April Stevens).

******* The Red Pony (3/28/49) Lewis Milestone ~ Peter Miles, Robert Mitchum, Myrna Loy