The Story of Seabiscuit
Encyclopedia
The Story of Seabiscuit is a 1949
American drama film
directed by David Butler. The screenplay was written by John Taintor Foote. The film is a fictionalized account of the career of the racehorse Seabiscuit
(1933–1947) with a subplot involving the romance between the niece (Temple) of a horse trainer (Fitzgerald) and a jockey (McCallister). The role of Seabiscuit was played by one of his cousins. Though shot in Technicolor
, the film incorporates actual black-and-white footage of Seabiscuit in races.
reviewer panned the film, stating, "the odds are that Seabiscuit's screen saga will prove an also-ran" and characterizing the subplot as "one of the season's dullest romances". AMC critic Christopher Null agreed, writing, "The only actual reason to watch this film ... is the black and white footage of Seabiscuit's actual races".
1949 in film
The year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
American drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by David Butler. The screenplay was written by John Taintor Foote. The film is a fictionalized account of the career of the racehorse Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse in the United States. From an inauspicious start, Seabiscuit became an unlikely champion and a symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression...
(1933–1947) with a subplot involving the romance between the niece (Temple) of a horse trainer (Fitzgerald) and a jockey (McCallister). The role of Seabiscuit was played by one of his cousins. Though shot in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
, the film incorporates actual black-and-white footage of Seabiscuit in races.
Cast
- Shirley TempleShirley TempleShirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
as Margaret O'Hara - Barry FitzgeraldBarry FitzgeraldBarry Fitzgerald was an Irish stage, film and television actor.-Life:He was born William Joseph Shields in Walworth Road, Portobello, Dublin, Ireland. He is the older brother of Irish actor Arthur Shields. He went to Skerry's College, Dublin, before going on to work in the civil service, while...
as Shawn O'Hara - Lon McCallisterLon McCallisterLon McCallister was an American actor.Born in Los Angeles, he began appearing in movies at the age of 13. The young actor had leads in a number of films; he usually played boyish young men from the country. Growing only to 5'6" he found it difficult to find roles as an adult. He appeared with...
as Ted Knowles - Rosemary DeCampRosemary DeCampRosemary DeCamp was an American radio, film and television actress.DeCamp first came to fame in November 1937, when she took the role of Judy Price, the secretary of Dr. Christian in the long-running radio series of the same name. She made her film debut in Cheers for Miss Bishop and appeared in...
as Mrs. Charles S. Howard - Donald McBride as George Carson
- Pierre WatkinPierre WatkinPierre Watkin was an American actor. He was a character actor in many films, serials and TV series from the 1930s through the 1950s, especially westerns...
as Charles S. Howard - William ForrestWilliam ForrestWilliam Forrest was an American film actor. He appeared in over 250 films between 1932 and 1976.He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and died in Santa Monica, California from heart failure....
as Thomas Milford
Reception
The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reviewer panned the film, stating, "the odds are that Seabiscuit's screen saga will prove an also-ran" and characterizing the subplot as "one of the season's dullest romances". AMC critic Christopher Null agreed, writing, "The only actual reason to watch this film ... is the black and white footage of Seabiscuit's actual races".