National Velvet (film)

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National Velvet
original film poster
Directed by	Clarence Brown
Produced by	Pandro S. Berman
Written by	Helen Deutsch Enid Bagnold (book)
Starring	Elizabeth Taylor Mickey Rooney Donald Crisp Anne Revere Angela Lansbury Reginald Owen Terry Kilburn
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Running time	123 min.
Language	English
Followed by	International Velvet.
IMDb profile

For the 1980s Canadian rock band National Velvet, see National Velvet (band).

National Velvet is a 1944 film based on the novel by Enid Bagnold, first published in 1935.

1 Plot introduction
2 Trivia
3 Cast
4 Awards
5 Other adaptations
6 External link

[edit] Plot introduction

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

National Velvet is the story of a girl, Velvet Brown, who saves a horse from the knacker's yard and trains it for the Grand National steeplechase, aided by her father's hired hand. The fictional horse which Velvet Brown trained and rode in the National is called "The Pie". However, when the temperamental Latvian jockey she has hired decides not to ride the horse, she disguises herself as a male jockey and rides the horse to victory.

[edit] Trivia

The film rights for the novel were originally bought by RKO Radio Pictures in 1937 but the intended star, Katharine Hepburn, became "box-office poison" after Bringing Up Baby flopped.

After filming, Elizabeth Taylor intended to keep the horse.

While the film takes place in 1930s Britain, the Grand National race was filmed at a Los Angeles racetrack. This can be evidenced by the power poles visible in the background during the race, which are of a design typical of Los Angeles, not Britain.

[edit] Cast

Mickey Rooney .... Mi Taylor
Donald Crisp .... Mr. Herbert Brown
Elizabeth Taylor .... Velvet Brown
Anne Revere .... Mrs. Araminty Brown
Angela Lansbury .... Edwina Brown
Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins .... Donald Brown
Juanita Quigley .... Malvolia "Mally" Brown
Arthur Treacher .... Race Patron
Reginald Owen .... Farmer Ede
Norma Varden .... Miss Sims
Terry Kilburn .... Ted
Arthur Shields .... Mr. Hallam
Aubrey Mather .... Entry Official
Alec Craig .... Tim
Eugene Loring .... Ivan Taski

[edit] Awards

Anne Revere won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Velvet's mother, Araminty Brown. In the storyline Araminty was once famous for swimming the English Channel.
Robert Kern won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing.

[edit] Other adaptations

From 1960 to 1962 there was a television series based on the book which aired on NBC.
In 1978 a sequel film, International Velvet, was made starring Tatum O'Neal.
In 2003 a film version was made for television.