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 Academy 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.

Gene Tierney was then offered the role by MGM but when production was delayed Tierney signed with 20th Century Fox.

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

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

[edit] Academy Awards

National Velvet won two Oscars in 1945:

Wins:

Best Supporting Actress - Anne Revere
Best Film Editing - Robert J. Kern

Nominations:

Best Director - Clarence Brown
Best Art Direction (color) - (Art Direction) Cedric Gibbons and Urie McCleary; (Interior Decoration) Edwin B. Willis and Mildred Griffiths
Best Cinematography - Leonard Smith

[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.