Beau Bridges Movie:

		List Price: $14.98		Label: Republic Pictures Salesrank: 72345 Released: July 22, 2003
		Our Price: $8.45
		Used Price: $6.99
		MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 07/22/2003 Run time: 91 minutes Rating: Nr

The Red Pony Reviews:
Don't read the book first
2008-11-19 - If you read Steinbeck's novel of the same title already, either lower your expectations for the film, don't watch it, or watch it as if it's a different story.

Shepperd Strudwick does a fine job acting as the petty, mean-spirited, controlling Fred Tiflin. Decent performances were also delivered by Myrna Loy as Alice, Peter Miles as the boy Tom, Robert Mitchum as cowboy Billy Buck and Louis Calhern as Grandfather. Robert Mitchum as Billy Buck seemed an odd choice as the novel made one expect an older, heavier man. Poor acting didn't kill this film, the rewriting did. Instead of making the audience cope with Billy Buck bludgeoning to death the pregnant mare to save her colt, the writers decided to have all the fuss about how to safely deliver the breech position colt resolved with an easy delivery. Problem solved! No fuss, no muss. My 8-year old thought the ending was funny because everyone was laughing, but I found it odd.

In a nutshell, the acting of Myrna Loy and Robert Mitchum matched with a score by Aaron Copland couldn't rescue the screen adaptation from Hollywood schmaltz.

A Modest, Worthwhile Steinbeck-Penned Tale with a Powerful Copland Score and a Grade-A Cast
2008-09-09 - The most truly American of classical composers, Aaron Copland's stirring music score is what still resonates most in this almost forgotten 1949 film, even though it boasts an impressive pedigree - a screenplay by John Steinbeck based on his own collection of short stories, direction from film veteran Lewis Milestone (All Quiet on the Western Front, Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men), and A-list stars in Robert Mitchum and Myrna Loy. It was the most expensive picture ever made at Republic Studios, a poverty-row operation that was kept afloat thanks to a successful string of John Wayne westerns. On the surface, the movie seems like kid-friendly fare, but it also presents some interesting psychological subtext on the family unit and a surprisingly graphic scene that triggers the story's climax.

The story focuses on a young boy named Tom Tiflin, who lives with his parents on a ranch in the Salinas Valley. His no-nonsense mother Alice was raised in the area, but his emotionally indifferent father Fred comes from San Jose and has never felt at home despite spending years on the ranch. On a long-term visit to the ranch, Alice's father is an old coot who repeats the same stories about the old West much to the consternation of Fred. Moreover, Fred's constantly conflicted state has pushed Tom closer to devoted ranch hand Billy Buck. Family tensions give way to a red pony, Fred's present to Tom. Naturally, the boy focuses his full attention on the pony, even cutting class to take care of it after it ambled outside during a heavy rainstorm. The rest of the story plays the way one would expect from a parable about personal obligations and coping with tragedy. Milestone lends a painterly quality to the proceedings, but he doesn't delve deeply into the characters' motivations. This was probably an intentional decision since the picture seems designed to be more of a Disney-type live-action film. The superficial treatment, however, leaves some aspects of the story oddly unexplained.

The resulting lapse leaves the actors to fill in the blanks. Even in a sketchily written role like Billy, Mitchum exudes his famously coiled presence in the face of a character that seems too good to be true. Stripped of her sophisticated charms, a ghostly-looking Loy lends a stoic dignity to Alice that gives just a small glimpse into the marital struggles her character is obviously facing. A year away from playing his archetypal role of Oliver Wendell Holmes in The Magnificent Yankee, Louis Calhern brings bluster and unexpected poignancy to the grandfather. As Fred, Steinbeck look-alike Shepperd Strudwick does the best he can in a relatively thankless role. Nine-year-old Peter Miles is generally affecting as Tom, though he can't seem to get past the boy's obsession into something more moving. That is indeed the Wicked Witch of the West, Margaret Hamilton, playing a minor role as Tom's perturbed schoolteacher. As noted with Loy's appearance, the color seems sadly faded in the print housed in the 2003 DVD, and unfortunately there are no extras offered - a true shame considering the talent involved.

The Red Pony
2008-08-25 - This is a very old movie, but well preserved. The acting and directing can only be improved by remaking this wonderful Steinbeck story. Wish they would.

Weaves stories well into movie
2007-03-09 - Although some of the names were changed in the movie, the essential elements of the book were woven into the movie quite well. My students enjoyed this movie.

55 Years Ago I saw The Red Pony in Memphis
2006-04-28 - I remember like yesterday sitting in the "picture show" with my father dressed in his Sunday Suit and me with my pretty dress on watching The Red Pony. I must have been about 8 to 10 years old and today I am 65 years of age and I am on Amazon.com about to order the DVD so that I can sit in front of our 62" plasma with my grandchildren and enjoy "once again" the Red Pony as I pass "them" the popcorn in a brown paper bag. Such Memories...