National Velvet (film)
Encyclopedia
National Velvet is a 1944 drama film
, in Technicolor
, based on the novel
by Enid Bagnold
, published in 1935. It stars Mickey Rooney
, Donald Crisp
and a young Elizabeth Taylor
.
In 2003, National Velvet was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
), living in Sewels, in Sussex
, England
, who wins a spirited gelding
in a raffle and trains it for the Grand National
steeplechase
, aided by her father's (Donald Crisp
) hired hand, a young drifter, Mi Taylor (Mickey Rooney
), who claims to have found Mrs. Brown's name and address among his deceased father's effects. Mi loathes horses, because while a jockey in Manchester, he caused a collision which resulted in the death of another jockey. The horse is called "The Pie", short for Pirate, the epithet given him by the previous owner due to his misbehavior. Velvet wins The Pie in a raffle and convinces Mi to train them both for the Grand National. The night before the race, Velvet senses that the Latvia
n jockey
hired to ride The Pie doesn't believe he can win. Rather than give up the race, Mi imagines he will overcome his fears and ride in the Latvian's place. Velvet has other ideas, and in the end masquerades as the jockey herself and rides the horse to victory. Exhausted by the exertion of the five-mile race, Velvet collapses from the horse shortly after the finish, and is disqualified for not staying in the saddle until reaching the enclosure. A doctor discovers the fallen jockey is, in fact, "an adolescent female", and Velvet becomes a media sensation. Velvet declines offers of 5,000 pounds to travel to Hollywood with The Pie to be filmed, as "he wouldn't like being looked at." In the final scene of the film, Velvet rides off to reveal to a departing Mi that his father was Mrs. Brown's coach in her contest-winning swim across the English Channel as a young woman.
The film differs from the book in countless respects, from the colour of the horse and its name (in the book the horse is a piebald, named "Piebald") to the appearance of Velvet and her mother, both of whom have been glamourised into very different people. Velvet, in the book, is plain, pale and sickly; her mother weighs 16 stone. The Brown family has also been made to seem more educated and richer in the film version: Mr. Brown is a prosperous butcher while Mrs. Brown, who keeps the books, has won 100 pounds for swimming the English Channel.
, who was then appearing on Broadway
, was offered the role of Velvet Brown in 1939. Production was delayed, however, so Tierney returned to Broadway.
Much of the film was shot in Pebble Beach, California
, with the most scenic views on Pebble Beach Golf Links
, with some golf holes visible in the background.
Elizabeth Taylor was given "The Pie" as a birthday gift after filming was over.
in 1945:
Wins
Nominations
, International Velvet
, was released. The film stars Tatum O'Neal
, Christopher Plummer
, Anthony Hopkins
, and Nanette Newman
, who plays Velvet Brown as an adult.
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...
, 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...
, based on the novel
National Velvet
National Velvet is a novel by Enid Bagnold , first published in 1935.-Plot summary:"National Velvet" is the story of a 14-year-old girl named Velvet Brown, who rides her horse to victory in the Grand National steeplechase...
by Enid Bagnold
Enid Bagnold
Enid Algerine Bagnold, Lady Jones, CBE , known by her maiden name as Enid Bagnold, was a British author and playwright, best known for the 1935 story National Velvet which was filmed in 1944 with Elizabeth Taylor....
, published in 1935. It stars Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
, Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...
and a young Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
.
In 2003, National Velvet was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Plot
National Velvet is the story of a twelve-year old girl, Velvet Brown (Elizabeth TaylorElizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
), living in Sewels, in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, who wins a spirited gelding
Gelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
in a raffle and trains it for the Grand National
Grand National
The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
steeplechase
Steeplechase (horse racing)
The steeplechase is a form of horse racing and derives its name from early races in which orientation of the course was by reference to a church steeple, jumping fences and ditches and generally traversing the many intervening obstacles in the countryside...
, aided by her father's (Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...
) hired hand, a young drifter, Mi Taylor (Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
), who claims to have found Mrs. Brown's name and address among his deceased father's effects. Mi loathes horses, because while a jockey in Manchester, he caused a collision which resulted in the death of another jockey. The horse is called "The Pie", short for Pirate, the epithet given him by the previous owner due to his misbehavior. Velvet wins The Pie in a raffle and convinces Mi to train them both for the Grand National. The night before the race, Velvet senses that the Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
hired to ride The Pie doesn't believe he can win. Rather than give up the race, Mi imagines he will overcome his fears and ride in the Latvian's place. Velvet has other ideas, and in the end masquerades as the jockey herself and rides the horse to victory. Exhausted by the exertion of the five-mile race, Velvet collapses from the horse shortly after the finish, and is disqualified for not staying in the saddle until reaching the enclosure. A doctor discovers the fallen jockey is, in fact, "an adolescent female", and Velvet becomes a media sensation. Velvet declines offers of 5,000 pounds to travel to Hollywood with The Pie to be filmed, as "he wouldn't like being looked at." In the final scene of the film, Velvet rides off to reveal to a departing Mi that his father was Mrs. Brown's coach in her contest-winning swim across the English Channel as a young woman.
The film differs from the book in countless respects, from the colour of the horse and its name (in the book the horse is a piebald, named "Piebald") to the appearance of Velvet and her mother, both of whom have been glamourised into very different people. Velvet, in the book, is plain, pale and sickly; her mother weighs 16 stone. The Brown family has also been made to seem more educated and richer in the film version: Mr. Brown is a prosperous butcher while Mrs. Brown, who keeps the books, has won 100 pounds for swimming the English Channel.
Cast
- Mickey RooneyMickey RooneyMickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
as Mi Taylor - Donald CrispDonald CrispDonald Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...
as Mr. Herbert Brown - Elizabeth TaylorElizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
as Velvet Brown - Anne RevereAnne RevereAnne Revere was an American stage, film, and television actress.-Early life:Born in New York City, Revere was a direct descendant of American Revolution hero Paul Revere. Her father, Clinton, was a stockbroker, and she was raised on the Upper West Side and in Westfield, New Jersey...
as Mrs. Araminty Brown - Angela LansburyAngela LansburyAngela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
as Edwina Brown - Jackie 'Butch' JenkinsJackie 'Butch' JenkinsJackie 'Butch' Jenkins was an American child actor, who had a brief film career during the 1940s.Born Jack Dudley Jenkins in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Doris Dudley, Jenkins made his film debut at the age of six in The Human Comedy as Jack Jenkins after an MGM talent scout saw...
as Donald Brown - Juanita QuigleyJuanita QuigleyJuanita Quigley is a former child actress in American motion pictures of the 1930s and 1940s.-Career:Juanita Quigley was billed as Baby Jane in several early roles. She first attracted major attention as Claudette Colbert's three-year-old daughter in Imitation of Life...
as Malvolia "Mally" Brown - Arthur TreacherArthur TreacherArthur Veary Treacher was an English actor born in Brighton, East Sussex, England.Treacher was a veteran of World War I. After the war, he established a stage career and in 1928, he went to America as part of a musical-comedy revue called Great Temptations...
as Race Patron - Reginald OwenReginald OwenJohn Reginald Owen was a British character actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American movies and later in television programs.-Personal:...
as Farmer Ede - Norma VardenNorma VardenNorma Varden was an English actress with a long film career in Hollywood.Born in London, the daughter of a retired sea-captain, Varden was a child prodigy. She trained as a concert pianist in Paris and performed in England before deciding to take up acting...
as Miss Sims - Terry KilburnTerry KilburnTerry Kilburn is an English-American former child actor. He is sometimes credited as Terence Kilburn or Terrance Kilburn.Kilburn was born in London in 1926...
as Ted - Arthur ShieldsArthur ShieldsArthur Shields was an Irish stage and film actor.Born into an Irish Protestant family in Portobello, Dublin, he started acting in the Abbey Theatre when still a young man. He was the younger brother of Oscar-winning actor Barry Fitzgerald. An Irish nationalist, he fought in the Easter Rising of...
as Mr. Hallam - Aubrey MatherAubrey MatherAubrey Mather was an English character actor.Mather began his career on the stage in 1905. He debuted in London in Brewster's Millions in 1909 and on Broadway ten years later in Luck of the Navy. He eventually branched out to films, starting with Young Woodley in 1930...
as Entry official - Alec Craig as Tim
- Eugene Loring as Ivan Taski
- Jane IsbellJane IsbellJane Isbell was a minor actress, a bit player and extra who appeared in some major films produced during Hollywood's Golden Era in the 1930s-40s....
as Schoolgirl Jane
Production notes
An 18-year-old Gene TierneyGene Tierney
Gene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
, who was then appearing on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, was offered the role of Velvet Brown in 1939. Production was delayed, however, so Tierney returned to Broadway.
Much of the film was shot in Pebble Beach, California
Pebble Beach, California
Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It lies at an elevation of 3 feet . Pebble Beach is a small coastal resort destination, home to the famous golf course, Pebble Beach Golf Links....
, with the most scenic views on Pebble Beach Golf Links
Pebble Beach Golf Links
Pebble Beach Golf Links is a golf course located in Pebble Beach, California, on the west coast of the United States.Pebble Beach is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful courses in the world. It hugs the rugged coastline and has wide open views of Carmel Bay, opening to the Pacific Ocean,...
, with some golf holes visible in the background.
Elizabeth Taylor was given "The Pie" as a birthday gift after filming was over.
Academy Awards
The film won two Oscars18th Academy Awards
The 18th Academy Awards was the first such ceremony after World War II. As a result, the ceremony featured more glamour than had been present during the war. Plaster statuettes that had been given out during the war years were replaced with bronze statuettes with gold plating...
in 1945:
Wins
- Best Supporting ActressAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
- Anne Revere - Best Film EditingAcademy Award for Film EditingThe Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
- Robert J. Kern
Nominations
- Best DirectorAcademy Award for DirectingThe Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
- Clarence Brown - Best Art Direction (color)Academy Award for Best Art DirectionThe Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
- (Art Direction) Cedric GibbonsCedric GibbonsAustin Cedric Gibbons was an Irish American art director who was one of the most important and influential in the field in the history of American film. He also made a great impact on motion picture theater architecture through the 1930s to 1950s, the period considered the golden-era of theater...
and Urie McClearyUrie McClearyUrie McCleary was an American art director. He won two Academy Awards and was nominated for four more in the category Best Art Direction.He was born in Arkansas and died in Los Angeles, California....
; (Interior Decoration) Edwin B. Willis and Mildred GriffithsMildred GriffithsMildred Griffiths was an American set decorator. She was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film National Velvet.-External links:... - Best CinematographyAcademy Award for Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
- Leonard Smith
Other adaptations
- National Velvet was dramatized as a one-hour radio play on the February 3, 1947 broadcast of Lux Radio TheaterLux Radio TheaterLux Radio Theater, a long-run classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network ; CBS and NBC . Initially, the series adapted Broadway plays during its first two seasons before it began adapting films. These hour-long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences...
, with Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp and Janice Scott. - In 1960, the film was adapted into television series which aired on NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. - In 2003, a film version was made for television.
Sequel
In 1978, a sequelSequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
, International Velvet
International Velvet (film)
International Velvet is a 1978 dramatic film. It was a remake of the 1944 classic, National Velvet. The film stars Tatum O'Neal, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Hopkins and Nanette Newman. The film got mixed reviews.-Plot:...
, was released. The film stars Tatum O'Neal
Tatum O'Neal
Tatum Beatrice O'Neal is an American actress best known for her film work as a child actress in the 1970s. She is the youngest to win a competitive Academy Award, at the age of 10, which she won for her performance as Addie Loggins in Paper Moon opposite her father Ryan O'Neal...
, Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
, Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
, and Nanette Newman
Nanette Newman
-Early life:Newman was born in Northampton, England. She was educated at Sternhold College, the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts stage school and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.-Career:...
, who plays Velvet Brown as an adult.