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

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

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

[edit] Plot introduction

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.

[edit] External link

• National Velvet at the Internet Movie Database