IMDb > National Velvet (1944)
National Velvet
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National Velvet (1944) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

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7.3/10   3,092 votes »
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Down 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Clarence Brown
Writers:
Enid Bagnold (based on the novel by)
Theodore Reeves (screenplay) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for National Velvet on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
26 January 1945 (USA) See more »
Genre:
Drama | Family | Sport See more »
Tagline:
Simple Story Of A Boy . . . A Girl . . . And A Horse! Set to the thunder of the Grand National Steeplechase!
Plot:
A jaded former jockey helps a young girl prepare a wild but gifted horse for England's Grand National Sweepstakes. Full summary » | Add synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
See more »
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 3 nominations See more »
NewsDesk:
(140 articles)
Angela Lansbury and the Tony Awards
 (From Scott Feinberg. 23 April 2012, 6:48 PM, PDT)
Steven Poole's non-fiction choice - reviews
 (From The Guardian - Film News. 20 April 2012, 4:08 PM, PDT)
Ok, Let's Talk About the Amazing "75 Best Supporting Actresses" Reenactment Video
 (From AfterElton.com. 11 April 2012, 10:02 AM, PDT)
User Reviews:
Magic See more (48 total) »

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Mickey Rooney ... Mi Taylor
Donald Crisp ... Mr. Brown

Elizabeth Taylor ... Velvet Brown
Anne Revere ... Mrs. Brown

Angela Lansbury ... Edwina Brown
Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins ... Donald Brown (as Jackie Jenkins)
Juanita Quigley ... Malvolia 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 ... I. Taski
Dennis Hoey ... Mr. Greenford
Matthew Boulton ... Entry Official
Gerald Oliver Smith ... Photographer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Harry Allen ... Van Driver (uncredited)
Paula Allen ... Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Rene Austin ... Schoolgirl (uncredited)
William Austin ... Reporter (uncredited)
William Bailey ... Bookie (uncredited)
Frank Baker ... Villager (uncredited)
Frank Benson ... Englishman (uncredited)
Barry Bernard ... Pressman (uncredited)
Billy Bevan ... Constable (uncredited)
Felicity Bilbrook ... Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Beverly Billman ... Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Arthur Blake ... Minor Role (uncredited)
Stephen Bowson ... Schoolboy (uncredited)
Colin Campbell ... Cockney (uncredited)
Leonard Carey ... Pressman (uncredited)
Wally Cassell ... Jockey (uncredited)
King Charles ... The Pie - a Horse (uncredited)
Wallis Clark ... Clerk of Scales (uncredited)
Murray Coombs ... Schoolboy (uncredited)
Donald Curtis ... American (uncredited)
Harold de Becker Jr. ... Schoolboy (uncredited)
Ada Ellis ... Villager (uncredited)
Ray Erlenborn ... Jockey (uncredited)
Al Ferguson ... Villager (uncredited)
Douglas Francis ... Track Official (uncredited)
Mona Freeman ... Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Arthur Gould-Porter ... Attendant (uncredited)
Alec Harford ... Valet (uncredited)
Joy Harington ... Nurse (uncredited)

Richard Haydel ... Schoolboy (uncredited)
Leyland Hodgson ... Pressman (uncredited)
Art Howard ... Photographer (uncredited)
Bert Howard ... Photographer (uncredited)
Olaf Hytten ... Villager (uncredited)
Charles Irwin ... Starter (uncredited)
Jane Isbell ... Schoolgirl Jane (uncredited)
George Kirby ... Villager (uncredited)
Iris Kirksey ... Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Rose Langdon ... Bookie (uncredited)
Jack Lee ... Assistant Checker (uncredited)
Moyna MacGill ... Woman (uncredited)
Wilbur Mack ... Committee Man (uncredited)
Barry Macollum ... Townsman (uncredited)
Stanley Mann ... Villager (uncredited)
Virginia McDowall ... Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Gail Peyton ... Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Gordon Richards ... Doctor (uncredited)
John Rogers ... Bookie (uncredited)
Bertha Stinchfield ... Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Doris Stone ... Villager (uncredited)
Howard Taylor ... Schoolboy (uncredited)
Lotus Thompson ... Villager (uncredited)
Rhoda Williams ... Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Eric Wilton ... English Bookie (uncredited)
Frederick Worlock ... Stewart (uncredited)
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Directed by
Clarence Brown 
 
Writing credits
Enid Bagnold (based on the novel by)

Theodore Reeves (screenplay) and
Helen Deutsch (screenplay)

Howard Dimsdale  contributing writer (uncredited)

Produced by
Pandro S. Berman .... producer
Clarence Brown .... producer (uncredited)
 
Original Music by
Herbert Stothart (musical score)
 
Cinematography by
Leonard Smith (director of photography)
 
Film Editing by
Robert Kern (film editor) (as Robert J. Kern)
 
Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons (art direction)
Urie McCleary (art direction) (as Urie Mc Cleary)
 
Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis (set decorations)
 
Makeup Department
Jack Dawn .... makeup creator
Irma Kusely .... hair stylist (uncredited)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joseph Boyle .... assistant director (uncredited)
 
Art Department
Mildred Griffiths .... associate set decorator
 
Sound Department
Douglas Shearer .... recording director
William Edmondson .... boom operator (uncredited)
Robert Shirley .... effects mixer (uncredited)
Robert Shirley .... re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Newell Sparks .... effects mixer (uncredited)
Newell Sparks .... re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Michael Steinore .... effects mixer (uncredited)
Michael Steinore .... re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Charles E. Wallace .... sound (uncredited)
Charles E. Wallace .... unit mixer (uncredited)
 
Special Effects by
Warren Newcombe .... special effects
Mark Davis .... special effects camera (uncredited)
A. Arnold Gillespie .... transparency projection shots (uncredited)
 
Stunts
Rex 'Snowy' Baker .... stunts (uncredited)
Johnny Carpenter .... horse-riding stunts (uncredited)
Alice Van Springsteen .... stunts (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Clarence Sinclair Bull .... still photographer (uncredited)
Bob Gough .... second camera (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kay Dean .... associate costume supervision
Irene .... costume supervision
Valles .... wardrobe: men
 
Music Department
Earl Cates .... music mixer (uncredited)
Murray Cutter .... orchestrator (uncredited)
M.J. McLaughlin .... music mixer (uncredited)
William Saracino .... music mixer (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Henri Jaffa .... associate technicolor color director
Natalie Kalmus .... technicolor color director
Egon Heep .... horse trainer: Elizabeth Taylor's (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
  • Max Factor  wigmaker: Elizabeth Taylor (uncredited)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
"Fuego de juventud" - Mexico (imdb display title), Spain, Venezuela
"Över alla hinder" - Sweden
"A Mocidade é Assim Mesmo" - Brazil
"A Nobreza Corre nas Veias" - Portugal
"A nagy derby" - Hungary
"Alitis kai i amazon, O" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Gran premio" - Italy
"Kleines Mädchen, großes Herz" - West Germany (imdb display title)
"Le grand National" - France
"Over alle hindre" - Norway (imdb display title)
"Wielka wygrana" - Poland
"Yli esteiden" - Finland
See more »
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
123 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
Brazil:Livre | USA:Approved (certificate #10321) | Germany:6 | Germany:o.Al. (DVD rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:G | Canada:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:G
Filming Locations:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USASee more »
Company:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)See more »

Did You Know?

Trivia:
The race-course map which Mi shows Velvet is an accurate portrayal of the real-life Grand National course at Aintree, near Liverpool. What's more, like the movie, the course actually has a Becher's Brook jump and a Canal Turn jump with its sharp left turn.See more »
Goofs:
Factual errors: Mr. Brown, a butcher who should know better, authoritatively announces that one small-to-medium-sized lobster will provide a family dinner for six: A claw apiece for he and his wife, the entire tail (the meatiest part of the crustacean) for his picky young son who's a finicky eater and what's "in-between" (basically all of it's inedible entrails) for his three teenage daughters - with some left over for the dog! In reality, a lobster of that size would hardly feed one hungry person.See more »
Quotes:
Mi Taylor:Some day you'll learn that greatness is only the seizing of opportunity - clutching with your bare hands 'til the knuckles show white.See more »
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Designing Women: They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They? (#4.11)" (1989)See more »
Soundtrack:
The Teddy Bears' PicnicSee more »

FAQ

Is "National Velvet" based on a book?
Who played the Pie?
What were Velvet's colors and assigned number?
See more »

User Reviews

   (Review this title)
17 out of 23 people found the following review useful.
Magic, 15 April 2003
Author: dbdumonteil

A lot of directors have broached childhood:Truffaut,Bunuel,Pialat,Comencini,Loach ,but no one did it as Clarence Brown used to do:his world is a rosy one ,a protected one where any dream can come true if you believe in it.Not realistic?Not that much :take "the yearling" for instance:the young hero's pal's death is not passed over in silence but Jody did tell him and us that somewhere in Heaven there are prairies full of coypus.In "National Velvet" ,the mother ,quoting the Book of Ecclesiastes ,tells her daughter that there's a time for everything,even a time to die.

Colors display something magic,closer to fairy tales than to a realistic story:this small town,with its colorful characters,its school where the teacher loves all of her students whom she's going to miss during the long holiday,its butcher's shop.The heroine's parents own it and their house suffuses with understanding,tenderness and love.The race is ,as far as Velvet is concerned , entirely implausible ,but it's nicely filmed.

A top-notch cast cannot fail to win over the audience:the couple Anne Revere/Donald Crisp are parents every child dreams of;Elizabeth Taylor has always been an underrated actress,to think that about 20 years later,she would be Martha in "who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?"!;Mickey Rooney 's pouty mouth and sullen expression avoid pathos and melodramatic effects.And there's also a young Angela Landsbury,long before "murder she wrote" ,on the threshold of a brilliant career.

It may not appeal to Today's children ,who got used to special effects and action-packed stories.But for the adults who've still got their child's soul,it's a true delight.

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See more (48 total) »

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for National Velvet (1944)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
widescreen release + restoration judacia
The Horses Name Paulious78
Registered name for horse portrayed as The Pie? kungfuflygirl
He Died on that Island!!!!! KatrinaW
Multiple versions of this film (?) babatjie
One of these things doesn't belong mstatz
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