The real Seabiscuit retired in 1940 and died in 1947. Just like heavyweight boxer Jimmy Braddock, the legendary race horse became an unlikely champion and symbol of hope for many Americans during the Great Depression. As a family movie, this is a passable film with endearing characters, though I didn't get a sense of Seabiscuit's legendary status as a thoroughbred race horse in the telling. In the picture he's sometimes overshadowed by the on again/off again romance between Margaret O'Hara (Shirley Temple) and Ted Knowles (Lon McCallister). Without a doubt, the presence of Barry Fitzgerald in the story as trainer Shawn O'Hara was the spark this film needed to make it a worthwhile story, even if a fictional one.
I was somewhat taken aback when the Technicolor format went black and white around the fifty four minute mark, but quickly determined the race horse footage must have been the real deal from the era. With a little research I learned that the one-on-one match up between Seabiscuit and War Admiral was the actual race between the two horses, as was the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap, won by the titled horse following his amazing comeback from a leg injury.
For racing fans who also admire Shirley Temple, this is your chance to see her in her next to last film. The only other movie I've watched where she's an adult was the prior year's cavalry Western "Fort Apache" where she seemed out of her element. Having seen both pictures now, it's somewhat apparent she didn't transition that well into adult roles, which is OK, as she made her mark as a cute-as-a-button youngster in a slew of pictures throughout the Thirties. That's really the only way I can think of her.
I was somewhat taken aback when the Technicolor format went black and white around the fifty four minute mark, but quickly determined the race horse footage must have been the real deal from the era. With a little research I learned that the one-on-one match up between Seabiscuit and War Admiral was the actual race between the two horses, as was the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap, won by the titled horse following his amazing comeback from a leg injury.
For racing fans who also admire Shirley Temple, this is your chance to see her in her next to last film. The only other movie I've watched where she's an adult was the prior year's cavalry Western "Fort Apache" where she seemed out of her element. Having seen both pictures now, it's somewhat apparent she didn't transition that well into adult roles, which is OK, as she made her mark as a cute-as-a-button youngster in a slew of pictures throughout the Thirties. That's really the only way I can think of her.