The Story of Seabiscuit (1949)

Horse trainer Shawn O'Hara and his lovely niece, Margaret, come to America to escape the memory of an accident involving Margaret's brother, Danny. Working with thoroughbreds in Kentucky, ... See full summary »

Director:

David Butler

Writer:

John Taintor Foote

Stars:

Shirley Temple, Barry Fitzgerald, Lon McCallister

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Shirley Temple	...	Margaret O'Hara / Knowles
Barry Fitzgerald	...	Shawn O'Hara
Lon McCallister	...	Ted Knowles
Rosemary DeCamp	...	Mrs. Charles S. Howard
Donald MacBride	...	George Carson
Pierre Watkin	...	Charles S. Howard
William Forrest	...	Thomas Milford
Joe Hernandez	...	Race Commentator
Hal J. Moore	...	Race Commentator (as Hal Moore)
Clem McCarthy	...	Race Commentator
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sugarfoot Anderson	...	Walkin' Murphy, Milford's Boy (as 'Sugarfoot' Anderson)
Seabiscuit	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

Horse trainer Shawn O'Hara and his lovely niece, Margaret, come to America to escape the memory of an accident involving Margaret's brother, Danny. Working with thoroughbreds in Kentucky, Shawn takes a liking to a yearling named Seabiscuit, and fights to convince the horse's owner that the tiny horse with big knees will become a top-notch racehorse. Meanwhile, Margaret begins a tentative relationship with jockey Ted Knowles, but is haunted by her brother's death in a steeplechase spill.

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Plot Keywords:

horse | kentucky | seabiscuit | horse trainer | jockey | 

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

A História de Um Vencedor

Filming Locations:

Burns Ranch, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$700,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 93 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the close-ups, Seabiscuit was played by Sea Sovereign, his son.

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Goofs

In the final scene at the winner's circle, an apparent newsreel cameraman is filming while cranking his camera - backwards. He pauses for a few seconds, starts to crank one way, then the other. Finally, he resumes cranking, this time in the correct direction.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: [voice over narration] Here in Kentucky is the Blue Grass Country where champions are born. Black, beige and chestnut. Glorious creatures. Born to run and keep on running.

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Connections

Referenced in Beach Peach (1950)

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Soundtracks

"A Gal in Calico"
(uncredited)
Music by Arthur Schwartz
Whistled briefly early in the film by Lon McCallister

User Reviews

not very good

Although it is a nice, warm, charming story/plot it is a let down considering. The fact that some of the main characters in this version are completely fictional (the O'Haras) bothered me throughout the entire movie.

I did love that it had some actual B&W footage of some of Seabiscuit's races. And being a sucker for almost any animal movie (especially horses) I utterly enjoyed all the scenery and all the shots of the horses. The only reason I would watch this again is for that, not for the plot or the actors. But I'm fairly sure that this one is going to collect dust on my DVD shelf.

If you are going to watch a movie about Seabiscuit, I advise to see the amazing 2003 version and skip this one.