Crin blanc: Le cheval sauvage (1953)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Albert Lamorisse

Writers:

Albert Lamorisse (original scenario)
Denys Colomb Daunant (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

13 January 1954 (Denmark)

Genre:

Short | Drama | Family

Plot:

A boy comes across a white-haired wild horse in the Camargue. Ranchers seek to capture the horse, but it escapes...

Plot Keywords:

Horse | Camargue | Freedom | Wild Horse | France

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins

Cast

Alain Emery	...	Folco, the boy
Laurent Roche
Clan-Clan
Pascal Lamorisse
Francois Perie
Charles Guillaume
Alain Colomb Daunant
Denys Colomb Daunant		(as Denys Colomb de Daunant)
Charles Fouhetty
Pierre Bestieux
Pierre Moureaux-Nery
Jean-Pierre Grenier	...	Narrator (original version) (as J. P. Grenier)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Silvera	...	Narrator- English

Directed by
Albert Lamorisse

Writing credits
Albert Lamorisse		(original scenario)
Denys Colomb Daunant		(adaptation) (as Denys Colomb de Daunant)
Albert Lamorisse		(commentary) and
James Agee		(commentary)

Produced by
Albert Lamorisse	....	producer

Original Music by
Maurice Leroux		(music score) (as Maurice Le Roux)

Cinematography by
Edmond Séchan

Film Editing by
Georges Alépée

Sound Department
Regine Artarit	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Nicole de Bourgues	....	assistant camera (as Bourgues)
Jean-Louis Malige	....	assistant camera (as Malige)
Moureaux-Nery	....	assistant camera
Pervenchon	....	assistant camera
Rosfelder	....	assistant camera

Production Companies

• Films Montsouris

Distributors

• L'Alliance Générale de Distribution Cinématographique (1953) (France) (theatrical)
• Stadtkino Verleih (1953) (Austria) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1953) (USA) (theatrical) (English narration)
• Arthur Mayer-Edward Kingsley (1953) (USA) (theatrical)
• Childhood Productions (1967) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed) (re-release)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1967) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Janus Films (2007) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Sound & Media (2008) (UK) (all media) (non-theatrical)
• Park Circus (2008) (UK) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Cafegroove (2008) (Japan) (theatrical) (restored version)
• Crest International (2008) (Japan) (theatrical) (restored version)
• Atypfilm (2009) (Czech Republic) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Crin blanc (France) (short title)
White Mane (USA)
White Mane: The Wild Horse (International: English title)
Wild Stallion

Runtime:

47 min | USA:40 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:0 (canton of Vaud) | USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:G | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Camargue, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Company:

Films Montsouris

Movie Connections:

Featured in Le fils de Gascogne (1995)

Extraordinary images, similar outcomes

In the mid-fifties, Albert Lamorisse produced two beautiful, but strangely distant films, "The RedBalloon" and "White Mane". "Red Balloon" has been available and remained somewhat popular, while "White Mane" all but disappeared. Its re-emergence is welcome, as it offers intensely compelling black and white imagery, cinematography that is a cross between Ansel Adams and Atget, in its rich tones, dramatic light, and epic feel.

Red Balloon, offers an interesting contrast. Paris is all muted earth tones and grays, with the balloons offering the only vivid colors. It is also interesting to remember that World War II was less than a decade earlier.

Little Pascal, the director's son, is seen in both films, always appealing never "cute", but somehow distant. We don't really know him except as "the little boy".

The two films are wonderful artifacts from a time when film was more art than marketing.