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 movie | horse | kentucky | jockey | horse trainer | 

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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:

Santa Anita Park & Racetrack - 285 West Huntington Drive, Arcadia, 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

Seabiscuit's pre-Charles S. Howard silks are shown as green and white. Before Howard bought him Wheatley Stables owned Seabiscuit. Their silks were golden yellow with purple sleeves and cap.

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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

Featured in Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed (1968)

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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

Good Movie, Bad Acting!

I happened to catch this movie by accident while clicking through the cable channel and the story of sea biscuit caught my eye!

The movie's cinematography was excellent and the back drops were pure eye candy for the movie buffs.

It seemed as though Barry Fitzgerald "stole" EACH and EVERY scene he was in and made all the other actors go begging for drama coaching with the exception of Rosemary Decamp who seems to always know where the camera was and especially when it was trained on her.

The acting of Shirley Temple was horrendous and unprofessional. It was if she either did not believe in the character she was portraying or just wanted to be somewhere else. (ala, gregory peck in duel of the sun).

I believe the only thing that saved each and every scene of hers from the cutting floor was the fact that she does have (a very pretty face)and since she was uh... 'Little Shirley Temple' how could she possibly be bad?

Her acting and the general camp acting of the other players seem to muddle the storyline. The Great cinematography and the scene-stealing mastery of fitzgerald is the only reason I kept the recording.

And last but not least the great historical footage of the horse (seabiscuit)who also helped salvage some of the last 2 reels.