The Rocking Horse Winner (1949)

A young boy receives a rocking horse for Christmas and soon learns that he is able to pick the winning horse at the races.

Director:

Anthony Pelissier (as Anthony Pélissier)

Writers:

D.H. Lawrence (short story), Anthony Pelissier (screenplay) (as Anthony Pélissier)

Stars:

Valerie Hobson, John Howard Davies, Ronald Squire

Cast

Cast overview:
Valerie Hobson	...	Hester Grahame
John Howard Davies	...	Paul Grahame
Ronald Squire	...	Oscar Cresswell
John Mills	...	Bassett
Hugh Sinclair	...	Richard Grahame
Charles Goldner	...	Mr. Tsaldouris
Susan Richards	...	Nannie
Cyril Smith	...	Bailiff

Storyline

In London, the young Paul Grahame lives with his upper class, but financially broken family. His wasteful mother Hester Grahame is a compulsive buyer, spending all the family money on new expensive dresses, jewels, and objects for their house. His father Richard Grahame is a gambler, losing money in the horse races. His uncle Oscar Cresswell is permanently covering the Grahame family debts. When the servant Bassett is hired, Paul finds that he can predict the winner of the horse races by rocking his wooden horse. Paul asks Bassett to become his partner. The two of them bet their money on the races. Paul wants to prove that he is lucky in order to silence the house, which perpetually whispers to him that it needs more money.

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Plot Keywords:

horse | money | horse race | rocking horse | debt | 

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Taglines:

From the Classic by D.H. LAWRENCE

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 November 1949 (UK)

Also Known As:

Amartiai goneon

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

J. Arthur Rank Organisation, Two Cities Films, John Mills Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Opening credits: The events and characters portrayed in this film are fictitious and any similarity to any incident, name or individual is co-incidental.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bassett: Are you looking for me?
Paul Grahame: You're Bassett, aren't you?

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Connections

Version of The Rocking Horse Winner (1997)

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Soundtracks

Silent Night
(uncredited)
Music by Franz Xaver Gruber
English lyrics by John Freeman Young

User Reviews

One of the best fantasy films--and certainly one of the most disturbing!

Suspenseful, intriguing, disturbing, heartbreaking, atmospherically crafted by director and photographer, this is a gem of a movie that was too out of the rut to be appreciated by audiences in its day. The characters are not only totally believable but so convincingly acted that few viewers will have any difficulty accepting the plot's key supernatural premise. Because they are so credibly realistic, however, some of the people in this movie (the lad's mother and father, for instance) are far from sympathetic. This trait doubtless alienated contemporary audiences even further, particularly those looking for escape into an idealistic world of smilingly duty-bound, hardworking mothers and bumbling yet well-intentioned dads.

As stated, all the players are excellent—including producer John Mills who cast himself in a small but key role—but three are so outstanding it would churlish not to mention them individually: Valerie Hobson is perfect as the selfish, socially aspiring mum; John Howard Davies is likewise brilliant as the driven, psychotic boy of the title; and it's great to see Ronald Squire utilizing his talents to the full in a major role.

The pace never slackens and the movie incorporates so many unforgettably powerful scenes, it would be impossible to single just three or four for special praise.

In short: a masterpiece from screenwriter/director Anthony Pelissier (who handled only a handful of movies), photographer Desmond Dickinson and a fine array of artists and craftspeople under the control of actor/producer John Mills.