A Clarence Brown Production. Copyright 19 December 1944 by Loew's Inc. Presented by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 14 December 1944. U.S. release: April 1945. U.K. release: 6 August 1945. Australian release: 4 October 1945. 11,110 feet. 123½ minutes.SYNOPSIS: Young girl who loves horses dreams of her gelding winning the Grand National.NOTES: Ann Revere won the Best Supporting Actress award, and Robert J. Kern's was voted Best Film Editing. Other Academy Award nominations were Clarence Brown for Directing (lost to Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend); Leonard Smith for Color Cinematography (lost to Leon Shamroy's Leave Her To Heaven); and Art Direction (Color) for which the voters preferred Frenchman's Creek.Bosley Crowther allowed National Velvet edged out Home In Indiana for a place in his Ten Best Films of 1944. On the Film Daily poll, Velvet was voted 9th - nine votes ahead of Anchors Aweigh.Australian jockey Snowy Baker trained Elizabeth in horse-riding and doubled for her in the steeplechase climax.In real life, Howard Taylor is Elizabeth's elder brother; Moyna MacGill is Angela Lansbury's mother.Initial domestic rental gross: $4,050,000 - one of the top money-makers of the year.COMMENT: A story that never happened - and never could happen - set in an impossible Hollywood-land of smiling villagers and rolling greens; where the only villains are a reluctant jockey and a couple of half-determined touts - and a mildly cranky confectioner. The butcher of this Technicolored paradise is as kindly and gentle a philosopher as you could meet any side of a rainbow, and his second child a hopelessly endearing dream-girl whose persistent fancies and moony ambitions come impossibly true.Never mind all that. Like most fairy tales of legendary adventure, National Velvet is a gripping, heart-tugging drama that carries all before it. Ambition succeeding against all odds, the loner against the system, the romantic idealist versus the scoffers and the pragmatic.An extremely difficult role - one that needs to be spun with such winning conviction to set all audience doubts aside - and Elizabeth Taylor plays it perfectly. It was the role that made her a star (she had appeared in four films previously), and quite a few critics still consider it her finest performance.Most of the other players are equally adept. (I'm not so sure about Anne Revere, though the Academy gave her a surprise Oscar when she defeated the odds-on favorite Ann Blyth whose daughter of Mildred Pierce was regarded as a certainty. Well, who am I to argue with the Academy?) Mickey Rooney is ingratiatingly restrained in a not wholly sympathetic part that calls for real acting as Elizabeth's mentor. And Donald Crisp is nicely paternal as usual (love the scene in which he hauls Shields over the counter) and Butch Jenkins amusingly obnoxious as the insect-crazy Donald. If Angela Lansbury seems a mite mature for Edwina (this role is sandwiched between Gaslight and The Picture of Dorian Gray), it doesn't matter a great deal for despite the promise of her introductory scenes she has actually little to do. Other small parts are felicitously played by Reginald Owen, Arthur Shields, Billy Bevan and Arthur Treacher (who seems to have been cast as an afterthought - his sole function is to act as a foil for spectator Rooney during the climactic race).The race itself is not the finish of the film - there's quite a bit of plot tidying afterwards (plus an hilarious episode with Butch outsmarting Gerald Oliver Smith's prissy photographer) - but undoubtedly its high point. All staged for the picture, with no stock or library material, this was the sequence that won film editor Kern his Academy Award. Breathtakingly cut and paced, its excitingly orchestrated thrills and spills look remarkably authentic. My only criticism is that the camera tends to pull away a little too much from the action. Brown obviously wanted to get in as much of the crowd as possible, but I feel some of the stunts would seem even more daring closer up.Be this as it may, Brown has filmed the race with high imagination: charging running inserts are effectively intercut with stationary camera angles, process screen and undercranking effects are kept to a barely detectable minimum, suspense is cleverly riveted by both the speed and length of the race, and tension skillfully enhanced by attention to all the details of crowd and betting, weighing in and start.Brown's vivid directorial inventiveness is evident from the very beginning of the picture, with its credits super¬imposed on a continuous traveling shot following Mi (gamely walked by Rooney himself) to the signposts; and there are a couple of other outstandingly deft touches - the long track with Velvet and Edwina through the village, a sequence which effectively ends when Ted cuts in front of the lens with his bike; and the subjective view through Smith's camera as he focuses on Jenkins' gap-toothed face.Despite the intrusion of a few patently phony backdrops, this is a pleasingly expensive production with bright photography and generous sets and some extraordinarily attractive locations. Herbert Stothart's romantic music score with its jaunty use of "Greensleeves" underpins the visuals entrancingly. And of course for horse and Bagnold lovers (not to mention Taylor and Rooney fans), National Velvet is a dream.

National Velvet (1944): Dir: Clarence Brown / Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Angela Lansbury, Donald Crisp, Anne Revere: Wonderful film about realizing your dreams. It begins and ends with a lone traveler given an invitation by the film's heroine. He is played by Mickey Rooney and she is Velvet who has a passion for horses. Her father is a butcher who hires Rooney but as they set off to sell the product Velvet pauses to mount a wild horse named Pie. After its umpteenth rampage through town she wins it in a town lottery. Rooney is convinced to help her train a horse for the Grand National, which is the greatest racing event in England. Grand storytelling goes for a social commentary involving gender roles. Director Clarence Brown does an excellent job at blending drama and humour, but what he also does is establish the introductory of his appealing lead star. Elizabeth Taylor brings flair and energy to Velvet. Rooney learns valuable lessons regarding friendship. He begins with bad intentions but is influenced towards greater character. Siblings are underwritten particularly Angela Lansbury who is practically wasted. Of the children, the middle sister seems unnecessary, and Donald Crisp is totally annoying in every scene he mugs. However, the result is a simple yet rewarding film about gender and potential to higher levels of gain. Score: 9 / 10

Starring an exuberant, fresh-faced Elizabeth Taylor (only 12 years old at the time), National Velvet (which is now 70 years old) is certainly one of the less dated family pictures from that particular era of Hollywood movie-making.In a small, English, coastal town (in the 1920s) it's summer holidays for the Brown children. And when a beautiful, chestnut-coloured horse (who Velvet christens "The Pie") enters into the story, the scenario immediately transforms into a "dream-come-true" when Mi Taylor convinces the wide-eyed Velvet to enter this magnificent steed into the Grand National race being held at Aintree.This first-rate production was expertly directed by Clarence Brown.Here's a film where the rapport and chemistry between the actors was right on the mark. Here's a story where all of the characters were quite likable and the viewer finds themselves cheering Velvet on to victory, as if it were the most natural reaction of all.So, whether you happen to be a enthusiastic horse-hugger, or not, National Velvet is a vintage, Hollywood gem that you're bound to enjoy, time and again.

If you are searching for a film that touches the emotions, National Velvet is a good candidate. It is the story of a young girl, Velvet Brown, and her family. They live in a small hamlet and personify the best in traditional family values. Velvet, like many adolescent girls, has a passion for horses. When she sets her sights on a beautiful chestnut, The Pie, she must have him. Her love for the horse and the mythic affinity they have takes them on a journey into the world of horse racing, making this movie one of the best sports films of all time.But this is more than a sports movie. It is the Brown family and its values, especially as personified by Mrs. Brown, that drive the story. What could be more heartwarming that a family that provides its children with love and support? And the greatest blessing is a family like the Browns, who supports the dreams of its children.Velvet (Elizabeth Taylor) is allowed to pursue her passions with the support of her parents. Likewise, she is a transforming influence. Through her love for The Pie, the horse is driven to excel. And due to her trust, the jaded former jockey (Mickey Rooney)is transformed into a better person.This film has a marvelous script, full of laughs and tears. The cast does a wonderful job with the story, no doubt with excellent direction. National Velvet is a WWII classic that will remain relevant because the values it espouses are timeless.