Description

Enchantingly beautiful Elizabeth Taylor became a movie star at age twelve after starring in this classic about a girl and her jockey pal (Mickey Rooney) who transform an unruly horse into a champion. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

A Classic Tale of a Girl, her Horse, a young Jockey and Mom
Somehow I never got around to see this movie until I was 40 years old. I guess it was because I was never really an Elizabeth Taylor fan, although I have always enjoyed "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" But I was at the library and I had always heard good things about it and so I checked in out and took it home and watched it and feel in love with it.

The plot line involving Mike (Mickey Rooney) starts off as somewhat melodramatic, the standard story (literarly in this case) of the guy who has to get back on the horse. The twist is that when he does our young heroine has decided she is the only one who can ride the Pie to victory. The twist is the Rooney achieves his victory without winning (anticipating "Rocky" in that regard when you stop and think about it).

The focus of the film is on Taylor and Rooney, but the heart and soul of the film is the relationship between Velvet and her mother. Anne Reeve won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of the mother, and while her scenes with husband Donald Crip are small gems scattered throughout the film (they call each other "Mr. Brown" and "Mrs. Brown" and you can tell how much they love each other every time they do it), it is the scenes with her daughter that bring home the film.

Mrs. Brown uses the money from her swimming the channel to fund Velvet's dream of racing the pie in the Grand National. But for Velvet the payoff is not when she wins the race and becames a front page story, but when she arrives home and immediately runs to her mother and says, "We won, Mother. We won." Her mother already knows. All of England knows. But all that mattered was telling her mother. It is a neat scene and an ellegant payoff to the film, more so than her running off to fetch make Mike.

This 1944 film was directed by Clarence Brown and is based on the novel by Enid Bagnold. Final Warning: And if after you have watched and enjoyed this classic film with your children and you screen the sequel "International Velvet" which only leaves a bad taste in your mouth, you have only yourself to blame.

Wonderful Technicolor Film About a Girl's Dream
I love both the book of NATIONAL VELVET and this film, which makes small changes to the book, but the theme and joy remain the same. Sickly Velvet Brown wins a fractious horse in a lottery and she and ex-jockey Mi Taylor train the horse to race in England's most famous steeplechase, the Grand National, a grueling race with frightening jumps. Velvet's family--her wise mother, excitable father, lovelorn older sister, telltale other sister, and mischievous little brother are all entertaining in their own right--some of the best scenes in the movie are between Anne Revere as Mrs. Brown and Donald Crisp as Mr. Brown. All this in glorious Technicolor recreating an English village of the 1920s. A must-have. Read the book as well--there is another sister in the story, more horse incidents, and it's not "translated" for American sensibilities like Harry Potter, so you get a real feel for English life and dialect at the time.

Poor treatment of a classic
"National Velvet" is a wonderful movie, for all ages. Frankly, I'd consider it one of the best "sports" movies ever made.

Sadly, Warner Brothers DVD release leaves a lot to be desired. The picture frequently goes out of focus, and the disc is bare-bones....not even the trailer [promised on the DVD jacket] is included.

With Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney still around, you would have thought they'd have either interviewed them, or gotten a commentary track from them for this classic. It would be worth the price to get a "special edition" release.

Until then, I guess we're stuck with this sorry disk.

Not to be missed
Clarence Brown was one of those accomplished American directors who never seemed to get the credit he deserved. This project is certainly his masterpiece. It's usually hyped as a children's picture but it works at all age levels: the apotheosis of the "family" movie. Mickey Rooney delivers the best performance of his amazing career; he should be next on the "lifetime achievment" list of the American movie academy. Brown also extracted equally compelling performances from Elizabeth Taylor, Donald Crisp and Anne Revere; in fact the entire cast. Taylor is a young English girl transported by her love of hayburners and her pure happiness is the central theme of the movie, a subject you don't see treated much anymore. Highly recommended.

Horse Crazy!
National Velvet is a sweet, inspiring film that will forever be a wonderful classic. Elizabeth Taylor (Velvet Brown) and Mickey Rooney (Mi Taylor) did an incredible job portraying their characters. Elizabeth Taylor only twelve years old, plays the part of a horse crazy little girl who is bound and determined that her horse (Pie) can when the Grand National Steeplechase. Although Pie was not originally her horse, it was enduring to watch how Velvet acquired the 16 hands, 6 foot jumping horse and how small of chance she had to win him. Mickey Rooney played a wonderful role of a frighten ex-jockey who in the beginning did not want any part of the horse business after an accident early in his career. With a spirited young girl, a wonderful horse that was thought to be no good, and an ex-jockey that tried too hard to stay away from horses, a winning story was sure to be produced. Velvet's family also played an important role as her mother (Academy Award winner Anne Revere), the quick tongue lady who could always convince her husband otherwise and Velvet's siblings, that put an emphasis on typical sibling relationships. For it's time, when this film was produced, it was outstanding (Academy Award winning) and now it is even more outstanding. People of all ages can enjoy this film because it's heartwarming with a touch of comedy that seeps into the heart of everyone. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This classic family film made a star of 12-year-old Elizabeth Taylor in the title role as spunky Velvet Brown, a girl who's determined to enter her horse, Pie, in the Grand National Steeplechase. Critic Pauline Kael called it "One of the most likeable movies of all time." Mickey Rooney costars as a young man who helps Velvet train Pie for the big race. At the last minute, Velvet herself has to ride Pie in the tournament and cuts her hair to pass for a jockey. Anne Revere won an Oscar as Velvet's mother, as did editor Robert J. Kern, who cut together a terrifically exciting horse race. Donald Crisp and Angela Lansbury are also featured as members of the Brown family.--Jim Emerson ... Read more

Reviews (23)

A Classic Tale of a Girl, her Horse, a young Jockey and Mom
Somehow I never got around to see this movie until I was 40 years old. I guess it was because I was never really an Elizabeth Taylor fan, although I have always enjoyed "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" But I was at the library and I had always heard good things about it and so I checked in out and took it home and watched it and feel in love with it.

The plot line involving Mike (Mickey Rooney) starts off as somewhat melodramatic, the standard story (literarly in this case) of the guy who has to get back on the horse. The twist is that when he does our young heroine has decided she is the only one who can ride the Pie to victory. The twist is the Rooney achieves his victory without winning (anticipating "Rocky" in that regard when you stop and think about it).

The focus of the film is on Taylor and Rooney, but the heart and soul of the film is the relationship between Velvet and her mother. Anne Reeve won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of the mother, and while her scenes with husband Donald Crip are small gems scattered throughout the film (they call each other "Mr. Brown" and "Mrs. Brown" and you can tell how much they love each other every time they do it), it is the scenes with her daughter that bring home the film.

Mrs. Brown uses the money from her swimming the channel to fund Velvet's dream of racing the pie in the Grand National. But for Velvet the payoff is not when she wins the race and becames a front page story, but when she arrives home and immediately runs to her mother and says, "We won, Mother. We won." Her mother already knows. All of England knows. But all that mattered was telling her mother. It is a neat scene and an ellegant payoff to the film, more so than her running off to fetch make Mike.

This 1944 film was directed by Clarence Brown and is based on the novel by Enid Bagnold. Final Warning: And if after you have watched and enjoyed this classic film with your children and you screen the sequel "International Velvet" which only leaves a bad taste in your mouth, you have only yourself to blame.

Wonderful Technicolor Film About a Girl's Dream
I love both the book of NATIONAL VELVET and this film, which makes small changes to the book, but the theme and joy remain the same. Sickly Velvet Brown wins a fractious horse in a lottery and she and ex-jockey Mi Taylor train the horse to race in England's most famous steeplechase, the Grand National, a grueling race with frightening jumps. Velvet's family--her wise mother, excitable father, lovelorn older sister, telltale other sister, and mischievous little brother are all entertaining in their own right--some of the best scenes in the movie are between Anne Revere as Mrs. Brown and Donald Crisp as Mr. Brown. All this in glorious Technicolor recreating an English village of the 1920s. A must-have. Read the book as well--there is another sister in the story, more horse incidents, and it's not "translated" for American sensibilities like Harry Potter, so you get a real feel for English life and dialect at the time.

Poor treatment of a classic
"National Velvet" is a wonderful movie, for all ages. Frankly, I'd consider it one of the best "sports" movies ever made.

Sadly, Warner Brothers DVD release leaves a lot to be desired. The picture frequently goes out of focus, and the disc is bare-bones....not even the trailer [promised on the DVD jacket] is included.

With Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney still around, you would have thought they'd have either interviewed them, or gotten a commentary track from them for this classic. It would be worth the price to get a "special edition" release.

Until then, I guess we're stuck with this sorry disk.

Not to be missed
Clarence Brown was one of those accomplished American directors who never seemed to get the credit he deserved. This project is certainly his masterpiece. It's usually hyped as a children's picture but it works at all age levels: the apotheosis of the "family" movie. Mickey Rooney delivers the best performance of his amazing career; he should be next on the "lifetime achievment" list of the American movie academy. Brown also extracted equally compelling performances from Elizabeth Taylor, Donald Crisp and Anne Revere; in fact the entire cast. Taylor is a young English girl transported by her love of hayburners and her pure happiness is the central theme of the movie, a subject you don't see treated much anymore. Highly recommended.

Horse Crazy!
National Velvet is a sweet, inspiring film that will forever be a wonderful classic. Elizabeth Taylor (Velvet Brown) and Mickey Rooney (Mi Taylor) did an incredible job portraying their characters. Elizabeth Taylor only twelve years old, plays the part of a horse crazy little girl who is bound and determined that her horse (Pie) can when the Grand National Steeplechase. Although Pie was not originally her horse, it was enduring to watch how Velvet acquired the 16 hands, 6 foot jumping horse and how small of chance she had to win him. Mickey Rooney played a wonderful role of a frighten ex-jockey who in the beginning did not want any part of the horse business after an accident early in his career. With a spirited young girl, a wonderful horse that was thought to be no good, and an ex-jockey that tried too hard to stay away from horses, a winning story was sure to be produced. Velvet's family also played an important role as her mother (Academy Award winner Anne Revere), the quick tongue lady who could always convince her husband otherwise and Velvet's siblings, that put an emphasis on typical sibling relationships. For it's time, when this film was produced, it was outstanding (Academy Award winning) and now it is even more outstanding. People of all ages can enjoy this film because it's heartwarming with a touch of comedy that seeps into the heart of everyone. ... Read more

Amazon.com

National Velvet
This classic family film made a star of 12-year-old Elizabeth Taylor in the title role as spunky Velvet Brown, a girl who's determined to enter her horse, Pie, in the Grand National Steeplechase. Critic Pauline Kael called it "One of the most likeable movies of all time." Mickey Rooney costars as a young man who helps Velvet train Pie for the big race. At the last minute, Velvet herself has to ride Pie in the tournament and cuts her hair to pass for a jockey. Anne Revere won an Oscar as Velvet's mother, as did editor Robert J. Kern, who cut together a terrifically exciting horse race. Donald Crisp and Angela Lansbury are also featured as members of the Brown family. --Jim Emerson

Black Beauty
Don't waste this one on your children: buy it for yourself. A spectacular adaptation of the Anna Sewell novel, this is faithful to the source material but creates a life of its own on the screen. Told from the point of view of the horse, it recalls a time and a place that could be both beautiful and cruel. Black Beauty faced both hardship and kindness as he passed through the hands of many owners throughout his life. Some are generous, but the agonies endured by the title character may be too harsh for small children. Unfortunately, director Caroline Thompson did not resurrect her magical touch a few years later with another animal tale, Buddy. --Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more