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The Red Pony is a 1949 American rural drama film in Technicolor based on John Steinbeck's 1937 novella of the same name. Steinbeck also wrote the screenplay for this film.[2]

The Red Pony
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lewis Milestone
Screenplay by	John Steinbeck
Story by	John Steinbeck
Produced by	Lewis Milestone
Starring	Myrna Loy Robert Mitchum Louis Calhern Shepperd Strudwick Peter Miles Margaret Hamilton
Cinematography	Tony Gaudio
Edited by	Harry Keller
Music by	Aaron Copland
Color process	Technicolor
Production companies	Republic Pictures Charles K. Feldman Group Lewis Milestone Productions
Distributed by	Republic Pictures
Release date	March 28, 1949 (1949-03-28) (United States)
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2 million[1]

Plot

The Tiflin family live in a remote ranch in the Salinas Valley in California.

Tom Tiflin, a young boy, is given a small pony by his father, Fred Tiflin. His grandfather ( a Buffalo Bill type character) tells rambling and exaggerated tales of the west over meal times. Fred is tired of his stories but his daughter (Fred's wife) likes his eccentricity. Most of his stories revolve around his leading a wagon train cross country in the pioneer days.

Tom asks stable-helper Billy Buck (Mitchum) to help him raise and train it so that it can be ridden. Buck gives him a saddle and they name the pony Gabilan. Tom shows the pony to his young friends.

During a rainstorm, the pony escapes the stable and subsequently develops a fever. Despite Buck's efforts to nurse the pony, it develops strangles and requires a tracheotomy. Shortly after the procedure, the pony escapes from the farm. Tom follows the pony's hoofprints to a gully where it has died and is being eaten by vultures. He blames Buck for not saving the pony's life. Buck, feeling remorse, prepares to kill his own pregnant mare in order to give Tom a colt. Tom grows angry at Buck's willingness to sacrifice a horse and steals his knife. When they return to the stable, the foal has been born naturally, with both mother and colt surviving.

Screenplay adaptation

In adapting his novella into a screenplay, Steinbeck focused mainly on the chapters "The Gift" and "The Promise," and characters' names were changed from those in the book: Jody Tiflin became Tom and his parents Carl and Ruth became Fred and Alice. The film also features a much happier ending than does the novella; in the book, Billy Buck cannot deliver the foal naturally and kills the mare to perform a caesarean section to save the unborn foal. Other violent scenes, such as those in which Jody beats a vulture to death, were toned down or omitted entirely for the film adaptation.

Cast

Uncredited (in order of appearance)
Wee Willie Davis	truck driver
George Tyne	Charlie
Poodles Hanneford	clown
Eddie Borden	circus performer
Max Wagner	bartender

Music

The film is notable because of the original score composed by Aaron Copland, which he also arranged and published as an orchestral suite. Copland conducted London's New Philharmonia Orchestra in a recording of the music for Columbia Records, which was later reissued on CD by Sony Records.

Reception

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, film critic Bosley Crowther wrote: "[T]he story does ramble, and its several interlaced strands are often permitted to dangle or get lost in the leisurely account. An extraneous family situation involving the youngster's Ma and Pa, wherein the father has trouble with his ego, likewise confuses the plot. In directing the picture, Mr. Milestone has adopted a frankly casual style which further invests the proceedings with a languid quality."[3]

Accolades

The film was nominated by the American Film Institute for its 2005 AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores list.[4]

References

External links

• The Red Pony at IMDb
• The Red Pony at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Red Pony at AllMovie
• The Red Pony at the TCM Movie Database
• The Red Pony film clips at Turner Classic Movies
• The Red Pony film trailer on YouTube

На других языках

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[de] Gabilan, mein bester Freund

Gabilan, mein bester Freund (Originaltitel The Red Pony) ist ein US-amerikanischer Spielfilm unter Regie von Lewis Milestone aus dem Jahr 1949. Als Vorlage diente die Erzählung Das rote Pferd (The Red Pony, 1933) von John Steinbeck, die auf Deutsch unter anderem in der Kurzgeschichtensammlung Der rote Pony und andere Erzählungen erschien. Steinbeck verfasste auch das Drehbuch zum Film, an dem mit Aaron Copland als Filmkomponisten noch ein weiterer bedeutender amerikanischer Künstler beteiligt war.

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- [en] The Red Pony (1949 film)

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