Gypsy Colt (1954)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

A Masterpiece!

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

For child star Donna Corcoran, it must have been nice and light and fluffy making this one, after doing "Don't Bother to Knock" with MM. That was SO dark and weird. In this one, family finances are making it impossible to keep her horse, so they will need to sell the horse to someone with a short-tempered trainer . Usually it's the child stars that are so precocious, but in this case, it's the (trained) horse that is the precocious one. Co-stars Ward Bond as "Dad". He was known for so many westerns over the years. This one is more for the kids. Everyone does a fine job, but it's pretty serious drama. Only 162 votes on imdb so far, so TCM must not show it very often. meh. It's ok. Directed by Andrew Marton, who had come from come over from Europe several times.

I give it a ten. Spoilers. Conflicts get resolved. Girl gets horse back. Rain falls. Father gets the reward. Cadillac-guy gives girl's father the reward, plus with a sly eye lets the original family keep Gypsy. Bad trainer gets his jacket removed by the horse, but earlier I was hoping that the horse would attack him and give him what-for. Mexican boy very nice to get water to give to Gypsy. Plus, later, he helps the horse get away. Motorcycle guys a laugh riot. They almost caught the horse, but he got away. Their crash scene was hilarious. I never heard of this film, but it reminded me of Lassie Come Home plus Black Beauty. It was a very pleasant movie. 10/10

Children will probably find something to appreciate in GYPSY COLT, but it's simply an uninspired remake of LASSIE COME HOME using a colt instead of a collie to tell the tale of an animal that can't stay away from its youthful owner. In this case, the owner is DONNA CORCORAN, a cute girl under contract to MGM at the time--but the acting and direction is a constant reminder that this is a B-film masquerading as an A-product.Scenery is spectacular (of the American West), but the tale bears all the earmarks of the "Lassie" story--even down to the animal knowing when it's three o'clock and time to drop in at the school. Townspeople can set their watches at the sight of the colt racing down the street toward the schoolhouse.WARD BOND and FRANCES DEE have very little to work with as the parents who have to sell the horse in order to make ends meet--and praying that it will rain so their crops will survive. The horse is a black beauty, sleek and proud and there are beautiful shots of it racing along highways and desert sands, pursued by cowboys at one time, motorcyclists at another, and finally taken care of briefly by a Mexican boy who finally lets the horse free from confinement after rescuing it in the desert. "Horse go home," he tells it reluctantly.It's a simple little film that probably pleased the kiddies at Saturday matinees--but there's a tired look to the acting by all of the adults. Only the horse and the children seem to understand what this is all about.Trivia note: Interesting to see LEE VAN CLEEF as the mean stable man, years before he joined Clint Eastwood for more villainy.

It's true what they've always said... this is the equine version of "Lassie Come Home," right down to the horse punctually collecting the kid at school. As with all animal movies, it seems, something dreadful happens to the family and the animal is put to the test as a result. This time out the lead is a young girl, earnestly played by one of the acting Corcoran family, Donna. Ward Bond is appropriately firm-handed as the father and lovely Frances Dee exudes understanding as the mother. Lee Van Cleef is menacing as the villain of the piece. The gorgeous black stallion, Beaut, that plays Gypsy is the same horse that played the title role in the 1950s TV series "Fury" (please observe a moment of silence for my treasured childhood TV show) and was Elizabeth Taylor's loving steed in "Giant." It's a B effort for sure, but it's nicely done for the young horsey set and others so inclined.