6/10
"As American as America itself!"
24 June 2008
Starched and scrubbed-clean family film has delinquent, orphaned teenager going to live with his aunt and uncle, ditching school to hang out at the next-door horse ranch and learn how to harness race. Lovely color photography, beautiful autumnal locales, and fine racing sequences bolster this thin drama, which seems to be in favor of cutting classes as long as you have a passion for something else! Dimply Lon McAllister is entirely too polite and green in the lead, though his friendships with neighboring sisters June Haver (the bombshell) and Jeanne Crain (the tomboy) are entertaining, and his devotion to the horses is well-portrayed. Some amusing characters and sequences, but it doesn't have the scope or depth of something like "National Velvet" (released the same year). This Henry Hathaway-directed effort is far more innocuous and minor, but still enjoyable, especially for equestrians. **1/2 from ****
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