National Velvet

Elizabeth Taylor was launched to stardom in National Velvet, a beautiful award-winning drama that did to family sport films what The Wizard of Oz did to fantasy. This statement is of course a personal opinion but it’s easy to realize this MGM classic is as ageless as... a good ol’ pair of converse??? My only complaint is the way none of the actors tried to make an English accent in an England-set story. Kinda breaks my immersion but not enough to be distracting though. It’s just weird and feels lazy.

National Velvet is also the last Oscar nominated performance by Anne Revere I’d left to see, which she by the way won. The other two being Gentleman’s Agreement and The Song of Bernadette. After the early ‘50s she took a long break from her career but these three films are good demonstrations of the solid work she did during this decade.

Oh, and while I’m far from being a fan of Mickey Rooney’s work—actually, his screen presence annoys me and I’m jealous of his marriage with Ava Gardner—this film added another dimension to his character in The Black Stallion. Had a sudden urge to rewatch after finishing it.

Elizabeth Taylor was launched to stardom in National Velvet, a beautiful award-winning drama that did to family sport films what The Wizard of Oz did to fantasy. This statement is of course a personal opinion but it’s easy to realize this MGM classic is as ageless as... a good ol’ pair of converse??? My only complaint is the way none of the actors tried to make an English accent in an England-set story. Kinda breaks my immersion but not enough to be distracting though. It’s just weird and feels lazy.

National Velvet is also the last Oscar nominated performance by Anne Revere I’d left to see, which she by the way won. The other two being Gentleman’s Agreement and The Song of Bernadette. After the early ‘50s she took a long break from her career but these three films are good demonstrations of the solid work she did during this decade.

Oh, and while I’m far from being a fan of Mickey Rooney’s work—actually, his screen presence annoys me and I’m jealous of his marriage with Ava Gardner—this film added another dimension to his character in The Black Stallion. Had a sudden urge to rewatch after finishing it.

Do kids who love horses, as much as Elizabeth Taylor's character does in this film, do the type of things she does? Fantasize riding a horse while in bed and shouting "Gallop!"? I get she's a little girl but it came off as kind of awkward to me.

Do kids who love horses, as much as Elizabeth Taylor's character does in this film, do the type of things she does? Fantasize riding a horse while in bed and shouting "Gallop!"? I get she's a little girl but it came off as kind of awkward to me.