Republic Pictures was at the top of the heap down on Poverty Row. They were the “A” studio of “B” pictures who specialized in Westerns (John Wayne & Gene Autry got their start there) and Serials (THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL, THE LONE RANGER). The company was founded in 1935 and produced and released films until 1959. Their trademark logo of a giant eagle perched atop a craggy mountain peak is still in use today. After World War II Republic began to produce the occasional “prestige” picture which had a bigger budget and name stars and directors.
John Ford did THE QUIET MAN (1952) there, Orson Welles did a highly stylized version of MACBETH (1948), Fritz Lang made the creepy and disturbing HOUSE BY THE RIVER (1951), and Lewis Milestone (ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT) made this film in 1949. It was one of the few color movies to come from Republic (THE QUIET MAN is another). I see that here and on imdb that a number of people point out that it isn’t faithful to John Steinbeck’s book. That is true but as Steinbeck himself wrote the screenplay, then at least he had a hand in the finished product and he didn’t complain about it.
For years THE RED PONY has only been available in washed out, substandard prints first on VHS and then later on low budget DVD. This new version from Olive Films goes back to the best source material and looks and sounds gorgeous. The sound is equally important for the film’s score was written by Aaron Copland. Now it can be heard in all of its glory. If you know the orchestral suite than you’ll recognize it immediately throughout the film. The casting is perfect with Myrna Loy wonderfully understating the role of the mother who is estranged from her husband. Veteran thespian Louis Calhern makes the talkative grandfather come alive, and Robert Mitchum (31 when this film was made) gets the opportunity to play a gentler character much like he would later do in RYAN’S DAUGHTER.
The story of a young boy learning to raise a pony and the responsibilities it entails never becomes too sentimental or cloying thanks to Steinbeck’s screenplay and Milestone’s creative direction. It is quite obvious that Walt Disney, who had yet to produce a full length live action feature, took this movie as his template. If you’ve never seen THE RED PONY or haven’t seen it in years then you need to see this version. It looks even better now thematically as well as visually then it did in 1949.
The Capsule Critic 