IMDb > The Rocking Horse Winner (1949)

The Rocking Horse Winner (1949) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   341 votes
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Director:
Writers:
D.H. Lawrence (story)
Anthony Pelissier (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Rocking Horse Winner on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
30 November 1949 (UK) more
Genre:
Tagline:
"One of the finest portrayals of youthful distress that you are ever likely to witness." -- N.Y. TIMES
Plot:
A young boy receives a rocking horse for Christmas and soon learns that he is able to pick the winning horse at the races. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
User Reviews:
First Lawrence Film is also the Best more (13 total)

Cast

  (Credited cast)
Valerie Hobson ... Hester Grahame
John Howard Davies ... Paul Grahame
Ronald Squire ... Oscar Cresswell

John Mills ... Bassett
Hugh Sinclair ... Richard Grahame
Charles Goldner ... Mr. Tsaldouris
Susan Richards ... Nannie
Cyril Smith ... Bailiff
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Additional Details

Runtime:
USA:91 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
[first lines]
Bassett: Are you looking for me?
Paul Grahame: You're Bassett, aren't you?
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Movie Connections:
Version of The Rocking Horse Winner (1983) more

FAQ

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8 out of 8 people found the following review useful.
First Lawrence Film is also the Best, 12 November 2005
10/10
Author: Prof_Lostiswitz from Cyberia

It seems that this was the first time anyone had tried putting D.H. Lawrence on film; its also wonderfully well done, a great deal better than Ken Russell's overblown excess.

A large part of the credit goes to William Alwyn's creepy score, similar to the work he had done for Odd Man Out a few years before. Odd Man Out is reckoned to be one of the best British films, but this is about equal in quality.

I don't want to spoil the story for those who aren't familiar with it; but when you read that it's about a boy and his magic rocking horse, you might not be prepared for the darkness involved. The undertones of the story make it closer to Pasolini or Fassbinder than to anything we have come to expect from British cinema.

Some scenes of exposition are typical of the era, with a lot of scintillating conversation; these help to understand the story, but you can probably go to the fridge without missing too much. The essential scenes are - a) those with the rocking horse; b) those between the boy and the mother; c) all those with Alwyn's music. (Alwyn deserves a better reputation than he now enjoys).

Near the end is one shot you really should check out, where the boy sees the storm-clouds form into horses' heads.This must surely have been an influence on later movies like The Haunting (1963).

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