Fresh Horses (1988)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

David Anspaugh

Writer (WGA):

Larry Ketron (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 November 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Love doesn't have to last a lifetime.

Plot:

A Cincinnati college student breaks off his engagement to his wealthy fiancée after he falls in love...

Plot Keywords:

Engagement | Fiancee | Melancholy | Passion | Secret

Cast

Molly Ringwald	...	Jewel
Andrew McCarthy	...	Matt Larkin
Patti D'Arbanville	...	Jean
Ben Stiller	...	Tipton
Leon Russom	...	Kyle Larkin
Molly Hagan	...	Ellen
Viggo Mortensen	...	Green
Doug Hutchison	...	Sproles
Chiara Peacock	...	Alice
Marita Geraghty	...	Maureen
Rachel Jones	...	Babe
Welker White	...	Christy
Christy Budig	...	Laurel
Larry Ketron	...	Roy
Ken Strunk	...	Dr. Lippincutt
William Youmans	...	Gary
Richard Clayton Woods	...	Buddy
Kent Poole	...	Stephen
Dan Davis	...	Fletcher
Barry J. Williams	...	Fairgate
Carol Schneider	...	Jane
Joan MacIntosh	...	Jenny Larkin
Sheri Morton-Stearn	...	Mrs. Price
K.C. Jones	...	Dr. Price
Jacqueline Verdeven	...	Jewel's Mother
Ann Johnson	...	Girl #1
Jessica Browne	...	Woman at Engagement Party
Jennifer P. Born	...	Waitress
Peter Duchin	...	Piano Player
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Douglas Cunningham	...	University Student (uncredited)
Greg Dulli	...	Guy at bar (uncredited)

Directed by
David Anspaugh

Writing credits (WGA)
Larry Ketron		(screenplay)

Produced by
Richard Berg	....	producer
Allan Marcil	....	executive producer
John G. Wilson	....	associate producer

Original Music by
David Foster
Patrick Williams

Cinematography by
Fred Murphy

Film Editing by
David Rosenbloom

Casting by
Amanda Mackey Johnson

Production Design by
Paul Sylbert

Set Decoration by
Kenneth Turek		(as Ken Turek)

Costume Design by
Colleen Atwood

Makeup Department
Robert Jiras	....	makeup artist
Susan Mayer	....	assistant hair stylist
Susan Mayer	....	assistant makeup artist
Dianne Roberson	....	hair stylist

Production Management
John G. Wilson	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Peter Giuliano	....	assistant director
Robert J. Wilson	....	second assistant director (as Robert Wilson)

Art Department
Jeanette D'Ambrosio-Sylbert	....	assistant: Paul Sylbert
Anthony Joseph Fatigato	....	stand-by painter
Aaron Holden	....	property master
Joe Pfaltzgraf	....	propman
Paul Stanwyck	....	head painter
Andrew Zawacki	....	construction coordinator (as Andy Zawacki)

Sound Department
James Ashwill	....	foley mixer
Anna Behlmer	....	sound recordist
Gary C. Bourgeois	....	sound re-recording mixer
Chris Carpenter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dino Dimuro	....	sound editor
Jack Dronsky	....	assistant sound editor
Bruce Foster	....	assistant sound editor
Richard Friedman	....	adr editor (as Dick Friedman)
Hank Garfield	....	sound mixer
Shelley Rae Hinton	....	adr editor
David M. Ice	....	sound editor (as David Ice)
Fred Judkins	....	supervising sound editor
Tom C. McCarthy	....	supervising sound editor
Bob Merserve	....	assistant sound editor
Dean Okrand	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ed Osborne	....	sound editor (as Edward M. Osborne)
Andy Rovins	....	boom operator
Mary Ruth Smith	....	sound editor
Tove Blue Valentine	....	cable person (as Tove Blue)
Christopher T. Welch	....	sound editor (as C.T. Welch)
David Williams	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Sam Barkan	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
William Allen Jr.	....	grip
William L. Allen Sr.	....	grip (as William Allen Sr.)
Art Bartels	....	key grip
Alphonse Blumenthal	....	lighting technician (as Al Blumenthal)
Frank Byrne	....	additional second assistant camera
Robert C. Carlson	....	second assistant camera (as Rob Carlson)
Eugene F. Crededio	....	chief lighting technician (as Gino Crededio)
Brian C. Glover	....	first assistant camera (as Brian Glover)
Frank Miller	....	camera operator
Ron Phillips	....	still photographer
John S. Robertson	....	dolly grip (as John Robertson)
Mike Robinson	....	generator operator

Casting Department
Sue Knutsen	....	extras casting
Roger Mussenden	....	casting assistant
Eileen Rezak	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sue Moore	....	costume supervisor: women
Kelly Porter	....	costumer
Ervin W. Rose	....	costume supervisor: men

Editorial Department
Paul Cichocki	....	assistant editor
Lance Luckey	....	assistant editor
Brian Ralph	....	negative cutter
Morris Sparks	....	color timer

Music Department
Humberto Gatica	....	score recordist
Edward Karam	....	orchestrator
Allan K. Rosen	....	music editor
Timothy R. Sexton	....	music supervisor (as Tim Sexton)

Transportation Department
Larry Coomer	....	transportation co-captain
Patrick Lynn	....	transportation captain (as Pat Lynn)
John P. McAuliffe	....	transportation coordinator (as John McAuliffe)

Other crew
Bethany Brown	....	production accountant
Dru Anne Carlson	....	script supervisor (as Druanne Carlson)
Christopher Carson	....	production assistant
Frank Catalano	....	voice actor
Diane Edquist	....	production assistant
Barbara Fetzer	....	assistant accountant
Mary Ann Garvin	....	production assistant
Marin Hopper	....	assistant: David Anspaugh
Brian Hulse	....	production assistant
Jeannie Jeha	....	production coordinator
Bridgette Kelley	....	assistant: Molly Ringwald
Bryn Lewis	....	production assistant
Susann McMahon	....	assistant: Tim Sexton
Sharon Morov	....	production assistant
Dan Perri	....	title designer: main titles
Fredell Pogodin	....	unit publicist
Ryan Rosenberg	....	location manager
Antoinette Squeo	....	production assistant
Diane Vester	....	production assistant
Connie Willis	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Weintraub Entertainment Group

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1988) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (1990) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Finland (1990) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1990) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Italia (1990) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films (1991) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (1991) (Germany) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2004) (Canada) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (199?) (Italy) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2000) (Japan) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Oy Europa Vision AB (199?) (Finland) (VHS)
• RTL Entertainment (2005) (2006) (2007) (Netherlands) (TV) (RTL4)

Special Effects

• Cinema Research (optical effects)

Other Companies

• Complex, The  score recorded at
• Todd-AO/Glen Glenn Studios  sound

Also Known As:

Fresh Horses (UK)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | West Germany:12 | Spain:13 | Finland:K-11 (original rating) | France:U | Netherlands:6 | Australia:M | Finland:K-10 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Alexandria, Kentucky, USA

Company:

Weintraub Entertainment Group

Trivia:

Larry Ketron's screenplay is an adaptation of his own play.

Quotes:

Sproles: Your friend is, uh...
Tipton: Just shut up!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Psych: Murder?... Anyone?... Anyone?... Bueller? (#3.2)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Sheer Music

McCarthy and Ringwald: an attempt at a serious story.

After watching this film I had some questions. What does the title refer to? There are horses in this film but are they fresh? Does it refer to the couple at all? And what does that have to do with the love story? Who comes up with these movie titles? And why?

Silly questions aside, Fresh Horses is a film with an adult story aimed at using the onscreen chemistry of Andrew McCarthy and Molly Ringwald, (who were first paired as everyone knows in the excellent Pretty In Pink) in a serious love story. Ringwald is Jewel, a mysterious country girl, all pink lips and tousled curly hair. She meets Matt (McCarthy) a college upper middle class guy with a pretty stable and boring life. He's engaged to the perfect women, and has your typical annoying university friends. She has a past and a reputation, but he becomes smitten with her and attempts to change his life so they can be together.

As my Video and Movie Guide said, this film is just an adult version of Pretty In Pink. He's more classy than her, she knows who she is and he has to learn to be worthy of her, not the other way around. I don't know about that judgement. Yes, it is the same couple. Yes, the story is similiar, but with sexual themes. But the more I think about the ending, the scenery and the sets of this film the more its intelligence shines through. The film is about pushing you to change, propelling someone to see their life through other's eyes and making you believe in yourself.

As someone said in the messageboards, the settings are eerie, and the characterisations are spooky. Viggo Mortensen is great as Green. Ben Stiller, as Matt's friend is weirdly creepy. We never quite know what people's motvations are, and although the dialogue is terribly clunky in moments between the two leads, this is a film that knows it is not formulaic. For the plastic period the 80's, Fresh Horses sits nicely jagged in its themes and story. They should not be all be standard and set.