Stallion Road

[mrsl]

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Imagine my dismay when I discovered this was not a Western, but then anything with our ex-president Ron Reagan is fun to watch. I must say thank goodness for the 40's and 50's for Zachary Scott. Who else would they have to play the loser best friend who never gets the girl but sure tries hard enough. This movie has horses and horse ranches but Ron is a veterinarian who comes up against an Anthrax attack. It is not a period piece but written for the late 40's (although at 70 years old, I guess it could be considered a period piece now). Alexis Smith is the lady both men are after but Zach does his level best to get the upper half by using half truths, and unspoken explanations. Anyway, it's not so bad a movie, and the old Prez isn't quite so stiff as usual. Good one for a lazy afternoon.
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[Jacqueline T. Lynch]

I like the little girl who, when asked by Zachary Scott why a child her age is out riding a horse at night and in bad weather -- she replies, "The horse doesn't know how old I am."

[MissGoddess]

I actually like this movie a lot, it's one of my favorite RR films. I think it's the piquancy of the time period and setting and of course, I love horses so that always works. I think Zach Scott is terrific as the "city boy" come to visit his horse doctor pal, Ronald Reagan, and along the way falls for Alexis who only has eyes for the doc (as does another neighboring rancher lady, inconveniently married, played by Peggy Knudsen).

Zachary's wry comments about the "horsey set" and the country life-style vs. what he's used to are very funny. I especially loved his last comment to the young lady who thought she was going to be the next Mrs. Ronnie. I won't quote it as it is a spoiler.

[RedRiver]

This shows how "in the present" I am. I think of anthrax as something manufactured by terrorists. I forgot it was a natural disease!

[Jacqueline T. Lynch]

I agree Zachary Scott is very good in this movie, and he also has some of the best lines. Ronald Reagan's character is very likeable, but Scott's charachter has an edge that makes him more interesting. Your heart breaks for him that first time he sees a romance beginning between Alexis Smith and Reagan. He brings an interesting mix of suspense and pathos to the love triangle.

Mr. Reagan so enjoyed making this movie, he bought the horse he rode in the picture, called Tarbaby. In the early 1980s when he was President, he invited Smith and her husband, Craig Stevens, to a White House dinner, where he filled her in on the horse's descendents - evidently the granddaughter of Tarbaby had recently died.

[MissGoddess]

What a lovely story, Jacqueline! I think Mr. President and I would have gotten along very well. I love a man who loves horses! Of course, no offense to Zach!

I'm not sure, but this might be Tarbaby here with RR and Scott:

[moirafinnie]

Count me in as another fan of this little movie. I particularly liked the way that the movie depicted a rural side of then contemporary California, including Frank Puglia as a credible horse expert and emphasizing the hispanic heritage of the region. I do like Zachary Scott, especially in this movie. I wrote a bit about it here:
http://moirasthread.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... -1947.html

[MissGoddess]

Terrific review, Moira! Now you make me want to look for Green Light...this title has crossed my path a few times but I've never seen it. I'll correct that soon, maybe this weekend if it's on YouTube.

Zachary Scott and his "philosophical jaundice", that was brilliant.

[moirafinnie]

Terrific review, Moira! Now you make me want to look for Green Light...this title has crossed my path a few times but I've never seen it. I'll correct that soon, maybe this weekend if it's on YouTube.

Thanks, Miss G. I've never seen Green Light (1937-Frank Borzage) on youtube, but it is on DVD from the Warners at varying prices across the internet. It is being aired on TCM next Wednesday, June 20th @ at 6:30 AM (ET). It isn't a great movie, but I like Errol when he tries something different on screen (as in The Sisters). Anita Louise, Walter Abel, our mutual pal, Cedric Hardwicke and a gorgeous Irish Setter are in the cast--but Flynn and Spring Byington are the ones who have "chemistry" on screen.

[MissGoddess]

Thank you very much for letting me know about Green Light next week...I will surely record it! Does Errol play a doctor?

[moirafinnie]

Does Errol play a doctor?

Yes!

He's a brilliant young surgeon, "Dr. Newell Paige" who believes in science and making soothing remarks to patients about to undergo life-threatening operations, one of whom (Spring Byington) impresses him when her uncanny serenity. She almost makes him feel a bit of a fraud but he has bigger fish to fry. Unfortunately, Newell is also a fall guy when another surgeon makes an unfortunate slip of the knife. Anita Louise plays Spring's suspicious daughter. CineMaven's pal Margaret Lindsay, plays a good nurse who sees through the white coat mafia's code of silence. Walter Abel plays Errol's friend and fellow doc who doesn't care if he has to live out in the sticks--as long as he finds a cure for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Cedric Hardwicke plays a man of God who offers some perspective on life's vicissitudes. This being a Borzage film, you may think you know how all this will roll out, but we don't exactly get the expected. I'll post some more about it later in the Errol Flynn thread if you would like.

[MissGoddess]

My goodness, this movies sounds right up my alley. I can't think why I've never seen it before. I'd love to know more of your thoughts on the film, though I don't want to read too much before I see it.

[Jacqueline T. Lynch]

Moira, liked your post on "Stallion Road", especially that you noted the masculine-femine aspects of the characters. This is what most intrigued me about the movie, which to me was a positive thing. I'll get around to blogging about it sometime or other, but pleased to see others enjoy this film that seems to have been written off by the critics a long time ago.