Casey’s Shadow (1978) USA
Directed by Martin Ritt
Michael Hershewe is the boy Casey. Also stars Walter Matthau.
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)Everything you wanted to know about horse training and behind the scenes horse racing but were afraid to ask. All right, that’s a bit unkind but sometimes I get annoyed with Martin Ritt films.
Walter Matthau is superb as a crusty (of course!) poor horse trainer with big dreams and often poor judgment. He takes a gamble and purchases a mare of promising racing lineage who gives birth to a foal which his little son Casey falls in love with. Dad has doubts about the colt’s racing potential but gives Casey much of the work in care and training of his new pal.
There are many affecting moments here but this is essentially a boy and his horse/man and his horse story with a gritty attitude. The birth of the colt is a moving and awesome scene and there are some delightful scenes of the boy with the colt, guiding it through its development. Michael Hershewe is one of the cutest and most endearing little boys I’ve seen in a film and has generous amounts of screen time.
‘Hud’ is the only other film by Martin Ritt that I really liked, mostly because of the power of its actors. Why was I annoyed with ‘Casey’s Shadow’? Local, behind the scenes color till its coming out your ears; lots of gratuitous crowd shots of ‘just folks’; unnecessary telephoto shots intended, I guess, as a grab for a realistic feel - all of this with a disregard for composed frames.
And, of course, all of this irrelevant if your main interest is to enjoy watching a cute boy move and speak on the screen.
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)Casey witnessing the birth of the colt
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