Viewed in
2011
Formats
DVD
Premise
Elizabeth Taylor stars as a 1920's butcher's young daughter who dreams of taking her pet horse to England's Grand National Sweepstakes, with the help of Mickey Rooney.
Liked
The charming performances.
Thoughts
It was pretty entertaining.
What I enjoyed the most was the acting and cast. Elizabeth Taylor (in her breakout role) had not reached her babe phase yet, but I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. It was amusing to also see a very young, but easily recognizable Angela Lansbury. Mickey Rooney was solid as the true lead. The supporting actors had put in some funny performances, with the youngest brother see-sawing between adorable and annoying. But the parents (Donald Crisp and best supporting actress winner Anne Revere) stole the show as quirky, loving parents.
Coming from a novel, the story structure was a bit clunky. The funny family dynamics helped distract the fact that the plot was a standard underdog sports formula. Though I liked the nice touch of writing for the twist during the climax.
Everything about the film felt old: acting style, unnatural-sounding dialog, old school sensibilities, obvious set backgrounds, and horrible focus issues. I found it utterly amusing that there was absolutely no effort from the American actors to talk with a British accent. But as a whole, this was a case where the outdatedness created an old school charm to the experience.
I was rather impressed by how well National Velvet still stood up after nearly seven decades had passed. The actors still shined, the writing created fun moments and a cool resolution, and the stunts were genuine (though I'm sure the Humane Society would freak out on what the horses had to do). Probably not Elizabeth Taylor's greatest film, but still a solid one worth watching for film buffs, as you get to see a legend making the leap.
What I would change
Nothing.
