classicsoncall The real Seabiscuit retired in 1940 and died in 1947. Just like heavyweight boxer Jimmy Braddock, the legendary race horse became an unlikely champion and symbol of hope for many Americans during the Great Depression. As a family movie, this is a passable film with endearing characters, though I didn't get a sense of Seabiscuit's legendary status as a thoroughbred race horse in the telling. In the picture he's sometimes overshadowed by the on again/off again romance between Margaret O'Hara (Shirley Temple) and Ted Knowles (Lon McCallister). Without a doubt, the presence of Barry Fitzgerald in the story as trainer Shawn O'Hara was the spark this film needed to make it a worthwhile story, even if a fictional one.I was somewhat taken aback when the Technicolor format went black and white around the fifty four minute mark, but quickly determined the race horse footage must have been the real deal from the era. With a little research I learned that the one-on-one match up between Seabiscuit and War Admiral was the actual race between the two horses, as was the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap, won by the titled horse following his amazing comeback from a leg injury.For racing fans who also admire Shirley Temple, this is your chance to see her in her next to last film. The only other movie I've watched where she's an adult was the prior year's cavalry Western "Fort Apache" where she seemed out of her element. Having seen both pictures now, it's somewhat apparent she didn't transition that well into adult roles, which is OK, as she made her mark as a cute-as-a-button youngster in a slew of pictures throughout the Thirties. That's really the only way I can think of her.

midnighter89 Although it is a nice, warm, charming story/plot it is a let down considering. The fact that some of the main characters in this version are completely fictional (the O'Haras) bothered me throughout the entire movie.I did love that it had some actual B&W footage of some of Seabiscuit's races. And being a sucker for almost any animal movie (especially horses) I utterly enjoyed all the scenery and all the shots of the horses. The only reason I would watch this again is for that, not for the plot or the actors. But I'm fairly sure that this one is going to collect dust on my DVD shelf.If you are going to watch a movie about Seabiscuit, I advise to see the amazing 2003 version and skip this one.

ProgShred I was always in awe at Shirley Temple's amazing talent as a child and always wondered what kind of adult actor she would be, then TCM showed this movie and I got the chance to see for myself.Her acting here is kinda hot and cold. There are some scenes where she's brilliant, while in other scenes she just seems to read the lines without much feeling. Still, she was good enough to make me want to see more. It's a shame she didn't do much film work after this one. I think she would've been a major sex symbol.The rest of the movie was kinda boring and predictable. When they showed the original racing footage, they did the whole racetrack scene in B&W. I thought it was funny how they went from the hospital room in color, to looking at a racing form, then to everyone at the race track in B&W. I thought it was funny because I'm sure they were trying to make it almost unnoticeable by using the racing form as a go between. I would have left the footage out of the movie and done the scene in color.There were two things about the love story that I thought were interesting. I thought that Ted fell in love with Margaret too quick, then after Margaret refused to let Ted kiss her, she kisses him with a bunch of pecks all over his face, followed by one planted on the lips.

jovanni4 I happened to catch this movie by accident while clicking through the cable channel and the story of sea biscuit caught my eye!The movie's cinematography was excellent and the back drops were pure eye candy for the movie buffs.It seemed as though Barry Fitzgerald "stole" EACH and EVERY scene he was in and made all the other actors go begging for drama coaching with the exception of Rosemary Decamp who seems to always know where the camera was and especially when it was trained on her.The acting of Shirley Temple was horrendous and unprofessional. It was if she either did not believe in the character she was portraying or just wanted to be somewhere else. (ala, gregory peck in duel of the sun).I believe the only thing that saved each and every scene of hers from the cutting floor was the fact that she does have (a very pretty face)and since she was uh... 'Little Shirley Temple' how could she possibly be bad?Her acting and the general camp acting of the other players seem to muddle the storyline. The Great cinematography and the scene-stealing mastery of fitzgerald is the only reason I kept the recording.And last but not least the great historical footage of the horse (seabiscuit)who also helped salvage some of the last 2 reels.