Black Beauty (1971 film)

Black Beauty is a 1971 British drama film, based on the Anna Sewell novel of the same name. This movie is the fourth feature film adaptation of Anna Sewell's story. The movie was directed by James Hill. Lionel Bart provided the rousing score.

The film's cast includes Walter Slezak, Mark Lester, Uschi Glas, Patrick Mower and John Nettleton.

Plot
Black Beauty is a stallion who, as a foal in England c 1856, is born in front of a boy named Joe to whom it is given by his father. He is taken by a brutal squire, who takes over Joe's family farm when the bank forecloses on the loan. After the squire is killed, he is acquired by gypsies. After a horse race and fist fight to determine leadership, Black Beauty runs away but is captured by a horse trader who then sells him to a Spanish circus.

In the circus, he learns many tricks before being given to Sir William, an arrogant British military man; and then is passed to Sir William's daughter Anne. Anne's fiancé is Lt Gervaise, a half French half English hussar officer whom Sir William accuses of being a coward and unworthy of his daughter's hand. When Gervaise volunteers for overseas active military service to prove his bravery his fiancé gives him Black Beauty as his steed.

Black Beauty then travels to the Northwest Frontier (scenes were shot in Spain) Gervaise is killed in battle (possibly based on the Russian presence in India and Afghanistan c1860), and the horse becomes known as a war horse through his bravery and willingness to charge.

Because of his bravery he is shipped back to England, but is then sold by Gervaise's comrade in arms, now a penniless and alcoholic army officer. The horse is used for hauling coal by another heartless owner, but acquires pneumonia. At his most sick, he is rescued by a friendly old woman who runs a farm for retired horses and her employee, some time after 1870. The employee turns out to be the boy named Joe whom Black Beauty knew when he was a foal, while the woman was Anna Sewell (author of the original Black Beauty book).

Filming
It was shot on location in Ireland and Spain.

Cast

 * Mark Lester as Joe Evans
 * Walter Slezak as Hackenschmidt
 * Uschi Glas as Marie Hackenschmidt (credited as "Ursula Glas")
 * Peter Lee Lawrence as Gervaise
 * Patrick Mower as Sam Greener
 * John Nettleton as Sir William
 * Maria Rohm as Lady Anne Piggott
 * Eddie Golden as Evans, Joe's Father
 * Clive Geraghty as Roger
 * John Hoey as Muldoon
 * Patrick Gardiner as O'Flaherty
 * Brian McGrath as Mark Beauchamp
 * Ronan Smith as Farmboy
 * John Franklyn as Coalman
 * Margaret Lacey as Anna Sewell

Reception
Roger Ebert was overall complimentary of the film, and believed the re-telling of the book remained true to the original aims of the author, although changing the actual biography of the horse. According to Ebert, James Hill's version of Black Beauty is "more than just an animal movie". Ebert was also generally complimentary of the human actors in the movie, although he panned the performance of Mark Lester as Joe. He gave the film three out of four stars. A review in the New York Times also commented on the major plot changes, but called the movie "uncommonly interesting, handsome and sometimes quite marvelously inventive". The review praised the atmosphere of the movie and the performances of several actors in secondary roles, but called the performances of Mark Lester and Walter Slezak "utterly pedestrian".

Home Video
in 1982, the film was released on home video in the United Kingdom by Embassy Home Entertainment. this, along with Animal Farm and Stant Toons:the Motion Picture are the three films to be the best top sellers.

in 1987, Paramount Home Video released the film on home video in the United States.

Black Beauty was released on DVD in 2004 in the USA and UK by Paramount Home Entertainment. The Judy Garland Company approved to take UK rights from Paramount in 2010.

due to the film being distributed by Paramount, Entertainment One Home Entertainment would not release the film home video in the United States again. instead releasing the film on Green-Ray Disc in the UK.