Blue Fire Lady facts for kids

Blue Fire Lady is an Australian movie from 1977. It was directed by Ross Dimsey and stars Cathryn Harrison and Mark Holden. This film was special because it was a children's movie from producer Antony I. Ginnane, who usually made scary horror films!

The Story of Blue Fire Lady

This movie is about a young girl named Jenny Grey. She has a big dream: she wants to become a competitive show rider. This means she wants to ride horses in competitions like show jumping. However, her dad, Alan, doesn't want her to ride. This is because Jenny's mom had a riding accident, and he worries about Jenny.

Jenny still finds ways to ride whenever she can. She even helps her neighbors when their horse has a baby, called a foal. To try and make Jenny forget about horses, her dad sends her to a boarding school in Melbourne. But even there, Jenny rides whenever she gets the chance.

When Jenny turns 18, she gets a job working with horses. She becomes a stable hand at the Caulfield racetrack. A stable hand helps take care of horses. She works for a trainer named Mr. McIntyre. Jenny also finds a room in a boarding house run by a kind lady, Mrs. Gianini. Another person renting a room there is Barry, a university student who is also a mechanic.

Jenny loves her new job. But she doesn't like how Mr. McIntyre treats his horses. For example, he makes a horse with a sore leg race. He also decides to get rid of the old stable dog. Jenny quickly adopts the dog, and Mrs. Gianini gives him the funny nickname "Mr. Dog."

Soon, a new horse arrives at the stables. It's a chestnut filly with a big white mark on its face. A filly is a young female horse. This horse is special to Jenny because it's the same foal she helped deliver! The horse is named Blue Fire Lady. Lady is very wild and mean to other stable hands. But she loves Jenny. Jenny starts to kindly train Lady for races. She also becomes Lady's "straper," which means she helps prepare the horse for races. While all this is happening, Jenny and Barry, her housemate, start to like each other.

Blue Fire Lady's first race doesn't go well for Jenny. Jenny asked the jockey to be gentle with Lady. But Mr. McIntyre, who doesn't think Lady is a good racehorse, tells the jockey to whip her hard. Blue Fire Lady wins the race, but she is very scared and hurt. Jenny is upset and quits her job.

Later, Jenny learns from an old friend at the stables that Lady is too hard to handle. She will be sent to an auction. An auction is a place where things are sold to the highest bidder. Jenny tries to buy Lady for $100. But a man from the slaughter yards bids more. He wants horses to make dog food. Jenny is heartbroken.

Without Jenny knowing, Barry drives to see her dad. He tells Jenny's dad how much she loves horses.

At the auction, Jenny is very sad when the man who buys horses for dog food wins Lady. She cries by the stables. Barry comes to comfort her and asks her to come outside. Confused, Jenny follows him. Outside, she sees her dad giving a check to the dog food man. Lady is being loaded into a horse trailer. Her dad smiles and hugs Jenny. He tells her he bought Lady for her! He says he is sorry for not understanding how much she loves horses.

The movie ends with a happy scene. Jenny and Blue Fire Lady are competing in a show-jumping competition. Show jumping is where horses jump over obstacles. Her proud dad and Barry watch as Jenny and Lady win! Jenny accepts her trophy.

Meet the Cast

• Cathryn Harrison as Jenny
• Mark Holden as Barry
• Peter Cummins as McIntyre
• Marion Edward as Mrs Gianini
• Lloyd Cunnington as Mr Grey
• Irene Hewitt as Mrs Bartlett
• Syd Conabere as Mr Bartlett
• Philip Barnard-Brown as Stephen
• Gary Waddell as Charlie
• John Wood as Gus
• John Ewart as Mr Peters
• Rollo Roylance as reporter
• John Murphy as vet
• Telford Jackson as chief stewart
• Roy Higgins as Kelvin Clegg
• Bill Collins as broadcaster
• Jack Mobbs as postman