National Velvet (film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids National Velvet
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Clarence Brown
Produced by	Pandro S. Berman
Screenplay by	Helen Deutsch
Starring	Mickey Rooney Donald Crisp Elizabeth Taylor Angela Lansbury Anne Revere Reginald Owen Terry Kilburn
Music by	Herbert Stothart
Cinematography	Leonard Smith
Editing by	Robert Kern
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	December 14, 1944 (1944-12-14) (New York City) January 26, 1945 (1945-01-26) (United States)
Running time	123 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2,770,000
Money made	$5,840,000

National Velvet is a classic American Technicolor sports film from 1944. It was directed by Clarence Brown and is based on a popular 1935 novel by Enid Bagnold. The movie stars Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp, and a very young Elizabeth Taylor.

This film is considered so important that in 2003, it was chosen by the Library of Congress to be kept safe in the United States National Film Registry. This means it's seen as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." It's a heartwarming story about a girl and her horse, showing how dreams can come true with hard work and belief.

Story of National Velvet

National Velvet tells the exciting story of Velvet Brown, a 12-year-old girl who absolutely loves horses. She lives in a small town called Sewels in Sussex, England. One day, Velvet wins a very energetic horse in a raffle. She names him "The Pie."

Velvet dreams of training The Pie to compete in the Grand National, which is a famous and very tough horse race called a steeplechase. This race involves horses jumping over many obstacles.

Velvet Meets Mi

Velvet gets help from a young man named Mi Taylor. Mi is a drifter, meaning he travels around without much money or a steady home. He finds Mrs. Brown's name and address among his late father's things. Mi doesn't know why his father had this information, but he hopes to gain something from the connection.

Mi accepts an invitation to dinner and to stay the night at the Browns' home. Mrs. Brown doesn't want Mi to use his father's name for personal gain, and she doesn't explain their past connection clearly. However, she convinces her husband to hire Mi as a farmhand.

It turns out that Mi used to be a jockey, a person who rides horses in races. His career ended sadly when he was in a collision that led to another jockey's death. Because of this, Mi hasn't had a job since and now dislikes horses.

Training The Pie

Velvet sees how talented The Pie is and begs Mi to train him for the Grand National. Mi thinks it's a crazy idea. He believes the horse is good enough, but they don't have enough money to pay for the training and entry fees.

Mi talks to Mrs. Brown about the costs. But Mrs. Brown agrees to let Velvet train the horse. To help pay for everything, Mrs. Brown gives Velvet her prize money from when she swam the English Channel!

Velvet and Mi work hard to train The Pie. They officially enter him into the big race.

The Grand National Race

Mi and Velvet travel to the Grand National. Mi hires a professional jockey to ride The Pie. However, the night before the race, Velvet feels that the jockey doesn't truly believe in The Pie. She worries he will lose.

Velvet decides to fire the jockey, leaving them without a rider. That night, Mi tries to overcome his fear of riding horses again. He plans to race The Pie himself. But then he discovers that Velvet has put on the jockey's silks, the special clothes jockeys wear. She intends to ride The Pie herself!

Mi knows how dangerous the race is and tries to stop Velvet. But Velvet is determined to ride. As the race begins, Velvet and The Pie jump over all the hurdles perfectly. They win the race!

After the Race

Velvet is very happy but also very tired. She falls off The Pie right after crossing the finish line. The track doctor checks on her and discovers that Velvet is a girl. Because of this, Velvet and The Pie are disqualified from the race.

Velvet wasn't surprised to be disqualified. She only wanted to prove that The Pie was a true champion. Velvet becomes famous in the media. She is offered a lot of money to travel to Hollywood and be filmed with The Pie.

To her father's disappointment, Velvet tearfully says no to these offers. She explains that The Pie wouldn't like being stared at all the time. Velvet says she raced The Pie at the Grand National because he deserved a chance to show how great he was. She chooses a normal life for herself and her horse.

At the end of the film, Mi decides to go back to his old life. He starts to leave without saying goodbye to Velvet. But before he gets too far, Mrs. Brown tells Velvet she can reveal her connection to Mi's father. Velvet rides off on The Pie and finds Mi on the road. She tells him that his father was Mrs. Brown's coach when she became the first woman to swim the English Channel.

Cast

The main actors in National Velvet include:

Song

The film features the song:

• "Summertime" - sung by Elizabeth Taylor, Angela Lansbury, Juanita Quigley, the MGM Studio and Orchestra Chorus Girls, and Norma Varden.

Other Versions

The story of National Velvet has been told in other ways too:

• It was made into a one-hour radio play for Lux Radio Theater on February 3, 1947. Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, and Donald Crisp all played their roles again for the radio show.
• In 1960, the film was turned into a television series. This show aired on the NBC network.

Sequel Film

In 1978, a sequel to National Velvet was released. It was called International Velvet.

• This film stars Tatum O'Neal, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Hopkins, and Nanette Newman.
• Nanette Newman plays Velvet Brown as an adult.
• The story follows Donald, Velvet's brother from the first film. After the events of National Velvet, Donald got married, had a daughter named Sarah Velvet Brown, and moved from England to Cave Creek, Arizona.
• Sarah comes to live with Velvet and her boyfriend John after Donald and his wife pass away.
• Elizabeth Taylor did not play the role of Velvet in this sequel.

Images for kids

• 

  Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor and The Pie in National Velvet

• 

  Mickey Rooney and Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet

See also

In Spanish: Fuego de juventud para niños