Kentucky Pride

Kentucky Pride is a 1925 American silent drama film from Fox Film about the life of a horse breeder and racer, directed by the famed film director John Ford and starring Henry B. Walthall (who had previously played the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's controversial 1915 film The Birth of a Nation).[1] It is among Ford's lesser-known works, but has been praised for sweetness and charm and its beautiful depiction of the life of horses and the relationship between the protagonist and his daughter.[2] Several well-known thoroughbred racehorses appear in the film, including the legendary Man o' War.[1][3] A print of Kentucky Pride is in the Museum of Modern Art film archive.[3][4]

This article is about the silent film. For the bourbon whiskey, see Kentucky Bourbon Distillers.

Kentucky Pride
Lobby card
Directed byJohn Ford
Produced byWilliam Fox
Written byDorothy Yost
Elizabeth Pickett (titles)
StarringHenry B. Walthall
Gertrude Astor
Peaches Jackson
CinematographyGeorge Schneiderman
Distributed byFox Film Corporation
Release date
  • September 6, 1925 (1925-09-06)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

Plot

The plot concerns Beaumont, a horse breeder with a penchant for gambling, who is down on his luck.[1] After losing at poker and being forced to give up several of his horses to cover his losses, Beaumont bets it all and loses again when his horse, Virginia's Future, suddenly falls and breaks a leg while leading the pack in a critical race.[1][2] Beaumont's selfish wife tells the horse's trainer, Mike Donovan, to kill the injured horse, and abandons Beaumont for Greve Carter, a well-to-do neighbor. Beaumont also loses his relationship with Virginia,[1] his daughter from his previous marriage. Beaumont and Donovan manage to save Virginia's Future, and she births a colt[1] (or a filly[2]) named Confederacy, but his financial troubles force him to sell off both the colt and the mare. Confederacy is mistreated by his new owner, a foreign junk dealer, and Virginia's Future is forced into hard labor as a pack horse. But when Confederacy is later entered to run in the Futurity, ridden by Mike Donovan's son Danny,[1][2] Beaumont gathers everything he can and bets it all again. This time he wins. He is reunited with his daughter and buys back the colt, giving it a good life in the pasture.[1][2]

Cast

Several notable horses appeared in the film, including[3]

Reception

The New York Times failed to review the film at the time of its release.[2] In later critical commentary, Joseph McBride said the film has "unexpected sweetness and charm", and Shigehiko Hasumi praised it for its beautiful depiction of the life of horses and the relationship between the protagonist and his daughter.[2] Scott Eyman said "Kentucky Pride remains a shameless – shamelessly effective – film".[2]

References
  1. Wollstein, Hans J., "Kentucky Pride (1925)", Rovi, New York Times web site. Accessed January 9, 2015.
  2. Hasumi, Shigehiko, Touching the Glossy Coat of a Horse – John Ford's Kentucky Pride Archived May 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine", International Federation of Film Critics web site, 2009. Accessed January 9, 2015.
  3. Progressive Silent Film List: Kentucky Pride at silentera.com.
  4. "Kentucky Pride". American Silent Feature Film Survival Database. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
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