Seabiscuit
In 1938, Walter Winchell labeled Seabiscuit, a under-sized purebred horse with knobby knees and a funny walk, the most famous mammal on the planet. That means he outranked Hitler and FDR. That’s because in America, everybody loves the underdog. His trainers and owners had given up on him. But a grieving millionaire, a horse whisperer, and a half-blind jockey saw something no one else did. Their faith in his powers unlocked the winner they knew was there. Don’t we all want to feel that way?
You can’t tell the story of Seabiscuit without knowing the inner demons of the three men in his life. Fortunately for the film, Hollywood’s thoroughbreds got the choice roles. Owner Charles Howard, played by Jeff Bridges in the film, is a whiz mechanic who leaves the factories of Manhattan to open a bicycle shop in San Francisco in 1910. By a stroke of luck, the owner of an overheated Stanley Steamer automobile asks for help. He fixes the car, sees the future, and becomes one of California’s wealthiest Buick dealers. The death of his son in a car accident turns his life into a tailspin. Then his wife leaves him. Bridges does a wonderful job of carrying his person pain in the slump of his shoulders.
He goes to Tijuana to get over the pain and meets his second wife, who loves horses. There he meets a horse whisperer in the true Robert Redford tradition. Oscar winner Chris Cooper plays Tom Smith, who understands horses far better than people. Cooper was in the Horse Whisperer; did he pick up those skills then? Everyone animal lover will appreciate his psychic ability with animals. Cooper convinces Bridges to pay a mere $2,000 for the unwanted Seabiscuit.
Toby Maguire, who co-produced the film, plays Red Pollard, the horse’s jockey. Pollard grew up in a book-loving, warm family that lost everything in the Depression. His destitute parents sold him into servitude at a rack track. His knack of getting into fights appeals to the horse trainer who wants a scrappy jockey who won’t give up.
William H. Macy steals the show as Tick-Tock McGouglin, a motor-mouthed radio announcer with his own foley or sound studio. He’s much more effective than the boring voice of historian David McCollough, who narrates the film.
The movie reminds you that evil and greed are deeply woven into the fabric of American sports. The owner of the Triple Crown winner sabotages Maguire so he suffers a calamitous accident before the big race. So his friend and sometimes rival, George Woolf, gets to ride the horse. Woolf is played by Gary Stevens, who is a real-life Hall of Fame jockey.
Other interesting facts about the movie: Howard had other children, but the movie chose to ignore that fact. When Seabiscuit won the $100,000 payoff at Santa Anita, Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard where there to cheer him on. The director, Gary Ross, decided to make this film after reading an article about Seabiscuit in American Heritage Magazine. Laura Hildenbrand wrote the article. She turned the article into a best-selling book called “Seabiscuit. An American Legend.”
While films like the Matrix Reloaded use new technology to make their climatic scenes exciting, Mother Nature doesn’t need any help if you’re watching a horse race. The racing scenes in Seabiscuit are worth the admission price. There’s nothing more beautiful than watching a colt bolt.
Movies to rent: The Horse Whisperer
From director Gary Ross: Pleasantville which also starred Macy and McGuire, Dave
Toby McGuire: Spiderman, Cider House Rules
Chris Cooper: Lone Star, Adaption, John Grisham’s a Time to Kill, American Beauty.
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