Howard Duff is Lin Sloane, a cowpoke who’s determined to catch and tame the notorious mustang known as Black Velvet.
Ann Blyth is Lucy Bostel, daughter of a rich rancher who just turned 18 and could use some taming herself. She’s more tomboy than young lady and balks when her father tries to keep her away from the wildest and fastest horses in his herd.
So when Sloane catches Black Velvet, then hurts his back trying to tame the stallion, little Lucy takes over, determined to accomplish the mission in time to race him against her dad’s prized horse in an upcoming race.
Naturally, she grows fond of Sloane, too. But there’s a secret in his past that could rip them apart.
Review:
For a Western horse movie, better than you’d expect. Great looking film, with a great cast and some snappy dialogue sure to make you smile — much of it coming out of the mouth of Jonah Johnson (Edgar Buchanan).
One of the better scenes is watching little Lucy’s reaction as she opens her birthday present from her dad, and finds it complete with corset, bustle and other female do-dads.
Blyth was actually 20 when this film was released and already five years removed from her film debut; she started acting on Broadway at age 13. She’d been nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar four years earlier for her role as the spoiled daughter of Joan Crawford in “Mildred Pierce.”
Directed by:
George Sherman
Cast:
Ann Blyth … Lucy Bostel
Howard Duff … Lin Sloane
George Brent … Matthew Bostel
Edgar Buchanan … Jonah Johnson
John McIntire … Floyd Cordt
Chill Wills … Brackton
Jane Darwell … Aunt Jane
Lloyd Bridges … Virgil Cordt
James Seay … Joel Creech
Edmund MacDonald .. Farlane
David Clarke … Sears
Denver Pyle … Hutch
William Willingham … Van
Runtime: 82 min.
Memorable lines:
Aunt Jane, to her Indian servants: “Well, well, well, don’t stand there swallowing air, you good for nothing pot-lickers. Tote that there ice over in the shade so it don’t melt.”
An admirer of Lucy: “Gosh, Miss Lucy. You’re prettier than a string of blue-nose trout.”
Lin Sloane, upon meeting Jonah Johnson: “Jonah? You don’t bring people bad luck?”
Jonah: “Nope, nope. They named me after the man who swallowed the whale.”
Lin: “If you’re gonna keep on talkin’, Jonah, you better put more wood on the fire to keep your jaws warm.”
Floyd Cordt to his son, Lin: “It’s a hard world, son. I tried to learn you that, but I failed, I reckon. You’ll never get no place til you understand one thing. Everybody’s a cheat and a robber and a murderer at heart. Only difference is, we Cordts is more honest about it.”
Jonah: “You think Black Velvet’s trouble. You get yourself snaggled up with that girl and you’ll think you’ve opened up a sack of live snakes.”
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