The Red Pony (1949)

My Review

“The Red Pony” is drama film telling a memorable tale of a boy and his pony. John Steinbeck wrote the film’s screenplay, adapted from his own 1937 novel of the same name. Director Lewis Milestone (“The Strange Love of Martha Ivers” 1946) gave the film a rambling and comfortable feel, much like Steinbeck’s novels. The film is also graced with an original score composed by Aaron Copland.

The cast includes Peter Miles as Tom Tiflin, Myrna Loy and Sheppard Strudwick as his parents, Louis Calhern as his grandfather, Robert Mitchum as the stable hand, Margaret Hamilton as his teacher, and Beau Bridges as Tom’s eight-year-old friend Beau. This is one of Bridges’ first movie roles. “The Red Pony” was a box office disappointment for producer Lewis Milestone, Charles K. Feldman Group, and Republic Pictures. It was filmed in Agoura, California, and at Republic Studios in North Hollywood.