''Black Beauty'' is a 1946 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Max Nosseck Max Nosseck (19 September 1902 – 29 September 1972) was a German film director, actor and screenwriter. Biography Nosseck was born in Nakel, then in Prussia, but now in Poland. Nosseck established himself as a director in the German Film Indust ...

and starring

Mona Freeman Monica Elizabeth "Mona" Freeman (June 9, 1926 – May 23, 2014) was an American actress and painter. Early years Freeman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in Pelham, New York. A lumberman's daughter, she was a model while in hig ...

Richard Denning Richard Denning (March 27, 1914 – October 11, 1998) was an American actor who starred in science fiction films of the 1950s, including '' Unknown Island'' (1948), '' Creature from the Black Lagoon'' ( 1954), '' Target Earth'' (1954), '' Day ...

, and

Evelyn Ankers Evelyn Felisa Ankers (August 17, 1918 – August 29, 1985) was a British-American actress who often played variations on the role of the cultured young leading lady in many American horror films during the 1940s, most notably '' The Wolf Man'' (1 ...

. It is based on Anna Sewell's 1877 novel of the same name.

Plot

The story picks up in 1880s England, when Duchess, the mare of a widower, a country

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a ...

, called Wendon (Charles Evans) is about to foal. He has forbidden his adolescent daughter Anne (

) to watch, but the girl sneaks into the stables and watches anyway. Anne gets the colt on her birthday and because of its colour she names it Black Beauty. Anne grows very affectionate towards the horse as they grow up together during the years. One day a young man from America, Bill Dixon (

), comes to visit the neighbors on the next farm, and he notices Black Beauty. He can't stay for tea because he is leaving for America, but two years later he sends Anne a gift and a letter from Bill, saying that he will be back soon. Anne then starts riding her horse and teaching him to jump. But just as she has learned to appreciate taking care of her horse, her father wants to send her away to a boarding school to learn how to be a woman. Bill soon returns to England, after graduating from an Ivy League college. Anne falls in love with the handsome young man, but he still regards her as a child. When they are out riding together, Bill brings the neighbors' daughter, Evelyn Carrington (

), and Anne gets jealous. She decides to prove herself as a horsewoman and rides side-saddle like the grown women do, to try to catch Bill's interest. After Evelyn's horse is injured, she borrows Black Beauty to go riding with Bill. Anne decides to follow them afterwards, and borrows another horse from her father, called Ginger - but she falls off when jumping recklessly in front of Bill Dixon, attempting to show off. She is knocked unconscious by the fall and Bill has to fetch Doctor White (John Burton) on Black Beauty. The horse is exhausted from the hard riding, and in need of rest and treatment for a leg injury. Unfortunately the groom, Joe, fails to stop the horse drinking a large amount of cold water, which is bad for horses when they're hot. Overnight, Black Beauty becomes very sick. When Anne wakes up again she discovers that Black Beauty is ill, and that Joe has left his employment, blaming himself for the horse's condition. But the horse begins to get well again, and Bill and Evelyn come to visit Anne. Anne hasn't overcome her jealousy, and the visit prompts her to go off to boarding school as her father has suggested. One of Wendon's employees, John ( J. M. Kerrigan), promises Anne he will take care of her horse while she is gone. But it turns out that Black Beauty is more ill than expected. It is decided the horse is to be put down, but John only pretends to carry out the deed, firing his gun once out of sight, deliberately missing the horse. He hides the horse from his employer. When Anne comes back from school she hears the good news from John. But then Black Beauty is sold on an auction by the man who was supposed to be hiding him. Black Beauty is now owned by a local baker who does not treat him well, and Anne and John go looking for him, followed by Bill, who has begun to take a romantic interest in Anne. In their search they bump into Joe, who knows that the horse is being kept nearby. They get there as the stable catches fire. Anne tries to save Black Beauty from the flames, but she and the horse both need rescuing by Bill, who arrives just in time to get them out. The story ends with Anne and Bill kissing and Black Beauty the proud father of a new colt.

Cast

as Anne Wendon *

as Bill Dixon *

as Evelyn Carrington * Charles Evans as Squire Wendon * J. M. Kerrigan as John *

Moyna Macgill Moyna Macgill (born Charlotte Lillian McIldowie; 10 December 1895 – 25 November 1975) was an Irish actress from Belfast and the mother of actress Angela Lansbury and producers Edgar and Bruce Lansbury. In 2020, she was listed at number 35 on ...

as Mrs. Blake *

Terry Kilburn Terence E. Kilburn (born 25 November 1926), known for his acting work prior to 1953 as Terry Kilburn, is an English-American actor. Born in London, he moved to Hollywood in the U.S. at the age of 10, and is best known for his roles as a child ac ...

as Joe * Thomas P. Dillon as Skinner *

Arthur Space Charles Arthur Space (October 12, 1908 – January 13, 1983) was an American film, television and stage actor. He was best known as Doc Weaver, the veterinarian, in thirty-nine episodes of the CBS television series '' Lassie''. Early years Bor ...

as Terry * John Burton as Dr. White *

Olaf Hytten Olaf Hytten (3 March 1888 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish actor. He appeared in more than 280 films between 1921 and 1955. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and died in Los Angeles, California from a heart attack, while sitting in his car ...

as Mr. Cordon *

Leyland Hodgson Leyland Hodgson (5 October 1892 – 16 March 1949), also known as Leland Hodgson, was an English-born American character actor of the 1930s and 1940s. Born in London on 5 October 1892, Hodgson entered the theater in 1898. In his early 20s, Ho ...

as Auctioneer

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Beauty (1946 film) 1946 films 1940s adventure drama films Films based on Black Beauty 20th Century Fox films Films about horses Films set in England Films shot in England American adventure drama films 1940s English-language films Films scored by Dimitri Tiomkin American black-and-white films Films directed by Max Nosseck 1946 drama films 1940s American films