''Casey's Shadow'' is a 1978

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

drama

Metrocolor Metrocolor is the trade name used by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) for films processed at their laboratory. Virtually all of these films were shot on Kodak's Eastmancolor film. Although MGM used Kodak film products, MGM did not use all of Kodak's proc ...

film directed by

Martin Ritt Martin Ritt (March 2, 1914 – December 8, 1990) was an American director and actor who worked in both film and theater, noted for his socially conscious films. Some of the films he directed include '' The Long, Hot Summer'' (1958), '' The Black ...

and starring Walter Matthau. The film was based on an article in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' by

John McPhee John Angus McPhee (born March 8, 1931) is an American writer. He is considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. He is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the category General Nonfiction, and he won that award on the four ...

("Ruidoso", published April 29, 1974). Much of the exterior shooting was done in the city of

Carencro, Louisiana Carencro (; historically french: St.-Pierre) is a city in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Lafayette. The population was 7,526 at the 2010 census, up from 6,120 in 2000; at the 2020 census, its p ...

, 20 miles north of

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

Plot

Down on his luck Louisiana horse trainer Lloyd Bourdelle ( Walter Matthau) dreams of winning the All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

. Lloyd has three sons: Buddy, Randy, and Casey. Buddy (Andrew Rubin) helps his father train horses, while Randy (

Steve Burns ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

) is a jockey. Lloyd takes Casey (Michael Hershewe) and Randy to a small bush track, to try to make some money by racing Casey's pony, Gypsy. They find a match race with Mr. Marsh (

Robert Webber Robert Laman Webber (October 14, 1924 – May 19, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in dozens of films and television series, roles that included Juror No. 12 in the 1957 film ''12 Angry Men''. Early life Webber was born in Santa Ana, ...

) and his daughter Kelly ( Susan Myers) but play a trick on Marsh by tying a live chicken to Gypsy's saddle. Gypsy wins the race, but Marsh doesn't pay up, complaining that Lloyd cheated him by not having a rider on Gypsy. Lloyd had sent Buddy to buy a racing Quarter Horse for Calvin LaBec (Harry Caesar) (the man Lloyd trains race horses for) in the hopes of racing the horse that year, but Buddy returns home with an old broodmare. Calvin is angry with Lloyd and threatens to take his horses out of Lloyd's barn, until it is revealed that the mare is in foal to a stallion called Sure Hit. Calvin is placated by this information. The mare gives birth to a colt and then dies, leaving the family wondering how to raise him. Casey suggests letting Gypsy nurse the colt. Gypsy had just weaned her own foal, so the family gives it a try and Gypsy accepts the colt. Casey feeds and raises the young colt, who grows into a strong two-year-old. Lloyd names the horse Casey's Shadow, after his son. A woman named Sarah Blue ( Alexis Smith) goes to see the Bourdelle family, to offer Lloyd a large sum of money for the colt. They tell her they won't sell until after the All American, so Sarah agrees to pay $5,000 for an option contract, against a future negotiated purchase price, if she exercises the option. The option money gives them the money for entering the colt in the race. They take the horse to the local track to gallop him. While they are there, Casey runs into Mr. Marsh's daughter, who tells him he owes her five dollars. She goads Casey into having a match race for it, but during the race, Shadow spooks and runs onto hard asphalt, hurting his legs. The vet tells Lloyd and Buddy to rest the horse for six weeks. Calvin finds out the horse is injured but allows Lloyd to enter Shadow in the All American. Shadow runs in one of ten qualifying races for the All American, where he gets the fastest time in his race. Mr Marsh realizes that Shadow could beat his horse in the All American, sneaks into the barn where Shadow is stabled, and puts poison in the food bucket. But he has poisoned the wrong horse, and Gypsy slumps to the ground dead. Casey is heartbroken, and Lloyd, realizing that Marsh was responsible for the pony's death, tracks down and beats up Marsh. The next day, Shadow wins the All American but is found afterwards to be severely lame. Sarah Blue is upset because she wanted to buy the colt sound and is no longer interested in the horse. Calvin LaBec at first agrees with the vet that the horse should be destroyed, but seeing how this would affect Casey, Lloyd says he'll give up his share of the winnings to treat the horse. Reluctantly, the vet agrees to try to mend Shadow's legs. The operation is a success, and Lloyd and his sons take Shadow home.

Cast

* Walter Matthau as Lloyd Bourdelle * Alexis Smith as Sarah Blue *

as Mike Marsh * Murray Hamilton as Tom Patterson *

Andrew Rubin Andrew Harold Rubin (June 22, 1946 – October 5, 2015) was an American actor most known for his role of George Martín in the 1984 film ''Police Academy''. Early years Rubin was born June 22, 1946, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. His father, ...

as Buddy * Stephan Gerard Burns as Randy Bourdelle * Susan Myers as Kelly Marsh * Michael Hershewe as Casey Bourdelle * Harry Caesar as Calvin Lebec *

Joel Fluellen Joel Fluellen (December 1, 1907 – February 2, 1990) was an actor and an activist for the rights of African Americans. He appeared in the films ''The Jackie Robinson Story'', '' Perils of the Jungle'', '' Duffy of San Quentin'', '' Sitting Bul ...

as Jimmy Judson *

Whit Bissell Whitner Nutting Bissell (October 25, 1909 – March 5, 1996) was an American character actor. Early life Born in New York City, Bissell was the son of surgeon Dr. J. Dougal Bissell and Helen Nutting Bissell. He was educated at the Allen-S ...

as Dr. Williamson * James M. Halty as Donovan * William Pitt as Dr. Pitt * Dean Turpitt as Dean * Sanders Delhomme as Old Cajun

Reception

The movie was received generally well overall. ''Casey's Shadow'' holds a 78% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 9 reviews.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Casey's Shadow 1970s American films 1970s English-language films 1978 drama films 1978 films American adventure drama films American horse racing films Columbia Pictures films Fictional horses Films about horses Films based on newspaper and magazine articles Films directed by Martin Ritt Films scored by Patrick Williams Films set in Louisiana Films set in New Mexico Films shot in Louisiana Films shot in New Mexico Films about gambling Films with screenplays by Carol Sobieski