''Kentucky Pride'' is a 1925 American silent

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 ...

from Fox Film about the life of a

horse breeder Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

and racer, directed by the famed film director

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

and starring

Henry B. Walthall Henry Brazeale Walthall (March 16, 1878 – June 17, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915). Early life Henry B. Walthall was born March 16, 1878 on a ...

(who had previously played the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's controversial 1915 film ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Clan ...

''). It is among Ford's lesser-known works, but has been praised for sweetness and charm and its beautiful depiction of the life of horses and the relationship between the protagonist and his daughter. Several well-known

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorses appear in the film, including the legendary

Man o' War Man o' War (March 29, 1917 – November 1, 1947) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as the greatest racehorse of all time. Several sports publications, including ''The Blood-Horse'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ESPN, and t ...

. A print of ''Kentucky Pride'' is in the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

film archive.

Plot

The plot concerns Beaumont, a horse breeder with a penchant for gambling, who is down on his luck. After losing at poker and being forced to give up several of his horses to cover his losses, Beaumont bets it all and loses again when his horse, Virginia's Future, suddenly falls and breaks a leg while leading the pack in a critical race.Wollstein, Hans J., "Kentucky Pride (1925)",

Rovi TiVo Corporation, formerly known as the Rovi Corporation and Macrovision Solutions Corporation, was an American technology company. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company is primarily involved in licensing its intellectual property ...

, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' web site. Accessed January 9, 2015. Beaumont's selfish wife tells the horse's trainer, Mike Donovan, to kill the injured horse, and abandons Beaumont for Greve Carter, a well-to-do neighbor. Beaumont also loses his relationship with Virginia, his daughter from his previous marriage. Beaumont and Donovan manage to save Virginia's Future, and she births a colt (or a filly) named Confederacy, but his financial troubles force him to sell off both the colt and the mare. Confederacy is mistreated by his new owner, a foreign junk dealer, and Virginia's Future is forced into hard labor as a pack horse. But when Confederacy is later entered to run in the Futurity, ridden by Mike Donovan's son Danny, Beaumont gathers everything he can and bets it all again. This time he wins. He is reunited with his daughter and buys back the colt, giving it a good life in the pasture.

Cast

Gertrude Astor Gertrude Astor (born Gertrude Irene Eyster; November 9, 1887 – November 9, 1977) was an American motion picture character actress, who began her career playing trombone in a woman's band. Early years Gertrude Irene Eyster was born in Lakew ...

as Mrs. Beaumont, the selfish second wife of Mr. Beaumont *

Peaches Jackson Peaches Jackson (October 9, 1913 – February 23, 2002) was an American film actress. Her sister, Mary Ann Jackson also became a child actor, and appeared in many of the Little Rascals short films for Hal Roach. Peaches (Charlotte) stoppe ...

as Beaumont's daughter Virginia *

J. Farrell MacDonald John Farrell MacDonald (June 6, 1875 – August 2, 1952) was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a four-decade career from 1911 to 1951, and directed fort ...

as Mike Donovan, horse trainer *

Winston Miller Winston Miller (June 22, 1910 – June 21, 1994) was an American screenwriter, film producer, and actor. He wrote for more than 60 films and television shows between 1936 and 1976. He began as an actor in silent films, appearing in eleven fi ...

as Mike Donovan's son Danny * Belle Stoddard as Mrs. Donovan *

Malcolm Waite Malcolm Ivan Waite (May 7, 1892 – April 25, 1949) was an American film actor. Biography Malcolm Waite appeared in 31 films between 1923 and 1942, most notably as the oily "ladies' man" Jack in Charlie Chaplin's film classic ''The Gold Rush ...

as the neighbor Greve Carter *

as Mr. Beaumont, the protagonist horse breeder * George H. Reed * Sayre Dearing as Racetrack Spectator (uncredited) Several notable horses appeared in the film, includingProgressive Silent Film List: ''Kentucky Pride''
at silentera.com. *

, widely considered one of the greatest racehorses of all time, winner of the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () o ...

and Belmont Stakes and many other prominent races (not entered in the Kentucky Derby) *

Fair Play Fair play or Fairplay usually refers to sportsmanship. Fair play or Fairplay may also refer to: Media * ''Fair Play'' (1925 film), an American silent film * ''Fair Play'', a 1972 TV movie starring Paul Ford * ''Fair Play'' (2014 film), a Czech ...

, sire of Man o' War and several other renowned thoroughbreds, progeny including Display, Mad Play,

Ladkin {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Ladkin , image = , caption = , sire = Fair Play , grandsire = Hastings , dam = Lading , damsire = Negofol , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1921 , country = United States , color = Chestnut , breeder = ...

Mad Hatter The Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and its 1871 sequel ''Through the Looking-Glass''. He is very often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Ca ...

Chance Play Chance Play (foaled 1923) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse and Champion sire. In a career which lasted from 1925 to 1928 he ran in thirty-nine races and won sixteen of them. Although he was successful in his early career over sprin ...

Chance Shot Chance Shot (1924–1952) was an American-bred thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Bred by August Belmont, Jr. at his nursery stud in Lexington, Kentucky, he was sired by the great Fair Play, which made him a half brother to Man o' War, out of the ...

, and Fairmount * Negofol, French-bred winner of the 1909

Prix de Guiche The Prix de Guiche is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts. It is run over a distance of 1,800 metres (about 1⅛ miles) at Chantilly in May. H ...

, sire of several famed horses including

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

Hourless Hourless (1914–1935) was a British-born Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in the United States where he won the 1917 Belmont Stakes. Background Bred at August Belmont, Jr.'s Haras de Villers in Foucarmont in Upper Normandy, France, he was fo ...

, and

Vito Vito is an Italian name that is derived from the Latin word "''vita''", meaning "life". It is a modern form of the Latin name Vitus, meaning "life-giver," as in San Vito or Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dogs and a heroic figure in southern ...

* The Finn, winner of the 1915 Belmont Stakes and sire of Zev and Flying Ebony * Morvich, winner of the 1922 Kentucky Derby (the first California-bred racehorse to win the Derby)

Reception

The ''

'' failed to review the film at the time of its release. In later critical commentary, Joseph McBride said the film has "unexpected sweetness and charm", and

Shigehiko Hasumi (born 29 April 1936 in Roppongi, Tokyo) is a film critic and an academic researcher on French literature from Japan. He was president of the University of Tokyo from 1997 to 2001. Life and work Hasumi's father Shigeyasu was a professor at Kyot ...

praised it for its beautiful depiction of the life of horses and the relationship between the protagonist and his daughter. Hasumi, Shigehiko
''Touching the Glossy Coat of a Horse – John Ford's Kentucky Pride''
", International Federation of Film Critics web site, 2009. Accessed January 9, 2015.

Scott Eyman Scott Eyman (born March 2, 1951) is an American author, and former book editor and art critic of ''The Palm Beach Post''. He is a frequent book reviewer for ''The Wall Street Journal'' and ''Film Comment,'' and was a contributor for ''The New York ...

said "''Kentucky Pride'' remains a shameless – shamelessly effective – film".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kentucky Pride 1925 films 1920s sports drama films American sports drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by John Ford Fox Film films American horse racing films Films with screenplays by Dorothy Yost 1925 drama films 1920s American films Silent American drama films 1920s English-language films Silent sports drama films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links