''My Brother Talks to Horses'' is a 1947 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Fred Zinnemann Alfred ''Fred'' Zinnemann (April 29, 1907 – March 14, 1997) was an Austrian Empire-born American film director. He won four Academy Awards for directing and producing films in various genres, including thrillers, westerns, film noir and pla ...

, starring Jackie "Butch" Jenkins,

Peter Lawford Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford ( Aylen; 7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984) was an English-American actor.Obituary '' Variety'', 26 December 1984. He was a member of the " Rat Pack" and the brother-in-law of US president John F. Kennedy and se ...

, and

Beverly Tyler Beverly Tyler (born Beverly Jean Saul, July 5, 1927 – November 23, 2005), was an American film actress and singer who was a minor MGM leading lady who appeared in mostly B movies in the 1940s and 1950s. Early years Tyler was born in Scranto ...

Plot

Living with his family in Baltimore, 9-year-old Lewie Penrose (Butch Jenkins) claims that he can converse with horses, and also pick the winners of upcoming races. When it appears as though Lewie is telling the truth, he attracts the interest of gambler Rich Roeder (

Charles Ruggles Charles Sherman Ruggles (February 8, 1886 – December 23, 1970) was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the e ...

), who needs a "sure thing" in the upcoming

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 ...

. Meanwhile, Lewie's older brother John (Peter Lawford) carries on a romance with the lovely Martha (Beverly Tyler).

Cast

* Jackie "Butch" Jenkins as Lewie Penrose *

as John S. Penrose *

as Martha Sterling * Edward Arnold as Mr. Bledsoe *

as Richard Pennington Roeder *

Spring Byington Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of '' December Bride''. She was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player who appeared in ...

as Mrs. 'Ma' Penrose * O.Z. Whitehead as Mr. Puddy *

Paul Langton Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

as Mr. Gillespie *

Ernest Whitman Ernest Whitman (February 21, 1893 - August 5, 1954) was an American stage and screen actor. He was also billed in some Broadway plays as Ernest R. Whitman. Early years Whitman was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was educated at Tuskegee Ins ...

as Mr. Mordecai * Irving Bacon as Mr. Piper *

Lillian Yarbo Lillian "Billie" Yarbo (March 17, 1905 – June 12, 1996) was an American stage and screen comedienne, dancer, and singer. Early life Born Lillian Yarbough

as Psyche *

Howard Freeman Howard Freeman (December 9, 1899 – December 11, 1967) was an American actor of the early 20th century, and film and television actor of the 1940s through the 1960s. Biography Freeman was born in Helena, Montana, and began working as ...

as Hector Damson *

Harry Hayden Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

as Mr. Gibley

Reception

The film was not a success at the box office, earning $733,000 in the US and Canada and $243,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $867,000.

References

External links

* * * 1947 films 1947 comedy films American black-and-white films American comedy films Films directed by Fred Zinnemann Films set in 1909 Films set in Baltimore American horse racing films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{1940s-comedy-film-stub