''My Friend Flicka'' is a 1943 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film about a young boy, played by

Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...

, who is given a young horse to raise. It is based on Mary O'Hara's popular 1941 children's novel of the same name. ''

Thunderhead, Son of Flicka ''Thunderhead, Son of Flicka'' is a 1945 American Western film directed by Louis King and starring Roddy McDowall, Preston Foster, and Rita Johnson. It is a sequel to the 1943 film ''My Friend Flicka'' (parodied in 2006 as ''Flicka''). The film wa ...

'', released on March 15, 1945, was the sequel to ''My Friend Flicka''.

Plot

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...

ers Rob (

Preston Foster Preston Stratton Foster (August 24, 1900 – July 14, 1970), was an American actor of stage, film, radio, and television, whose career spanned nearly four decades. He also had a career as a vocalist. Early life Born in Ocean City, New Jersey ...

) and Nell McLaughlin (

Rita Johnson Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...

) somewhat reluctantly decide to give their 10-year-old son, Ken (

), a chance to raise a horse and learn about responsibility. He chooses a one-year-old chestnut

mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once- domesticated animals, the ...

filly and names her Flicka, which ranch hand Gus ( James Bell) informs him is a Swedish word for "girl." Rising debts and a "loco" strain have created problems for the McLaughlins. They accept a $500 offer from a neighboring rancher for the young filly's mother, Rocket, who had been clocked running at 35 mph (56 km/h), but the mare is accidentally killed while being transported. The situation gets worse when Flicka is badly cut by barbed wire and the wound becomes infected. Ken cares for her best he can, but the infection leads father Rob to conclude that the horse must be put down. A gunshot by his father makes Ken fear the worst, but it turns out he was warding off a

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

after being warned by Flicka. The filly's life is spared, and young Ken nurtures her back to health.

Cast

as Ken McLaughlin *

as Rob McLaughlin *

as Nell McLaughlin * James Bell as Gus * Diana Hale as Hildy * Jeff Corey as Tim Murphy * Arthur Loft as Charley Sargent (uncredited)

Production

Parts of the film were shot in Duck Creek, Aspen Mirror Lake, Rockville Road, Strawberry Valley, Johnson Canyon,

Zion National Park Zion National Park is an American national park located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a variety of ...

, and

Cedar Breaks National Monument Cedar Breaks National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in the U.S. state of Utah near Cedar City. Cedar Breaks is a natural amphitheater, stretching across , with a depth of over . The elevation of the rim of the amphitheater is over ...

in Utah.

Radio adaptation

A radio adaptation of ''My Friend Flicka'' was presented on ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

'' June 7, 1943, starring McDowall and Johnson.

Reception

In 1943 the New York newspaper PM was pleased: “Seldom has Hollywood treated any part of the American scene with more warmth and charm and faithfulness than in ‘My Friend Flicka’….The sweeping ranchlands of the West…are here presented not as background for the…movie Western, but as the homeland of a real, believeable American family, glimpsed at a time of normal, credible crisis in the shaping of the character of an American boy….Roddy McDowell…is reliably winning and little Diana Hale…is a real darling.” The film aggregator

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 ...

gave the film 86%. The

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

, which came out during the early years of the 21st century, was warmly received by the critics. One such was '' DVD Verdict'', which praised its "bright and vibrant" colors and its "superior transfer" from VHS to DVD. The film also was released in its original full frame and aspect ratio and contained three trailers: '' Bushwhacked'', '' Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog'', and '' Lucas'' along with a choice of English or Spanish audio and subtitles.

References

External links

* * * * {{Harold D. Schuster 1943 films American coming-of-age drama films Films about horses Films based on American novels Films based on children's books Films scored by Alfred Newman Films directed by Harold D. Schuster American Western (genre) films 1943 Western (genre) films Films set in Wyoming Films shot in Utah Films shot in Wyoming 20th Century Fox films 20th Century Studios franchises Films based on works by Mary O'Hara 1943 drama films 1940s American films Films with screenplays by Francis Edward Faragoh