''Ride a Wild Pony'' (also known as ''Born to Run'') is a 1975 American-Australian

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

adventure film produced by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

, directed by

Don Chaffey Donald Chaffey (5 August 1917 – 13 November 1990) was a British film director, writer, producer, and art director. Chaffey's film career began as an art director in 1947, and his directorial debut was in 1953. He remained active in the indu ...

and based on the novel ''A Sporting Proposition'' by James Aldridge.

Plot

Set in a small Australian town during the interwar period, the film follows the battle between two children, Scott, a poor farm boy, and Josie, the handicapped daughter of a wealthy ranch owner, for ownership of a horse that both children love. Scott requires a horse to ride seven miles to school today and his father buys an unbroken pony, which Scott names Taff. Josie yearns to ride again but, being afflicted with

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

two years ago, must settle on the use of a cart and pony. Scott's pony disappears, while a pony is eventually selected for Josie from her father's herd. When Scott sees the horse, which Josie named Bo, performing in the pony and cart competition at the township fair, he recognizes it as his horse and attempts to take it away. The ensuing quarrel affects both the children as well as dividing the town. The children eventually become friends and, while the ownership issue is legally resolved, they agree on a way of sharing the pony between them.

Cast

Robert Bettles The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

as Scott Pirie *

Eva Griffith Eva Griffith, also credited as Eva Griffiths (born ), is a British actress, and a historian of the English Renaissance theatre. She began her career as child actress. Early life Eva Griffith was born in Knightsbridge, London, the daughter of W ...

as Josie Ellison * Michael Craig as James Ellison *

John Meillon John Meillon, ( ; 1 May 1934 – 11 August 1989), was an Australian character actor, known for many straight as well as comedy roles, he became most widely known internationally as Walter Reilly in the films ''Crocodile Dundee'' and ''Crocodil ...

as Charles Quayle *Alfred Bell as Angus Pirie *Roy Haddrick as J.C. Strapp *

Peter Gwynne Peter Gwynne (1929 – 17 November 2011) was a New Zealand-born Australian television actor who was also known for voice-over work. Career Born in New Zealand, Gwynne was a well-recognised character actor, appearing in many of the significant ...

as Sgt. Collins *

Melissa Jaffer Melissa Jaffer (born 1 December 1936) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her stage and television roles, but has also appeared in many films. Career Jaffer started her career in theatre productions in the mid 1950s has made many ...

as Mrs. Pirie *

Lorraine Bayly Lorraine Daphne Bayly AM (born 16 January 1937) is an Australian actress of film, television and theatre, presenter, singer, dancer, pianist and theatre director and writer. She is perhaps best known to small screen audiences for her soap ...

as Mrs. Ellison *

Wendy Playfair use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , nationality = , other_names = , citizenship = , education = , ...

as Mrs. Quayle *Kate Clarkson as Jeannie Quayle *Jessica Noad as Miss Elsie *

Neva Carr Glyn Neva Carr Glyn or Neva Carr Glynn (born Neva Josephine Mary Carr Glyn, 10 May 1908 – 10 August 1975) was an Australian stage, film and radio actress born in Melbourne to Arthur Benjamin Carr Glyn (died 16 January 1923), a humorous baritone and ...

as Miss Gwen * Gerry Duggan as Train Engineer

Production

Although based on an Australian story, the film was originally intended to be rewritten to fit an American setting. However, the producer,

Jerome Courtland Jerome Courtland (December 27, 1926 – March 1, 2012) was an American actor, director and producer. He acted in films in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and in television in the 1950s and 1960s. Courtland also appeared on Broadway in the musical '' ...

, determined that an Australian background would not detract from the film's potential for success in the US. As a result, the film was not only set in Australia, but employed a largely Australian-based cast. Shooting began in October 1974 and mostly took place in the small town of

Chiltern, Victoria Chiltern is a town in Victoria, Australia, in the northeast of the state between Wangaratta and Wodonga, in the Shire of Indigo. At the 2016 census, Chiltern had a population of 1,605. It was the birthplace of Prime Minister John McEwan. The t ...

. There was also some filming in the small country town of

Bingara, New South Wales Bingara (Aboriginal for 'creek') is a small town on the Gwydir River in Murchison County in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Bingara is currently the administrative centre for the Gwydir Shire that was created in 2003. Th ...

, where some of the cast and crew, including John Meillon, stayed at the Imperial Hotel for around 3 months. Several different Welsh mountain ponies were used in the film's production.

Reception

The film opened on Christmas Day, 1975 at the Fine Arts theatre in Los Angeles and grossed $9,000 in its first week. In 1976, ''

The 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 d ...

'' criticized the film as a "fundamentally uneventful and somewhat padded story", while in 1987 in a review for the film's video release it wrote that the film "was well acted, by adults, youngsters and pony...a film that children – and their parents – should certainly enjoy." Also in 1976, '' The Blade'' wrote that the film "combines an intelligent script, a generally excellent cast, and good production values in a film with broad appeal." ''

The Daily Collegian The ''Daily Collegian'' is a student-produced news outlet, with a newspaper and website, that is published independently at the Pennsylvania State University. The newspaper is printed twice a week during the fall and spring semesters, and once ...

'' also praised the film, saying that it contained "a refreshing amount of realism, and an emotional subtelty that is unusual for a Disney film."

References

External links