On N List of Movie Reviews
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National Velvet (1944)
Rate:
5
Viewed:
10/12
10/12:
What should've been a great film, National Velvet comes off as a major disappointment, mostly due to Mickey
Rooney and Donald Crisp.
The way Mickey Rooney acts is a pathetic midget trying to be a forty-year-old man. It's
hard to stomach. So does Angela Lansbury. For a nineteen-year-old girl, she looks to be in her 40's.
On the other hand, Donald Crisp...oy vey! Can his character be less pessimistic? He ruins the show.
Finally, the Grand National. Similar to the chariot race in Ben-Hur, it's by far the best part
of National Velvet. They also look authentic as the jockeys and their horses take a nasty spill after jumping over the
fence. However, there's so little of the race that I'm forced to watch Mickey Rooney's character tugging on a guy's clothes.
Apart from the race, the film is about Anne Revere's and Elizabeth Taylor's characters. They've done an outstanding job in the
acting department by bringing the best out of the material. It's a pity that the negatives have overshadowed their work. Honestly,
to this day, I've not seen a better performance by a child star this young like Elizabeth Taylor. Her character reminds me of
Lord Fauntleroy, but the sexually suggestive bit that she did on the bed, eh...I can do without.
All in all, despite the can't-miss cinematography, National Velvet needs better editing while Mickey Rooney is cut out.