The Red Pony (1949)

Preserved by Paramount Pictures with funding provided by The Film Foundation.  Print courtesy of The Film Foundation.

Directed by Lewis Milestone

A boy needs a pony to become a man in this big screen, Technicolor adaptation of the classic coming-of-age story written by John Steinbeck. A farmer’s son, Tom daydreams of knights and circuses, a lively inner-life wonderfully realized by director Lewis Milestone, until farmhand Billy Buck, played by Mitchum, makes him a present of a newborn red pony, a gift that will soon bring with it hard won lessons in responsibility and love.

RKO. Producer: Lewis Milestone. Based on the novel by John Steinbeck. Screenwriter: John Steinbeck. Cinematographer: Tony Gaudio.  Editor: Harry Keller. Cast: Myrna Loy, Robert Mitchum, Louis Calhern, Shepperd Strudwick, Peter Miles.

35mm, color, 89 min.

Recommended for ages 8+