ThiefHott Too much of everything

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

mark.waltz Long before the invention of contraptions, the children of the world learned about that world through the God-given gift of nature. Whether it be exploring the woods, climbing mountains or observing wildlife, the young were most times fascinated, and here, that fascination for a beautiful pony turns into devotion. The little boy is a forgotten child actor named Peter Miles, and he is the focus of the story where adults Myrna Loy, Robert Mitchum and Louis Calhern are top-billed. Loy is his loving but stern mother who sympathizes with him, Shepperd Strudwick his emotionally distant father, and even more to young Miles, loving grandpa Louis Calhern and ranch hand Robert Mitchum, who is pretty much a mentor to him. This doesn't follow the usual pattern of similar movies, and is actually pretty adult in nature with themes such as death and anger to study.Among the several disturbing sequences which may not be right for young, sensitive minds is a thunderstorm scene where Miles stands at a schoolhouse window and another where he is attacked by a vulture. The school teacher happens to be played by none other than that wicked old witch, Margaret Hamilton. Beautifully filmed in color with a few fantasy moments, this truly is an adult movie where the adults are forced to remember what it was like being a child.

CitizenCaine Often times we're disappointed with the film translation of great works of literature. However, it's unlikely most people have read The Red Pony, which is actually a conglomeration of four Steinbeck short stories. That being said, the film contains many characteristics typical of a John Steinbeck work: the metaphorical connection between nature and ourselves, characters who fit seamlessly into the landscape of the story, and at least one tragic scene resolving conflict that's antithetical in tone to the rest of the work. Director Lewis Milestone moves the story along at a leisurely pace, even for an hour and a half film, and the pace is balanced by Aaron Copland's memorable score, highlighting the energy and vigor required of living on a working ranch out west.The film stars young Peter Miles as a boy who loves a red pony and who has lessons to learn about life and the adults around him. Myrna Loy is his strong-willed mother dealing with a husband who may no longer be committed to life on a ranch. Shepherd Strudwick is the boy's father who finds it difficult to relate to his son in light of his own conflict about ranch life and his misplaced resentment toward his father-in-law. Louis Calhern plays the father-in-law as an aging man whose stories of the past bore those coming after him, except for the young boy. Robert Mitchum plays the ranch hand Billy Buck serving as a surrogate father to the young boy in the father's absence in San Jose. All the performances are uniformly fine, especially the understated Mitchum.Every Steinbeck story has a paradigm of sorts with characters, conflicts, settings, and symbolism. The Red Pony is no exception. The life cycle is also a thematic element Steinbeck draws upon. The film probably moves a bit too slow for some of today's viewers, but the color cinematography and music really make it worth viewing. A couple of familiar faces are Margaret Hamilton as the strict school teacher and a very young Beau Bridges, in only his third role, as one of the schoolmates. It's truly an enjoyable, worthwhile family film. A word of caution about the climactic scene regarding the pony and the buzzard: young children may find it disturbing. *** of 4 stars.

kyle_furr This was written by John Steinbeck who also wrote The Grapes Of Wrath and Tortilla Flat. It's about a young boy living on a farm with his parents, grandfather and a hired hand. He isn't too close to his father but gets along better with the hired hand, played by Robert Mitchum. Myrna Loy is the mother and the father is p***ed off at grandfather for always talking about his life. The dad gives the boy a pony for him to keep and the boy is more interested in the pony than school or anything else. One day, the pony gets out of the barn when it's raining and it gets really sick and they are not able to save it. This is a great film and it's unusual to see Robert Mitchum in this kind of role.

Hermit C-2 There is an unusual abundance of talent associated with this film. The screenplay was written by one of the great American writers of the 20th century, John Steinbeck, taken from his excellent short novel of the same name. The score was written by Aaron Copland, perhaps the most noted composer in American history. The director, Lewis Milestone, made many fine pictures over a long career including Academy Award winner 'All Quiet on the Western Front.'All that talent doesn't necessarily mean that 'The Red Pony' is going to be the greatest movie of all time, though it is a good one. Milestone's direction and Copland's score are both fine, but I didn't feel like Steinbeck's script was nearly as good as his book.We often complain when a favorite work of literature is changed considerably by the movies, but what do you say when it's a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author doing it to his own work? Although I don't think this filmed version lives up to the novel, it still covers the same ground. It's about a boy growing up on a farm in Steinbeck's beloved Salinas Valley in California, where he learns some lessons about life. One of them is that the things you think you want the most sometimes come at a much higher price than you were prepared to pay. My favorite actor in this movie was Myrna Loy as the mother. Where did I ever get the idea that she wasn't supposed to be that good an actress? I must have had her mixed up with someone else.