Product Description

Sixteen times out of the starting gate. Zero times in the Winner's Circle. Those were the humble beginnings of the undersized, underdog bay colt who became one of the greatest thoroughbreds in horseracing history. With actual racing footage of "the Biscuit," The Story of Seabiscuit mixes fact and fancy into an endearing tale of rags-to-riches success. Shirley Temple plays the student nurse whose romance with the colt's jockey (Lon McAllister) is clouded by her fears about a sport in which a 100-pound rider must command 1,000 pounds of thundering horseflesh. And Barry Fitzgerald charmingly scores as the trainer who sizes up the short-legged, bulky-kneed colt and sees what no one else sees: the makings of a champion. The flag is up!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65178 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2006-02-07
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 98 minutes

Amazon.com
Although it blithely rewrites the history of a legendary race horse, The Story of Seabiscuit is still an appealing example of Technicolor entertainment from Hollywood's studio system. It wasn't unusual for contract players (in this case Shirley Temple, Barry Fitzgerald, and Lon McAllister) to play fictional characters in fact-based stories, since factual fidelity was often considered a secondary priority. That's why this blandly charming drama makes no mention of the legendary Seabiscuit's actual trainer Tom Smith or jockey Red Pollard, who were duly recognized in 2003's Seabiscuit, based on Laura Hillenbrand's historically accurate 2001 bestseller. McAllister plays a loose rendition of Pollard (including his accidental chest injury), wooing a race-phobic nurse (Temple) while "the Biscuit" is trained for championship by luck-of-the-Irish Fitzgerald. A bit quaint by modern standards, but ironically, this is the only movie that features the real Seabiscuit in action, since vintage race footage is included in the black-and-white newsreel interludes. Plus, a bonus featurette from 1946 offers a still-valid primer on the backstage details of horseracing. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

For Shirley Temple, not Seabiscuit, fans.
This movie trades on the name Seabiscuit, but isn't really about the famous horse. Buy it if you want to see a Shirley Temple movie. Wait for the movie based on Laura Hillebrand's book to see the real story of Seabiscuit.

Fitzgerald and Footage make the movie...
"The Story of Seabiscuit" is a perfect example of the ridiculously historically inaccurate Hollywood studio film. Next to the Errol Flynn pre-Civil War movie "Santa Fe Trail", "The Story of Seabiscuit" is probably the most fanciful version of history ever put on film. If that weren't enough, Shirley Temple's Irish brogue is reminicent of the Kevin Costner School of Foreign Accents, going back and forth from perfect to painful.

That being said, the movie does have a few bright spots that carry it through the mush of melodrama. The Technicolor photography is absolutely stunning, for one thing. The story moves along at a pretty good pace, and there's a good amount of humor sprinkled into the script. Cast members Lon McCallister and Barry Fitzgerald ("The Quiet Man") are tops as jockey and wise old horse handler, respectively. Even Seabiscuit's son, Sea Sovereign, was used for close-ups. Best of all is the shockingly innovative technique used by the filmmakers to work in the black and white footage of the actual racehorse, Seabiscuit, in action. Opting for pure black and white segments, the newsreel of Seabiscuit is cleverly added to make a seamless segment into the Technicolor film. Strange, but oddly effective.

The nine minute primer on the intricacies of a horse race, included in the bonus material, is still pretty accurate and informative.

Worth watching at least once to see Fitzgerald's performance and the Seabiscuit footage, plus the Technicolor splendor. Temple fans or Seabiscuit completists may want to own the disc. Harmless fun for family viewing, and suitable for kids who like horsies.

Pretty average film, but Temple is good.
I was curious to see Shirley Temple as a young woman, and was pleased to find that she retained the confidence and charm that she displayed in the movies she made in her childhood. Her character comes to America from Ireland, but has a mysteriously inconsistent brogue; not entirely a surprise to me, but she does a nice job with the role. In "The Story of Seabiscuit," Temple is a young nurse whose uncle is a horse trainer--but she hates horse racing because her only brother died as the result of a fall in a horse race.

The plot is entirely predictable: boy meets girl, girl hates boy, boy woos girl, boy wins girl, but the footage of actual horse races makes the film a bit more interesting than it would be without it.

If you're a Shirley Temple fan (and who wouldn't/couldn't be?!), you will want to see this because Shirley is her sweet, pretty self. Don't expect any singing or dancing, however, as this is not the vehicle for that.