My Friend Flicka

My Friend Flicka
1943 - 20th Century Fox
Directed by Harold Schuster




SYNOPSIS

The progress of young horse enthusiast Ken (Roddy McDowell) is continually discouraging his father (Preston Foster.) Despite causing a stampede, his dad decides Ken should have his own colt. Ken has his heart set on a wild-at-heart colt he names Flicka and proceeds to slowly tame her. In the process, she is seriously injured and develops a bad leg infection and barely clings to life. Ken stays with her and nearly succumbs to the elements. Will he and Flicka get healthy again?

MY THOUGHTS

The film tends to be a little schmaltzy but has a great innocent straightforward tone that would endear it to children, as it was intended. It also no doubt gave excellent escape from the horrors of WW2.
Roddy McDowell continues his great string of performances as a child actor which included 'How Green Was My Valley' and 'Lassie Come Home.' He's one of the best child actors of the early to mid 1940s. He is clearly the star here and is excellent... although how a boy of 2 American parents in an American rural environment would develop an English accent is beyond me. That's one of the few faults. The main other being the performance of the other child, a little girl named Hildy, which comes across as a subpar Shirley Temple-type.
This was an early Technicolor film but its color balance looks more realistic and muted than many others of the era like the 'Adventures of Robin Hood' (1938) or 'Lassie Come Home.'
The camerawork is also excellent and frequently moves in the wide open outdoor fields.

I viewed the film via internet streaming from Netflix and its presentation was excellent. The film is somewhat dated but I believe it would still work for young children and animal lovers of any age.