Courage of Black Beauty

John Bryant gives his motherless son, Johnny Crawford, newborn colt Black Beauty. As the boy becomes attached to the animal, rifts open between the distant father and child.

Harold Schuster's movie, based on Anna Sewell's follow-up to her classic novel, has been severely modernized. It is far too simple a story to interest me, and the young actors, with their high-pitched, whiny voices, annoyed me. Nonetheless, it is a well-produced and visually competent effort. If you wish to watch a family-friendly movie with a small child, you could do a lot worse. J. Pat O'Malley has a decent role as the handyman.