Les deux révoltés

I saw this film several nights ago. It is a curious admixture of wild-life/documentary/ drama. Director Glenn Tryon's early days in Idaho no doubt gave him a feeling for the great outdoors. There are people in this film, to be sure. There's the love story that goes on between two youngsters on a ranch where race-horses are bred. There's the father and ranch owner whose aspirations are more aristocratic than practical. Embarrassingly, there is Willie Best's shuffling, which makes it a difficult watch for Black viewers. However, the two principal actors are animals. Our zoological protagonists are the ones who are in revolt in this film. A horse named "Warrior" and a dog named "Lightning" are born within days of each other. They grow up together on the ranch forming a special rapport that few humans can influence. Each revolts in a way that only animals can, but largely because they are intelligent and high spirited. Glenn Tryon's direction almost works, but he leaves too many ends loose in the animal scenes--which are plentiful-- and it is up to the viewer to determine for him/herself what is going on at a particular point. The direction, however, is a pre-cursor to the Walt Disney and Marlon Perkins animal type adventures that would be pervasive on television in the 1950s. While this is not a great film, it does manage to raise itself slightly above the bar of the average "B" flick because of the animal actors. The one saving grace of the film is that it is not mushy, and thankfully it does not take itself too seriously. I do not recommend it highly, but it is a worthwhile watch.