My Brother Talks to Horses (1947) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

A small boy's secret gifts help him pick racetrack winners.

Cast & Crew

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Fred Zinnemann

"butch" Jenkins

Peter Lawford

John S. Penrose

Beverly Tyler

Martha [Sterling]

Edward Arnold

Charles Ruggles

Richard Pennington Roeder

Photos & Videos

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My Brother Talks To Horses - (Original Trailer)

Film Details

Also Known As

My Brother Who Talked to Horses

Genre

Comedy

Release Date

Feb 1947

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

Distribution Company

Loew's Inc.

Country

United States

Screenplay Information

Based on the short story "Lewie, My Brother Who Talked to Horses" by Morton Thompson in his book Joe the Wounded Tennis Player (Garden City, NY, 1945).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 32m

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

9 reels

Synopsis

In Baltimore, during the horse-drawn carriage days of 1909, nine-year-old Lewie Penrose, the youngest member of the eccentric Penrose family, tells his brother John, an inventor, that he has been having silent conversations with horses. Lewie communicates with all types of horses, but his favorite "friend" is Mr. Bledsoe's racehorse "The Bart," which he often visits on his way home from school. Dinnertime at the Penroses brings together Lewie, John, his sweetheart Martha Sterling, their strange boarder, Mr. Puddy, who is inventing an edible beer bottle, and Ma Penrose, who leads everyone in Yoga breathing exercises before eating. While most people dismiss Lewie's claim that horses talk to him as mere childhood fantasy, Mr. Mordecai, The Bart's trainer, sincerely believes in Lewie's special gift. One day, Bledsoe takes Lewie and his family to the races, where Lewie amazes everyone with his ability to predict the winner of each race by communicating with the horses. Lewie's gift is especially noted by bettors Richard Pennington Roeder, Gillespie and Piper, who overhear the boy's predictions and place large bets on his picks. When Lewie learns that Bledsoe has entered The Bart in a claiming race, which means that the horse might be purchased for $2,200 following its last race, he becomes despondent. Heartbroken at the sight of Lewie's grief, John borrows $1800 from Mordecai and, with the $400 he had saved for his marriage, claims The Bart himself. Tragedy strikes near the end of the next race, however, when The Bart is injured in a fall and must be destroyed. This leaves John owing Bledsoe a large sum of money. Lewie, who fainted at the sight of The Bart's accident, has become ill from the incident and is slowly recuperating at home. After learning of Lewie's condition, the wealthy Roeder visits the Penroses and feigns interest in the radio invention on which John has been working to win the good graces of the family so that he can use Lewie to earn greater fortunes for himself at the racetrack. Soon after Lewie recovers, John takes him to The Preakness, where he hopes to recover his losses by betting all his money on the horse his brother says will win. However, when Lewie approaches the racehorses, he realizes that he has lost his ability to communicate with them. Even the neighborhood dogs no longer follow him. Lewie's inability to produce a prediction so angers gambler Gillespie, who was anticipating a big win from Lewie's next tip, that he strikes the boy, starting a fistfight between himself and John. Although John has placed his bet without Lewie's tip, he is relieved when his horse wins and promptly repays Mordecai the money he borrowed. John's forthrightness in dealing with his debt wins the admiration of Mr. Bledsoe, who hires him to work in one of his laboratories, which bolsters his financial standing and ensures his marriage to Martha. Lewie, while still unable to talk to horses, has at least regained the respect of the neighborhood dogs, who are following him once again.

Director

Fred Zinnemann

Cast

"butch" Jenkins

Peter Lawford

John S. Penrose

Beverly Tyler

Martha [Sterling]

Edward Arnold

Charles Ruggles

Richard Pennington Roeder

Spring Byington

Mrs. ["Ma"] Penrose

O. Z. Whitehead

Paul Langton

Ernest Whitman

Irving Bacon

Lillian Yarbo

Howard Freeman

Harry Hayden

Vince Barnett

Ann Lace

William "bill" Phillips

Robert Emmett Keane

Garry Owen

Edgar Dearing

Harry Tenbrook

Eddy Chandler

Track policeman

Richard Kipling

George Anderson

Robert Skelton

George Ramsey

Steve Olsen

Clarence Straight

Drew Demarest

Frank Pharr

Lew Smith

Billy Engle

Tom Murray

Don Murphy

Dick Rush

Charles Sullivan

Gene Coogan

Polly Bailey

Spectator at races/Hot dog woman

Fred Gilman

Gary Gray

Teddy Infuhr

Charles Bates

Sandra Morgan

Florence Wright

James O'rear

Henry Sylvester

James Farley

Passenger on trolley

George Bunny

Passenger on trolley

Janna Deloos

Passenger on trolley

Tom Pilkington

Passenger on trolley

Margaret Bert

Passenger on trolley

Bob Ingersoll

Passenger on trolley

Colin Kenny

Passenger on trolley

Frank Johnson

Sarah Edwards

Larry, A Dog

Crew

Cedric Gibbons

Sydney Guilaroff

Hair styles created by

Irene

Costume Supervisor

Rudolph G. Kopp

Samuel Marx

Warren Newcombe

Special Effects

Walter Plunkett

Harold Rosson

Director of Photography

Douglas Shearer

Recording Director

Alfred E. Spencer

Associate (Sets)

Marvin Stuart

Assistant Director

Morton Thompson

Story and Screenplay

Leonid Vasian

George White

Edwin B. Willis

Videos

My Brother Talks To Horses - (Original Trailer) A small boy's secret gifts help him pick racetrack winners in the family comedy My Brother Talks To Horses (1946).

Film Details

Also Known As

My Brother Who Talked to Horses

Genre

Comedy

Release Date

Feb 1947

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

Distribution Company

Loew's Inc.

Country

United States

Screenplay Information

Based on the short story "Lewie, My Brother Who Talked to Horses" by Morton Thompson in his book Joe the Wounded Tennis Player (Garden City, NY, 1945).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 32m

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

9 reels

Articles

My Brother Talks to Horses

March 15, 2007

The winner of three Academy Awards and one of Hollywood's most respected filmmakers, Fred Zinnemann served an apprenticeship at MGM as a director of shorts and second-echelon features. My Brother Talks to Horses (1946) was Zinnemann's last feature before his breakthrough as a major director with The Search (1948). From there he would go on to such triumphs as High Noon (1952), From Here To Eternity (1953) and A Man for All Seasons (1966).

My Brother Talks to Horses, distinguished by Zinnemann's immaculate craftsmanship, is a charming period comedy about Lewie Penrose (Jackie "Butch" Jenkins), a nine-year-old Baltimore lad who claims he can communicate with horses and pick the winners of upcoming races. As Lewie's older brother (Peter Lawford) carries on a romance with a pretty young woman (Beverly Tyler), a gambler (Charles Ruggles) becomes convinced that the boy's way with the nags could lead to a sure thing in an upcoming Preakness race.

Jenkins, the epitome of the all-American kid with his freckles, buckteeth and scruffy charm, was the son of actress Doris Dudley. After memorable roles as the kid brother of Mickey Rooney in The Human Comedy (1943) and Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet (1944), he became one of the most recognizable child actors of the 1940s. But, according to Ephraim Katz in The Film Encyclopedia, he was forced to give up his acting career as he entered adolescence after developing a stutter. In later years Jenkins supervised the East Texas Water System and ran a chain of car washes.

Producer: Samuel Marx
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Screenplay: Morton Thompson, from his novel
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Leonid Vasian
Cinematography: Harold Rosson
Costume Design: Walter Plunkett
Editing: George White
Original Music: Rudolph G. Kopp
Cast: Jackie "Butch" Jenkins (Lewie Penrose), Peter Lawford (John S. Penrose), Beverly Tyler (Martha), Edward Arnold (Mr. Bledsoe), Charles Ruggles (Richard Pennington Roeder), Spring Byington (Mrs. Penrose).
BW-93m.

by Roger Fristoe

My Brother Talks To Horses

My Brother Talks to Horses

The winner of three Academy Awards and one of Hollywood's most respected filmmakers, Fred Zinnemann served an apprenticeship at MGM as a director of shorts and second-echelon features. My Brother Talks to Horses (1946) was Zinnemann's last feature before his breakthrough as a major director with The Search (1948). From there he would go on to such triumphs as High Noon (1952), From Here To Eternity (1953) and A Man for All Seasons (1966). My Brother Talks to Horses, distinguished by Zinnemann's immaculate craftsmanship, is a charming period comedy about Lewie Penrose (Jackie "Butch" Jenkins), a nine-year-old Baltimore lad who claims he can communicate with horses and pick the winners of upcoming races. As Lewie's older brother (Peter Lawford) carries on a romance with a pretty young woman (Beverly Tyler), a gambler (Charles Ruggles) becomes convinced that the boy's way with the nags could lead to a sure thing in an upcoming Preakness race. Jenkins, the epitome of the all-American kid with his freckles, buckteeth and scruffy charm, was the son of actress Doris Dudley. After memorable roles as the kid brother of Mickey Rooney in The Human Comedy (1943) and Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet (1944), he became one of the most recognizable child actors of the 1940s. But, according to Ephraim Katz in The Film Encyclopedia, he was forced to give up his acting career as he entered adolescence after developing a stutter. In later years Jenkins supervised the East Texas Water System and ran a chain of car washes. Producer: Samuel Marx Director: Fred Zinnemann Screenplay: Morton Thompson, from his novel Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Leonid Vasian Cinematography: Harold Rosson Costume Design: Walter Plunkett Editing: George White Original Music: Rudolph G. Kopp Cast: Jackie "Butch" Jenkins (Lewie Penrose), Peter Lawford (John S. Penrose), Beverly Tyler (Martha), Edward Arnold (Mr. Bledsoe), Charles Ruggles (Richard Pennington Roeder), Spring Byington (Mrs. Penrose). BW-93m. by Roger Fristoe

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

A working title for this film was My Brother Who Talked to Horses. Associate set decorator Alfred E. Spencer's name was misspelled as "Alfred D." in the opening credits. According to an April 1945 M-G-M Spot News news item, "Larry," the dog that appears in the film as "Lewie's" pet, was the son of famous Hollywood dog "Lassie." The Preakness race, which is featured in the film, is held annually at the Churchill Downs track in Louisville, KY following the Belmont and the Kentucky Derby races.

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