ThiefHott Too much of everything

Unlimitedia Sick Product of a Sick System

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

vincentlynch-moonoi I'll have to begin with the biggest negative to this film. Do we really need yet another film where young Bobs Watson demonstrates his ability to cry hysterically????? In "Boys Town" it was touching, but it got sickening after a while.Beyond that, this is a really good film. Particularly because one of its supporting actors, and in my view the real star of the film -- Walter Brennan -- who at 40 years of age was able to skillfully play the grandfather (who had been played in childhood by Bobs Watson).The titled star of the film -- Loretta Young -- doesn't arrive until 18 minutes into the film, but I think that tells you something about the intent here -- to make a good film, not just highlight the stars. She's beautiful, and one can see why she was a star. This was one of her few color films. The other star is Richard Greene, a British actor who was building to a great career until the war intervened, and never quite got it back together after the conflict. He's very good here.What isn't so good any longer is the color, which has faded somewhat and is a bit uneven, particularly on Loretta Young's face. Almost makes this look like a colorized film, but it's real Technicolor. And, the age and lack of restoration has made the print shown on TCM not crisp. However, the original production standards here were high, and it's noticeable.This film is far better than its listing description, which makes it sound like a hillbilly film with two feuding families. Yes, the families are feuding, but they're not hillbillies...they're the horse-racing elite of Kentucky -- families divided years before by the Civil War (that part of the story is highlighted in the first 15 minutes of the film, then it forwards to the "present" time...where Loretta Young and Richard Greene come in).Films all have happy endings. Right? Wrong. The ending here is bittersweet, at best. And throughout the picture, 3 key characters die. But again, that proves that the producers here wanted a solid story, and they deliver.A fine film. Watch it!

lorason61 Real footage of Lawrin's win. 2 horses, Bluegrass & Postman. I just wanted to point out that the silk colors for Blugrass/Lawrin were green w/white polka dots.Eddie Arcaro won his 1st Derby aboard "Bluegrass" aka Lawrin.Im surprised no-one picked up on this !!! Same w/"Glory" (1956). The film footage of "Glory" winning was actual footage of Swaps/Nashua in 1955. The silk colors in the movie match Swaps & Nashua.I recommend this movie because of the locations & Loretta Young. Scenes of the farms in KY like Calumet, Greentree and others add to the beauty of it all.

blanche-2 Loretta Young, Richard Greene and Walter Brennan star in "Kentucky," a 1938 film about a longstanding dispute between two families, horses and the Kentucky Derby. Well directed by David Butler, the film was made in beautiful color.The film begins during the Civil War, when young Peter watches as the Yankees take the thoroughbred horses from the Goodwin farm and kill his father when he tries to stop them. He never forgets that the Yankee Dillon family is responsible and 75 years later (as Walter Brennan) still hasn't forgiven them. Now in his 80s, he lives with his son, his wife and daughter on the farm where they train and breed thoroughbreds. The farm is in trouble, and when his son can't get a loan from the bank (presided over by his Dillon contemporary), he dies, leaving Sally (Young) his heir. Everything is sold off except for one horse, which is ruined for racing one night when Sally has to ride in the rain to get a doctor for her mother - the road is blocked by a tree so she can't drive. However, due to a bet Dillon and Goodwin made, Dillon has written a note offering any two-year old on his farm to Goodwin. Sally claims the horse for her father, a horse chosen by Uncle Peter. The younger Dillon (Greene), angry with his family, gives Sally a false name and offers to train the horse for her. The two fall in love.Were it not for World War II, Richard Greene today might be on the list of stars of the classic era. He was getting the star buildup by 20th Century Fox and would have been a rival for Tyrone Power, but when war broke out in England, he returned to serve his country, losing all his career momentum. With his wavy black hair, widow's peak and dazzling smile, the handsome Greene resembles Robert Taylor in this film and is a good pairing with the beautiful Loretta Young. The great performance comes from Walter Brennan. Someone posted that he was 38 playing a man in his 60s. No, he wasn't. The film clearly states that it's 75 years since the Civil War, making Uncle Peter, who was about 10 when the soldiers arrived, nearer to 85. Brennan pulls it off. He won an Oscar for his performance. The film boasts some exciting racing scenes as well as a good story.Brennan gives a great performance, and the romantic stars are attractive, but the true stars of "Kentucky" are the most magnificent horses you've ever seen. Although the trivia section of IMDb doesn't state it, those horses must have come from some thoroughbred farm. It's not only horses, but beautiful foals and colts. If you like horses, this movie is a no-miss. The animals are jaw-dropping, even better looking than Richard Greene and Loretta Young.

Michael The Yankee ransacking prelude more or less spells out the eventuality that years later Young is going to fall for Greene and that their respective families are going to trample the path of true love. Quite literally, as the updated story is now played out against a bluegrass background.Get yourself into Hollywood mode and dispense with the logistics of script and story, and instead enjoy everything else. The performances, even though they embody strictly cliché and (predictably racial) caricature, are still marvellous for those who love a Fox-style wallow - Brennan won that year's Best Supporting Actor Oscar. The film is generally well and pacily edited, and the racing sequences are particularly exciting.The real star of this show though, for me, was the sublime photography which I can honestly say offered the most richest and well-preserved example of pre-40s 3-strip Technicolor I have so far seen. Even after more than 50 years, its luminescence (at least in this Channel 4 print) was breathtakingly striking and full of lustre, with yellow in particular registering far more strongly than I have previously seen in a 30s Technicolor movie, and natural outdoor verdance looking as if it had been sprayed with kiwi fruit dye. No doubt deployed deliberately to enhance the otherwise routine nature of the story, it would still take a considerable kick of horsepower to elevate the film to the grandeur of, say, 'Gone With The Wind', to which it bears more than a passing dramatic resemblance.