Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

MartinHafer "The Great Dan Patch" is not the sort of film I would normally watch. While some people absolutely adore horses and movies about them, I really don't care much for them one way or the other. I mostly watched it because I like Dennis O'Keefe and he stars in this one.I had never heard of Dan Patch and didn't realize what an amazing horse he was. Apparently, he had the distinction of being an unbeaten horse in trotting races....something that seems impossible. He was so dominant that after a while they couldn't get horses to race against him! This movie is a biography which plays a bit fast and loose with the facts....with about as much truth as Hollywood in the story. So, if you only want the full and true story, read up on Dan Patch...don't watch the movie!The story is essentially about the horse but told much more about the horse's owner and the owner's son, David (O'Keefe). Most of the story centers not on Patch's life and career but on David's marriage to an ornery woman (Ruth Warrick)...and another woman (Gail Russell) who secretly loved him. In support are some excellent actors--Henry Hull, John Hoyt and Clarence Muse.So is it any good? Well, it is entertaining and the acting is nice....but it IS about horses. So, if you love 'em, see the film. If you're more ambivalent (like me), it's pretty skippable.

bigcheese-8 The film is really only a little about Dan Patch. It's more about the relationship of the great horse's owners, and that is largely fictionalized.David Palmer (Dennis O'Keefe) comes home to find that his father, Dan Palmer (Henry Hull), has purchased another trotting horse, named Zelica. She has great potential, but is injured in her first race and retired to being a brood mare. Her first foal is named Dan Patch, after her owner and after his sire, Joe Patchen. Ben Lathrop (John Hoyt) and his tomboy daughter Cissy (Gail Russell), who has a huge crush on David, are hired as trainers. David's wife, Ruth (Ruth Warwick), is a social climber who has no interest in his horses, only in improving her status among the elite of Indianapolis. After Dan Palmer dies, David takes over running the farm as a hobby and turns it into a training stable with Ben and Cissy in charge. A financial setback causes Dave to sell Dan Patch to M. W. Savage (in August 1902, according to the telegram in the film). The greater history of Dan Patch's popularity is covered in the final six minutes of the film. There are some good trotting scenes in the process, but the melodramatic story contradicts the title.In reality, Dan Patch was owned by Dan Messner and trained by Johnny Wattles. Manley Sturgis bought Dan Patch in 1900, and sold him to Marion Willis Savage of Minnesota in 1902. Savage was the man who toured Dan Patch throughout the country in a private rail car, capitalizing on the horse's fame by branding everyday products with the Dan Patch name.

kezcyr I got this movie in a package and thought that it did not look like anything that I would like. I'd never seen Dennis O'Keefe, who is quite watchable... He plays a pretty good role, as does Ruth Warwick as his highly unlikeable, social climbing wife... Lots of good character parts, although the woman that Dennis thinks of leaving his wife for is a bit on the boring side, tho true blue. This is no Seabiscuit, and there are no huge surprises; however, for a fluff movie, the issues of divorce and possible adultery are quite intriguing (for the era). So you see, I thought the movie was much more about the people. I can't quite tell if my comments look as if I liked the movie or not... I did like the movie.

Bubbi A good family film with a lovely performance from Gail Russell. It is a fine film for race fans. It will entertain the younger set also.