Sylvester (film)

Sylvester
Sylvester
	Theatrical release poster by Tom Jung
Directed by	Tim Hunter
Written by	Carol Sobieski
Produced by	Martin Jurow
Starring	Richard Farnsworth ; Melissa Gilbert ; Michael Schoeffling ;
Cinematography	Hiro Narita
Edited by	David Garfield; Suzanne Pettit; Howard E. Smith
Music by	Lee Holdridge, the Textones
Production; company	Rastar
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	March 15, 1985;
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$385,687

Last updated August 28, 2025

Sylvester is a 1985 American family drama film directed by Tim Hunter and starring Richard Farnsworth and Melissa Gilbert.^[1] The film was nominated for a Young Artist Award in 1986.^[2]

Plot

A young woman called Charlie (Gilbert) is an orphan and the sole caretaker of her two brothers. She works at a livestock auction and notices a grey horse meant to be a Bronx that she decides to ride. With the help of Mr. Foster (Farnsworth), a retired cavalry rider, they turn the grey bronc horse, “Sylvester,” into a three-day eventing horse. Charlie is approached after the event by a woman who wants to buy Sylvester and take Charlie under her wing to further her equestrian abilities.

Cast

Richard Farnsworth as Foster
Melissa Gilbert as Charlie
Michael Schoeffling as Matt
Constance Towers as Muffy
Peter Kowanko as Harris
Arliss Howard as Peter
James Gammon as Steve
Travis Elliston as Kid

Production

The film was filmed on location in Marfa and Alpine, Texas, and at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky in the summer of 1984.

One of the horses to play Sylvester was The Gray Goose. His handler Kim Walnes doubled for Gilbert in the action shots at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Soundtrack

Three songs by the Textones (Carla Olson, Phil Seymour, George Callins, Joe Read and Tom Jr Morgan) are heard in the film: "Number One Is to Survive", "It's a Matter of Time" and "It's Okay".

References

External links

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[1] "Sylvester (1985) - Tim Hunter | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".

[2] "Sylvester - IMDb".

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