The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit

Last updated
The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit
Poster of the movie The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit.jpg
Directed by Norman Tokar
Written by Eric Hatch (book)
Louis Pelletier
Produced by Winston Hibler
Starring Dean Jones
Diane Baker
Lloyd Bochner
Fred Clark
Morey Amsterdam
Kurt Russell
Ellen Janov
Cinematography William E. Snyder
Edited by Robert Stafford
Music by George Bruns
Production
company
Distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Co., Inc.
Release date
  • December 20, 1968 (1968-12-20)
Running time
113 mins.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$3.3 million (US/ Canada rentals) [1]

The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit is a 1968 American comedy film directed by Norman Tokar, with a screenplay by Louis Pelletier, and starring Dean Jones, Diane Baker, Ellen Janov, Kurt Russell, Lurene Tuttle and Fred Clark in his final film role. It is based on the 1965 book The Year of the Horse by Eric Hatch. The film's title is a humorous reference to the titular horse's color and the title of the 1955 Sloan Wilson novel (and 1956 film) about the American search for purpose in a world dominated by business, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit .

Contents

The film was paired with the animated featurette Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day in its original theatrical release but failed at the box office, and it received mostly negative reviews for its predictable script.

Plot

Madison Avenue advertising executive Fred Bolton, a Lakeville, Connecticut widower living beyond his means, is beset by two major problems. His boss has instructed him to devise an original campaign in just 24 hours to promote their client Allied Drug & Food's over-the-counter indigestion medication, Aspercel. Allied's chairman Tom Dugan wants a "jet set" appeal campaign that will "give sour stomachs class and dignity".

Fred's other problem is his teenage daughter Helen, who loves horses, takes riding classes and has competed. She dreams of having her own horse but knows that the family cannot afford one and that her father is allergic to horses.

Fred has an idea to solve both problems at once: he will acquire a good horse, name it Aspercel and publicize the horse while Helen rides it. Helen and the horse must first win a few prizes to make the horse a celebrated figure. Fred enlists the help of Helen's riding instructor Suzie, and is assisted by teenager Ronny Gardner, who is smitten with Helen.

Helen wins some ribbons, but the resulting publicity is below Dugan's expectations. When Helen learns that her father's job is at stake, she falters under pressure and fails to win an important show. Suzie realizes Aspercel's potential when the horse carries Fred over a seven-foot wall and away from a police car. She volunteers to ride Aspercel in the International Horse Show and recruits her wealthy friend and equestrian Archer Madison as a trainer. After a close competition with the reigning champion, Suzie and Aspercel win the championship. Fred is rewarded with a promotion and Suzie's love.

Cast

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jockey</span> Someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing

A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual who rode horses in racing. They must be light, typically around a weight of 100–120 lb. (45–55 kg), and physically fit. They are typically self-employed, and are paid a small fee from the horse trainer, whose colors they wear while competing in a race. They also receive a percentage of the horse's winnings. The job has a very high risk of debilitating or life-threatening injuries, not only from racing accidents but also, because of strict weight restrictions, from eating disorders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Archer (jockey)</span> English jockey (1857–1886)

Frederick James Archer, also known by the nickname The Tin Man, was an English flat race jockey of the Victorian era, described as "the best all-round jockey that the turf has ever seen".

<i>National Velvet</i> 1935 novel by Enid Bagnold

National Velvet is a novel by Enid Bagnold (1889–1981), first published in 1935. It was illustrated by Laurian Jones, Bagnold's daughter, who was born in 1921. The novel tells the story of a teenaged girl who wins a horse racing competition. It was a best-seller, and adapted into a highly successful 1944 film and a 1960-62 television series.

<i>The Age of Innocence</i> 1920 novel by Edith Wharton

The Age of Innocence is a novel by American author Edith Wharton, published on 25 October 1920. It was her eighth novel, and was initially serialized in 1920 in four parts, in the magazine Pictorial Review. Later that year, it was released as a book by D. Appleton & Company. It won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, making Wharton the first woman to win the prize. Though the committee had initially agreed to give the award to Sinclair Lewis for Main Street, the judges, in rejecting his book on political grounds, "established Wharton as the American 'First Lady of Letters'". The story is set in the 1870s, in upper-class, "Gilded Age" New York City. Wharton wrote the book in her 50s, after she was already established as a major author in high demand by publishers.

<i>The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit</i> 1956 American film directed by Nunnally Johnson

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit is a 1956 American drama film starring Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones, with Fredric March, Lee J. Cobb, Keenan Wynn and Marisa Pavan in support. Based on the 1955 novel by Sloan Wilson, it was written and directed by Nunnally Johnson, and focuses on Tom Rath, a young World War II veteran trying to balance the pressures of his marriage to an ambitious wife and growing family with the demands of a career while dealing with ongoing after-effects of his war service and a new high-stress job.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane Kruger</span> German actress (born 1976)

Diane Kruger is a German actress. Early in her career, she gained worldwide recognition and received the Trophée Chopard from the Cannes Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Clark</span> American actor (1914-1968)

Frederick Leonard Clark was an American movie and television character actor, often playing in authoritative roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Q. Nilsson</span> Swedish-American actress (1888–1974)

Anna Quirentia Nilsson was a Swedish-American actress who achieved success in American silent movies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane Baker</span> American actress (born 1938)

Diane Carol Baker is an American actress, producer and educator whose career spanned over 50 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ormonde (horse)</span> British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Ormonde was an undefeated English Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1886 English Triple Crown and was labelled the 'horse of the century' at the time. He also won the St. James's Palace Stakes, Champion Stakes and the Hardwicke Stakes twice. Ormonde was trained at Kingsclere by John Porter for the 1st Duke of Westminster. His regular jockeys were Fred Archer and Tom Cannon. After retiring from racing he suffered fertility problems, but still sired Orme, who won the Eclipse Stakes twice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nunnally Johnson</span> American screenwriter (1897–1977)

Nunnally Hunter Johnson was an American screenwriter, film director, producer and playwright. As a filmmaker, he wrote the screenplays to more than fifty films in a career that spanned from 1927 to 1967. He also produced more than half of the films he wrote scripts for and directed eight of those movies. In 1940 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Grapes of Wrath and in 1956, he was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film for The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. Some of his other notable films include Tobacco Road (1941), The Moon Is Down (1943), Casanova Brown (1944), The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), The Woman in the Window (1944), The Mudlark (1950), The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951), My Cousin Rachel (1952), The Three Faces of Eve (1957), Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962), and The Dirty Dozen (1967). As a playwright he wrote the books for several Broadway musicals, including the musical revue Shoot the Works (1931), Arthur Schwartz's Park Avenue (1946), Bob Merrill's Henry, Sweet Henry (1967), and Jule Styne's Darling of the Day (1968). He also wrote the 1943 Broadway play The World's Full of Girls.

<i>Ironweed</i> (film) 1987 film by Héctor Babenco

Ironweed is a 1987 American drama film directed by Héctor Babenco. Adapted to the screen by William Kennedy from his similarly named Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, Ironweed stars Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, with Carroll Baker, Michael O'Keefe, Diane Venora, Fred Gwynne, Nathan Lane, and Tom Waits in supporting roles. The story concerns the relationship of a homeless couple—Francis, an alcoholic, and Helen, a terminally ill woman—during the years following the Great Depression. Major portions of the film were shot on location in Albany, New York. The film received mixed reviews and was a box-office bomb, but Nicholson and Streep received Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively, for their performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lurene Tuttle</span> American actress and acting coach (1907–1986)

Lurene Tuttle was an American actress and acting coach, who made the transition from vaudeville to radio, and later to films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's more versatile actresses. Often appearing in 15 shows per week, comedies, dramas, thrillers, soap operas, and crime dramas, she became known as the "First Lady of Radio".

<i>Sing You Sinners</i> (film) 1938 film by Claude Binyon, Wesley Ruggles

Sing You Sinners is a 1938 American musical comedy film directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray, Ellen Drew, and Donald O'Connor. Written by Claude Binyon, the film is about three singing brothers who go to California to find their fortune. Initially the film was to be titled "The Unholy Beebes" and then "Harmony for Three" before finishing with "Sing You Sinners". Filming took place in April/May 1938 in Hollywood. Race track scenes were filmed at the Pomona Fairgrounds and at Santa Anita using two dozen of Crosby's horses. Sing You Sinners was premiered on August 5, 1938 at the Del Mar racetrack with the New York premiere taking place on August 16.

<i>Paper Bullets</i> 1941 film by Phil Rosen

Paper Bullets is a 1941 American crime thriller film directed by Phil Rosen and starring Joan Woodbury, Jack La Rue and Linda Ware. It was the first film produced by the King Brothers, launching their career.

"Bang" is the fifteenth episode of the first season of the American legal drama television series The Good Wife. It aired on CBS in the United States on March 2, 2010. In the episode, ex-States Attorney Peter Florrick is released from prison to his home. He is confined to house arrest and starts working on restarting his legal career. His wife Alicia Florrick has conflicted emotions about his return and distracts herself with a legal case, in which she defends a man accused of killing a mutual fund manager who assisted in Bernard Madoff's investment scandal.

<i>Wagon Train</i> (film) 1940 film

Wagon Train is a 1940 American Western film directed by Edward Killy and starring Tim Holt. It was this film that really started Holt's series of B Westerns for RKO, replacing those made by George O'Brien.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Kusner</span> American equestrian (born 1940)

Kathryn Hallowell "Kathy" Kusner is an American equestrian and Olympic medalist in show jumping. She was one of the first woman who rode for the United States Equestrian Team (USET), the first licensed female jockey, and the first American women to win an Olympic medal in equestrian competition.

<i>David Harum</i> (1934 film) 1934 film

David Harum is a 1934 American comedy film directed by James Cruze and written by Walter Woods. The film stars Will Rogers, Louise Dresser, Evelyn Venable, Kent Taylor, Stepin Fetchit, Noah Beery, Sr. and Roger Imhof. The film was released on March 3, 1934, by Fox Film Corporation.

<i>The Bandits Baby</i> 1925 film

The Bandit's Baby is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by James P. Hogan and starring Fred Thomson and Helen Foster.

References

  1. "Big Rental Films of 1969", Variety, 7 January 1970 p 15