SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Quite well-made family movie. I feel it is suitable for all ages.It has good characterisations. I enjoyed the pompous constable who was at odds with the kids (good acting on his part also). And the girl with the dogs was my favourite of the kids. The conspirator, Reubleau (sp) was good as the bumbling bad guy also.The story is certainly for kids (I believe there was a book from which this movie was made). But it isn't so juvenile that adults can't enjoy it.The story revolves around a gang of thieves who steal French currency from a train. This loot is hidden in an abandoned building.A group of French kids encounter one of the thieves when they collide with him while riding their "headless horse". (This is a tricycle affair with the body of a horse...minus the head.) The thief, fearing exposure from the constable investigating the collision, hides the key to the abandoned building in the body of the horse hoping to retrieve it later.This turns out to be more complex than the thieves ever realised. They first try bribing the kids with an electric train to give them the horse. When this doesn't work they raid the kids' clubhouse, but the horse is away being repaired. Eventually the thieves manage to steal the horse (right in broad daylight) but the kids have already removed the key.Several humorous mishaps (usually involving the bungler Reubleau) help move the story along. He has a car crash, gets chased by the girl's dogs, fights with the gypsies, and so on.By this time the kids have gotten suspicious and start investigating. They eventually discover the key and what it belongs to.The climax occurs in the abandoned building which turns out to have been a manufacturer of masks, costumes, Mardi gras favours and the like. The kids go wild in the place until the villains show up and try to capture the kids. During the mêlée the dogs are summoned and turn the tables on the thieves.The stolen money is recovered much to the surprise of the local inspector and the kids become heroes for the day. They even have the stuffy constable ordered to stop traffic so the horse can roll on down the street.A very engaging little story. I liked how the inspector treated the kids and how he cooperated with them.The scenes were well done also. There was the dark, mysterious atmosphere when the thieves are prowling around the kids clubhouse. Then there was the festive, colourful mood in the old factory. I'm assuming most of this was shot in France somewhere. At least the train depicted was of French origin.And for kids, I felt the acting was rather good.This would make for a pleasant little diversion on a rainy day.

This was one of the few films that I saw twice as a young lad, but like another commentator I was convinced that some of the location shots took place in France. I would like to find out if my memory of this was a flawed as my idea that the title was "The Headless Horse" or did that phrase appear in the title song.

I saw this film when I was fourteen and since that time, I've come to imagine it must have been made in French with English sub-titles, perhaps due to the presence of M. Aumont. Clearly, it has a quite unique kind of atmosphere and I would certainly recommend it to young and old alike.

A group of poor children spend their time playing with a riding-size toy horse on wheels, which they found in a scrap heap. This toy horse's head is missing, hence the title. A group of thieves think the horse is the perfect place to hide their booty when they are pursued by the police. The children are on to the thieves, and work together to protect their horse and bring the gang of thieves to justice. A fantastic sequence in a party favors storeroom is one of the major highlights of the film.Disney produced this mystery film in England; it's got an overall feel that could only have been created on location. Several other comments note that it may have been filmed in France, which could be true. However, the film's dialogue is all English, and there are no subtitles. Children (and adults who saw it on the Disney show in the 60's, like me) will love this film. It's vintage Walt, and exactly something he would have been excited to film. It's also got a catchy title song that will run through your head for days.