Memorable, crazy movie

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

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Although it is a nice, warm, charming story/plot it is a let down considering. The fact that some of the main characters in this version are completely fictional (the O'Haras) bothered me throughout the entire movie.I did love that it had some actual B&W footage of some of Seabiscuit's races. And being a sucker for almost any animal movie (especially horses) I utterly enjoyed all the scenery and all the shots of the horses. The only reason I would watch this again is for that, not for the plot or the actors. But I'm fairly sure that this one is going to collect dust on my DVD shelf.If you are going to watch a movie about Seabiscuit, I advise to see the amazing 2003 version and skip this one.

when the truth is so much more interesting, this movie was pretty much a waste of time. the real characters were also more interesting than these two dimensional characters. the only redeeming quality was the newsreel footage of some of the actual races. fortunately, the recent Laura Hillebrand book and the recent movie corrected some of the nonsense. in real life, the great Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons, Charles Howard, Tom Smith, and even Red Pollard were all much more interesting characters than those in this stinker. perhaps there were problems getting the rights to use the real names of real people who were alive at the time of filming. there is no doubt that Shirley Temple was very cute when they made this abomination, and probably was cuter than Red Pollard's own wife, the nurse. There was also no need to use such lame stereotypical characters for the non-white cast members. for a degenerate race track gambler like myself, the racing footage was worth enduring the rest of it.

I happened to catch this movie by accident while clicking through the cable channel and the story of sea biscuit caught my eye!The movie's cinematography was excellent and the back drops were pure eye candy for the movie buffs.It seemed as though Barry Fitzgerald "stole" EACH and EVERY scene he was in and made all the other actors go begging for drama coaching with the exception of Rosemary Decamp who seems to always know where the camera was and especially when it was trained on her.The acting of Shirley Temple was horrendous and unprofessional. It was if she either did not believe in the character she was portraying or just wanted to be somewhere else. (ala, gregory peck in duel of the sun).I believe the only thing that saved each and every scene of hers from the cutting floor was the fact that she does have (a very pretty face)and since she was uh... 'Little Shirley Temple' how could she possibly be bad?Her acting and the general camp acting of the other players seem to muddle the storyline. The Great cinematography and the scene-stealing mastery of fitzgerald is the only reason I kept the recording.And last but not least the great historical footage of the horse (seabiscuit)who also helped salvage some of the last 2 reels.

First I read the book by Laura Hillenbrand, then I saw the 2003 film in a theater, and finally I saw this wonderful warm film on DVD titled The Story of Seabiscuit. Being from Ireland, I certainly didn't mind the Barry Fitzzgerald and Shirley Temple intrusion, which does take away from the historical value of the film, but also adds a love story which actually holds the film together.In the latest version, The legendary Seabiscuit does not appear until all the leading characters are introduced. In this film, all the background information comes in the form of dialogue, which flows smoothly from the brogue of Fitzgeralds charming Irish horse trainer, Sean O'Hara. Barry has a way of drawing you into a film, and sets up Shirley Temple's character, his niece, and also holds together the love story, between her and a jockey, played by Lon McCallister.Although some of the real names were changed, Seabiscuit's racing history remained true, and they used the actual black and white footage of the match race with War Admiral, which the 2003 film did not.Considering that this film was made 54 years ago, It holds up very well, with the vibrant color only adding to the film's beauty. Trying to compare these two films, is like comparing apples and oranges. This one is a Hollywood film and the 2003 version is closer to a documentary. Both are well worth seeing, but not comparing.