The horse was all Velvet Brown could think of, day and night. While her sister was crazy over a boy, Velvet was crazy over a horse called The Pie. With a horse as wild and strong as The Pie, what else was there to do but enter the horse in the Grand National Sweepstakes, the biggest race in England? Velvet was utterly devoted to that horse.
The one person who encouraged Velvet the most was her mother. Mrs. Brown had swum the English Channel with the help of a coach who trained her well and helped her complete her swim. She knew Velvet had what it took to get her horse to the finish line.
Elizabeth Taylor played Velvet Brown and earned her place as MGM’s top child star because of the success of National Velvet, only two years after her first screen test.
Velvet’s father, played by Donald Crisp, added humor to the film. Crisp had already worked with Elizabeth Taylor in Lassie Come Home in 1943, which was Taylor's second film.
Mi Taylor, played by Mickey Rooney, was the young man who helped Velvet achieve her dream. I loved Mickey Rooney’s passion and apathy and affection and determination. The scene where he cheered at the race was priceless.
I enjoyed seeing nineteen-year-old Angela Lansbury in the role of Velvet’s sister, Edwina Brown. National Velvet was only her second film.
The very talented Anne Revere won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role because of her work as Velvet’s mother. Also receiving an Oscar was Robert Kern for Best Film Editing.
