Infamousta brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

classicsoncall The real Seabiscuit retired in 1940 and died in 1947. Just like heavyweight boxer Jimmy Braddock, the legendary race horse became an unlikely champion and symbol of hope for many Americans during the Great Depression. As a family movie, this is a passable film with endearing characters, though I didn't get a sense of Seabiscuit's legendary status as a thoroughbred race horse in the telling. In the picture he's sometimes overshadowed by the on again/off again romance between Margaret O'Hara (Shirley Temple) and Ted Knowles (Lon McCallister). Without a doubt, the presence of Barry Fitzgerald in the story as trainer Shawn O'Hara was the spark this film needed to make it a worthwhile story, even if a fictional one.I was somewhat taken aback when the Technicolor format went black and white around the fifty four minute mark, but quickly determined the race horse footage must have been the real deal from the era. With a little research I learned that the one-on-one match up between Seabiscuit and War Admiral was the actual race between the two horses, as was the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap, won by the titled horse following his amazing comeback from a leg injury.For racing fans who also admire Shirley Temple, this is your chance to see her in her next to last film. The only other movie I've watched where she's an adult was the prior year's cavalry Western "Fort Apache" where she seemed out of her element. Having seen both pictures now, it's somewhat apparent she didn't transition that well into adult roles, which is OK, as she made her mark as a cute-as-a-button youngster in a slew of pictures throughout the Thirties. That's really the only way I can think of her.

midnighter89 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.

ProgShred I was always in awe at Shirley Temple's amazing talent as a child and always wondered what kind of adult actor she would be, then TCM showed this movie and I got the chance to see for myself.Her acting here is kinda hot and cold. There are some scenes where she's brilliant, while in other scenes she just seems to read the lines without much feeling. Still, she was good enough to make me want to see more. It's a shame she didn't do much film work after this one. I think she would've been a major sex symbol.The rest of the movie was kinda boring and predictable. When they showed the original racing footage, they did the whole racetrack scene in B&W. I thought it was funny how they went from the hospital room in color, to looking at a racing form, then to everyone at the race track in B&W. I thought it was funny because I'm sure they were trying to make it almost unnoticeable by using the racing form as a go between. I would have left the footage out of the movie and done the scene in color.There were two things about the love story that I thought were interesting. I thought that Ted fell in love with Margaret too quick, then after Margaret refused to let Ted kiss her, she kisses him with a bunch of pecks all over his face, followed by one planted on the lips.

Randy Cliff Horse racing was part of my life since birth, albeit not so much any more. So these are the kinds of movies I always like. Most important for this movie is, that Barry Fitzgerald always makes me smile, and Shirley Temple is terrific memory for almost everyone.These are the reasons that everyone should be happy to enjoy this movie at least once. However I don't know if I would go out of my way to see this again. It is unfortunate that this movie, like so many of previous decades, was not considerate of the actual history of the event, but chose to create a plot loosely based on a true event. The 2003 version "Seabiscuit" is truly wonderful and is a part of my home collection. This is the primary reason I gave it a vote of 5.The imagery is fun and I like the way the movie edits play together, but it is not likely to be in the top ten for many people. Even so I recommend this for all who enjoy Fitzgerald or Temple, and of course lovers of all horse stories.