Casey's Shadow (1978)

One of my all time favorites.

Best movie ever!

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Casey's Shadow takes the movie viewer into the world of quarter horse racing. So named because the total distance one travels is a quarter of a mile. Two furlongs for those of us who follow thoroughbred racing. The horses are just bred for speed, no rating these animals. Just fly out of the starting gate faster than the rest.Walter Matthau stars as a trainer who is a widower named Lloyd Bourdelle with three sons, Steve Burns, Andrew Rubin, and Michael Hershawe. The oldest who is Burns buys a quarter horse mare in foal at a steal. The mare dies, but her colt has great potential and is named for the youngest son Casey's Shadow.This is a racing family these kids are as involved as their father is in the world of the track, like they'd have any choice if they didn't want the life. They also could badly use a woman's touch around the place, possibly to smooth out the rough edges. A wife might very well have stopped Matthau from making some critical mistakes that affect all around him, not just the family. There's a beautiful shot of the dirty dishes at the family trailer showing how badly these men have let themselves go to seed.Sporting a walrus mustache like you would have seen a century earlier, Matthau does fine in mastering a Louisiana French Cajun accent as the book the film is based on makes it clear what the family origins are and how proud of them. The kids love the old man, but also see how flawed a character he is and the mistakes he's headed for. But Matthau wants to win Futurity at the famous Ruidoso Downs Quarter Horse track at any cost.Others in the cast that stand out are Alexis Smith as an owner of quarter horses and Robert Webber a very different and cruel owner of the breed.This is a nice boy and horse story especially with Hershawe and how he takes to the new colt. But it eschews a lot of the clichés with starring animal pictures and is refreshingly different.

A wonderful family movie & a beautiful horse movie. 75+ %entertainment. Casey, Buddy, Kelly Marsh are very interesting and lovable characters. The horses are real beauties.Has the horse racing as a backdrop for showing how luck is sometimes nothing but some good commonsense. Shows how kids can do stupid things for stupid reasons. Shows how adults can do stupid things for selfish reasons. The very realistically portrayed characters transform the unrealistic theme of the film into something everyone can relate to.Andrew Rubin puts in a wonderful performance as Buddy,the sensible elder brother. Somewhat reminded me of Aidan Quinn(eyes, speech delivery, facial appearance). Casey makes you fall in love with the character because of the earnestness. Sarah Blue is also nicely portrayed by Alexis Smith. Lloyd Bourdelle, the father, is played by Walter Matthau and he IS the character.Though there is room for improvement in the movie, its a very enjoyable, feel-good movie.

One of my favorite movies. I like horses, I like happy endings, and I like Walter Matthau. I miss him and am glad to have a great film like this to remind me why he was so wonderful. Watch it with your kids (or your horse).The story of an old hard boot horse trainer with kids, and down on his luck. If you have ever had or appreciated horse racing you will appreciate the rags to riches storyline. It may be a little below "Seabiscuit", but not a lot. The story is the same one, except it is the quarter horse version. Well acted, correct racing terms and equipment, and nice racing scenes. Don't take my word for it, get it and make up your own mind.

Well made children's film about a young boy and the horse he hopes to make a champion. Matthau is here to guide us through the picture.