Product Details

• Actors: Dennis O'Keefe, Gail Russell
• Directors: Joseph M. Newman
• Format: NTSC, Black & White, Full Screen
• Region: All Regions
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Vina Distributor
• Run Time: 92.0 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000A38SRY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #302,343 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Dan Patch was the greatest trotting horse that ever lived. In his phenominal career spanning eleven years, he became the hightest-earning harness-racer in history. Great racing scenes. A big treat for horse lovers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Getting sentimental in my young old age, August 12, 2005

By 

A Constant Reader (New York City, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Dan Patch (DVD)

This may not be a great movie, and it may not be played by great actors, but it's an affecting bit of work and I sat there through every second of it in thoroughly sappy enjoyment. I love feel good stories. I love watching a man or a woman or a horse doing something so well we're all bigger just have to seen it. Dan Patch is not a forgotten "sulkie horse" - he was and is the greatest pacer who ever set hoof on a track. Like Man 'O War, when Dan Patch entered a race, the rest of the field scratched. Before long he could only race against the clock and in order to do that they sent out runners with him so he'd feel he had competition. Pacing, he easily kept up with a flat out runner. Dan has a website visited by thousands, a day to honor him every year in what became his home town, and still holds the record for the fastest mile ever paced. When he died, his owner was so affected he himself died the next week. True story. As for the rest of the movie, the love story, the old folks on the farm, the trainer, the breeder, the fellow who got rich but still came back to the farm...I have no idea if any of it was "true," but it too was affecting. Oh heck. I loved this old movie.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great horse, pretty good movie, December 28, 2004

By 

Staci L. Wilson "Author: Animal Movies Guide ... (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Dan Patch (DVD)

Great Dan Patch, The (1949, true story and drama)
Loosely based on the life of Dan Patch, a trotting horse so fast that towards the end of his career all the competition he had were the speed records he himself set - in 11 years of racing, he was undefeated. Family drama and romance takes center stage in this film, but there are some good action scenes on the track.

Staci Layne Wilson

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WARM AND WONDERFUL FAMILY FILM, July 13, 2005

By 

Ronald Stephenson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Dan Patch (DVD)

THE GREAT DAN PATCH is a marvelous film for the whole family. Woefully ignored upon original release in 1949, this film has gained a cult following through the years. Dennis O'Keefe and Gail Russell head the cast and have a loving chemistry together. Gail gives one of her most captivating performances as a quiet farm girl who loves horses and Dennis O'Keefe. The racing scenes are exciting and it has a especially fine musical score. Released by United Artists and also starring Ruth Warwick and Charlotte Greenwood, THE GREAT DAN PATCH is a special film well worth owning on DVD.