Customer Reviews

Misty

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This movie was made in 1961, just four years after my family moved from Chincoteague. Many of the great town folk of Chincoteague are in the movie, including the barber that used to cut my hair when I was four, and gave me a penny for not crying.
I've seen the DVD version recently, almost 50 years since my last Pony Penning Day. It brought back so many memories of my childhood, and my favorite book at the time. It has a great message for children - set goals, work hard, and you will achieve - it also shows the love man has for God's great creatures. A great movie for kid's who love horses!!

Shot on location on Chincoteague and Assateague Island, this movie wisely sticks to the original souce material. Misty fans of all ages will want to see this movie so they can see the places mentioned in the book and watch a real Pony Penning Day roundup.

Both the book and movie characters were based on real people (and ponies). Misty was an equine celebrity with children all over America. After a storm nearly destroyed Chincoteague, the real Misty often appeared in theaters where this film was shown to raise money to rebuild the island.

Arthur O'Connell as Grandpa Beebe was a disappointment. He doesn't speak in the warm, grizzled ways like the character in the book and he doesn't even have a Southern accent.

The film was shot in CinamaScope and the video is formatted in pan-and-scan. There are many instances during the film where the cropped picture looks distorted because of this. If you really want to enjoy the beauty of this film, hold out for a widescreen version on DVD. It would be nice if future editions of this film also had a documentary about the real Misty and her life.

I have been a Misty fan since my childhood and love all of Marguerite Henry's books. This is a great family film. This film is filled with timeless family values. A wonderful film for all ages. Filmed on location in Chincoteague and Assateague the scenery is beautiful. We hope to witness Pony Penning Day first hand next year and see the recently unveiled Misty statue on Chincoteague.

Paul and Maureen fall in love with The Phantom the first time they see her on Assateague Island. Their deceased father also loved The Phantom and the two children set their hearts on buying her after the pony roundup. The do all kinds of small jobs to raise [money] needed to purchase her.
When the roundup occurs it is discovered that The Phantom has a young foal which is quickly called Misty and the two decide they want to buy them both. I can't tell you any more without revealing the entire story so you will just have to watch the rest yourself to find out what happens. You will not be disappointed.

I have had the pleasure of reading the novel by Margurite Henry, Misty of Chincoteague to my first graders for several years. The novel itself is wonderful and gives a beautiful picture of life on the VA eastern shore. The video brings imagination to life. Yes it is a bit dated but all of my children love this movie and never notice the lack of computer generated graphics.

Note: This video has been unavailible for many years and I have had to use a very old library copy. Hooray for Disney for re-releasing it and for Amazon for offering it to the world!! Now many more children will get a chance to know this story and read the book and possibly head to "Pony Penning Day" Patty in VA.

This is a great story of two children's love of a horse. It is refreshing to be able to watch a movie that is rated G and is also is interesting for adults, too. The scenery in the movie is spectacular, filmed on Chincoteague and Assateague Islands. It's a very touching story, and will hold your interest to the end! A real classic!

I have searched everywhere for this movie! My fourth graders read it as a chapter book.We had fun comparing the book to the movie.It is dated but still takes the class to Va.

Koch DVD has gone the extra mile and released the 1961 family classic MISTY in a properly letterboxed DVD that preserves the original aspect ratio (2:35-1). This is a treat, because previous TV prints and home video releases have always been full frame. The expansive green vistas of the on-location Chincoteague cinematography are breathtaking in widescreen. The film itself remains the same family classic that it was back in 1961, when it was one of the highest-grossing non-Disney family films of the year. I hadn't seen it in decades, so this new DVD is most welcome. The film was produced by Robert Radnitz, who produced several other fine family films as well (ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS, SOUNDER, WHERE THE LILIES BLOOM, and MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN).

I loved this movie when I was a little girl, not so many years ago, but then, I was absolutely horse crazy at the time. I never quite understood, and I don't think I ever will, why the book and the film were both titled 'Misty' when the story is really all about her mother, The Phantom.

It was nice to see all the characters from the book brought to life, although I do agree with the reviewer who thought Grandpa was miscast; he seemed too young and looked more like the illustration for Tom, the raffleman instead. The one change I really enjoyed was that they made Maureen much more tomboyish and willing to stick up for herself; Wesley Dennis always drew her as this fragile-looking waif in a fluffy dress and the pigtailed flannel and denim clad girl we get seems much better suited to farm life. Slightly off-putting is the grandparent's backward thinking, which will seem outdated to modern audiences. At one point Grandma scolds the kids for not doing their chores and playing with the foals instead and I wanted to shake the woman. They've lost both their parents and you're mad they're outside playing? You should be glad they've found something to help them cope.

Still, this movie is about the horses and not the people and we get scads of great shots of herds galloping free along the beaches, racing other ponies with real kids clinging to their backs, and foals capering adorably. They found a very sweet and clever yearling to play Misty- at times she seems more like an adoring puppy than anything- and a fantastic looking pinto who plays the Pied Piper to wild-eyed perfection. They even found a pony with mismatched eyes to play Watch-Eye, which is a great little detail for those who loved the book.

Considering how old the film is, the quality of the tape is surprisingly good, there were only one or two times where a blip or a jump showed up on the TV and that might even just be the copy I have. This is a kiddie film, so don't expect the greatest, but if you're horse crazy, in the mood for some nostalgia or just need something to share with a younger audience that you won't find too mind-numbing, Misty fits the warm fuzzy bill.

Set on Virginia's rustic coastal island of Chincoteague, the film begins on Pony-Penning Day, an annual fireman's fund-raising celebration that involves rounding up for auction wild, purebred ponies that live on neighboring Assateague Island. Young brother and sister Paul and Maureen Beebe (Alan Ladd and Pam Smith) have their hearts set on a gorgeous, deep-chestnut mare nicknamed The Phantom, but they are surprised to discover that she has a filly at her side, a palomino pinto called Misty. Will the kids have enough money to buy both of them in the auction? This family-friendly tale is populated with an array of convincing horse characters, including a stallion named The Pied Piper and a brown-and-blue-eyed pony named Watch-Eye. The cinematography is especially strong, and the ponies are beautiful.

Staci Layne Wilson

(There is now a widescreen version of this movie, and I give that version a 4 out of 5 stars. You really miss a lot of the beauty of the location filming with the pan and scan version. The new version has a full photo shot of the Phantom on the cover rather than the profile shots of the children with the pony. Buy that instead.)

I am at a loss whether to give this book a 3 or a 4 and finally ended up marking it at the lower score; major points are taken for not releasing this film in widescreen since the exteriors were filmed on location on the island where the real story took place and we never get the full import of the beautiful Atlantic seashore shots. Also, the print seems a bit faded and dusty. I agree that Pam Smith's Maureen was a little more fun to watch due to her spunkiness; on the other hand, I hated the whole business that had the children earning money and everyone thinking they were poor, which was not in the book. I also think they should have had the Phantom race as she did in the book. However, I did like the cast, although Arthur O'Connell seemed a bit off; I think he could have done a good Grandpa Beebe had the character been written more like he was in the book.