Jump to content

Gallant Bess

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gallant Bess
Theatrical poster
Directed byAndrew Marton
Written byArthur Parker, under the pseudonym Marvin Parks (story origination)
Jeanne Bartlett(story)
Produced byHarry Rapf
StarringMarshall Thompson
George Tobias
CinematographyJohn W. Boyle
Edited byHarry Komer
Music byRudolph G. Kopp
Production
company
Distributed byLoew's Inc.
Release date
  • January 1, 1947(1947-01-01)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,218,000[1]
Box office$2,011,000[1]

Gallant Bessis a 1947 Americandrama filmreleased byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer.It is loosely based on the true story ofU.S. Navywarrant officerArthur Parker, who rescued an injuredfillyduringWorld War II.[2][3]Portions of the film were shot on the coast ofSanta Barbara, Californiain October 1945.[4]This was the first MGM motion picture made inCinecolor.

Plot

[edit]

Tex Barton is raising horses when U.S. Navy recruiters come to his town and convince him to enlist. His horse Bess falls ill and dies just before he is sent to the Pacific to fight in World War II. One night, he hears a horse, and the other men think that he is going crazy. He leaves his tent and finds an injured horse that he names Bess. The horse is adopted by the Navy and is trained to help them on the island.

Background

[edit]

Art Parker was raised on a ranch inMontanain the early 1900s and worked with horses. At the age of 17, he lied to enlist in theU.S. Navy.During World War II, he was stationed in theSolomon Islandsand befriended a local rancher. After aJapanesebombing raid, the rancher asked Parker for help rescuing an injuredfilly.Parker took the horse to the naval base and trained her. She eventually became a morale booster for the sailor, as well as the unit's mascot.

Bess learned tricks, including to run to a sandbagged cave for protection whenever the air-raid siren sounded. She was given the nickname Foxhole Flicka after the horse in the 1941 children's bookMy Friend Flicka.

When Parker received his orders to return to the U.S., he was denied permission to take Bess with him. Eventually he was allowed to build a stall on a ship for Bess.

Notes

[edit]

According to Parker family lore, PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt's wifeEleanor Rooseveltheard of Parker's actions and convinced the president to grant permission to bring Bess home.[2]

After the war, Parker was approached by MGM to film several movies with Bess.Gallant Besswas the first to be filmed and was to be a true account of Bess' rescue, but the first half of the script, up to the point at which Tex joins the Navy, was purely fictional. The rest of the film closely resembled the true account, but still with much artistic license.

The Navy would not allow Parker's name to be credited to the film as he was still onactive duty,so the film is fictitiously credited as "Based on a true story as told by Lt. Marvin Park, U.S.N.R." Bess stars as herself, and Parker has acameoin a scene depicting a violent thunderstorm in which he calms Bess.

Because MGM did not follow the true account as closely as Parker believed that they would, the series of films featuring Bess that had been planned were never filmed. Celebrities such asJudy Garland,Elizabeth TaylorandCharles Lindberghwould occasionally visit Bess.

Bess foaled Gallant Pat in the 1950s and lived the rest of her life with Parker on a ranch inGrass Valley, California.She was euthanized in the late 1960s after a brain tumor was diagnosed. She still bore the scars from her World War II injuries.

The rights toGallant Bessare now owned byWarner Bros.,[5]and the film is occasionally shown on theTurner Classic Movieschannel.

Producer Harry Rapf's son Matthew producedAdventures of Gallant BessforEagle-Lion Films,but the film did not star the original Bess and is unrelated toGallant Bess.

Reception

[edit]

The film earned $1,487,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $524,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $196,000.[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcThe Eddie Mannix Ledger,Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ^abBased on personal knowledge of the author as a grandson of Arthur Parker
  3. ^"Did you know a movie actress lived in Lincoln? | Lincoln News Messenger".Lincoln News Messenger.Gold Country Media. Archived fromthe originalon April 2, 2015.RetrievedSeptember 22,2016.
  4. ^Hynes, William,"LST119".Archived fromthe originalon September 27, 2007.RetrievedNovember 22,2006.
  5. ^Comments@MGM, Re: Gallant Bess, Email to Chris Parker. Retrieved January 22, 2007.
[edit]