National Velvet

With confidence in the idea that lightning can strike twice, producer Robert Maxwell set about to duplicate the great success he'd enjoyed in developing the "Lassie" series when he brought "National Velvet" to television in 1960. His adaptation of the novel and feature film transplanted the lead characters to a small dairy farm in the American heartland, similar to the farm in his earlier series - right down to the antiquated wall phone and close proximity of the barn to the house. A really splendid cast - including Ann Doran, Arthur Space, long-time radio and stage actor Jimmy McCallion, Tim Graham, Carole Wells, and Lori Martin in the title role - created characters with depth and charm. Episodes were directed by veterans who understood compressed storytelling, and some of the scripts were outstanding. The story editors maintained a wonderful series continuity, causing events from earlier installments to be referred to in later shows, and making certain that the various writers adhered to the established nature of the characters and their interrelationships. They took the property seriously. With the help of beautifully nostalgic signature music, "National Velvet" took viewers to a world which probably never existed - in which rural/small town values one associates with a simpler, happier past co-existed with contemporary conditions. Well-acted, "National Velvet" should have run longer. The shows - a few of which were evidently filmed in color - are as pleasant to view today as they were at the time of their release.moreless

I remember this show on network. I like horses so this was one I liked a lot.The members of the Brown family are the parents and three children two girls and the youngest a boy like the book.In this show they changed the setting to the United States and Mr Brown owned and ran a farm and Mi Taylor is a farmhand. Mi is helping Velvet with King. This show ran two years and 58 episodes since being in black and white from the early 60s there was more episodes. Episodes cover incidents about the farm . I think the farm was in the Midwest.moreless

I thought that I can only get on tilt when playing poker. This National Velvet has the same effect...oddly. This is definitely a pleasant surprise. I will surely look forward to more of National Velvet from now. It just shows you that on any given day, you can discover something refreshing and new. Lucky moi.