The Great Dan Patch (1949)

In the late 19th century, a chemist (Dennis O'Keefe) returns to the small Indiana town of his childhood after living in Chicago to get married to a social climbing school teacher (Ruth Warrick). But soon after they are married, they clash over his interest in carrying on the legacy of his father's (Henry Hull) horse breeding and harness racing. Directed by Joseph M. Newman (THIS ISLAND EARTH), this family friendly horse movie would seem to be perfect fodder for the Disney live action film crowd if it weren't for the sexual tension between a young horse trainer (Gail Russell) and the unhappily married O'Keefe. The film is very conventional in its storytelling but makes a pleasant watch on a rainy evening (which is how I watched it). With Charlotte Greenwood, Arthur Hunnicutt, Clarence Muse and in one of his rare nice guy roles, John Hoyt as Russell's father.