Rewind Review: The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968)

The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit really has no bearing on horse racing but rather covers an event in the equestrian world that has seldom been depicted in the motion pictures - horse jumping.

Advertising executive Frederick Bolton (Dean Jones) finds he is up to his neck in bills and in stress. His daughter Helen (Ellen Janov) desperately wants a horse - which he cannot afford - and his boss wants him to dream up a winning advertising campaign for a prestigious pill company "Aspercel" by tomorrow - or else, lose his job. 

After hours scheming up campaign angles, a bolt of inspiration hits him and he finds it may just be a solution that will please both his boss and his daughter: enter a horse named Aspercel in horse jumping competitions across America. What better way to instill in the minds of the social elite the tongue-tripping name of Aspercel and receive headline coverage nationwide? 

The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit was based on the novel "The Year of the Horse" by Eric Hatch, who was an author and screenwriter best known for My Man Godfrey and Topper. The film was originally planned to be released as The Year of the Horse, but instead, the publicity department decided to pun the popular 1956 Gregory Peck film The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, which also dealt with the world of advertising. 

Dean Jones' comedic skill in the short-lived television series "Ensign Pulver"(1963), had caught the eye of Walt Disney and when the series was canceled he was cast as the handsome cat-chasing FBI agent in That Darn Cat (1965). Jones has come to be known for his family man roles of the 1970s, but in the 1960s he was usually cast as a bachelor or a childless husband. In this film, he portrays a widower, whom we imagine has not been on a date since his wife's passing. Like most of his roles, he plays Fred with a lot of harried gestures and frequent bursts of nervous laughter.

Ellen Janov was performing at a club in Palm Springs singing when she was spotted by a Disney exec and screen-tested for the role of Helen Bolton. She was fifteen years old at the time of filming and this was the only picture she ever made. Later, she recorded a few songs released through Capitol Records before becoming a primal therapist in Los Angeles. She died tragically at the age of 22 in a house fire. 

                               " For $2,000 I'd jump a few fences myself "

The lovely Diane Baker was making her first - and only - appearance in a Walt Disney production as Suzie "S.J" Clemens, Helen's riding instructor. Suzanne Pleshette could have easily played her role as well, but it is nice to see Baker in this part. The riding habit suits her.

Kurt Russell, who was soon to become one of Disney's biggest stars, had a supporting role as Helen's boyfriend Ronnie, while Morey Amsterdam provided comic relief as Fred's co-worker Charlie.  Lloyd Bochner, Fred Clark, Alan Hewitt and Lurene Tuttle rounded out the cast. 

The star of the film "Aspercel" was really Albarado, a dapple grey jumper who practically steals every scene he is in from the principal actors. In certain scenes, he was doubled by Sir Winston and Could Be, but don't ask us which scenes those were. 

The beautiful Bolton estate and other location scenes were filmed on Disney's 900 acre Golden Oak ranch near Newhall, California.

The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit was the first film to be marketed with "Walt Disney Productions Presents" after Walt's death in 1966. It was released on December 20, 1968, along with the short, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, but alas, the film was not the big success it was hoped to be. It brought in only $3.3 million dollars (half of what The Ugly Dachshund fetched).

"Aspercel, Aspercel...take one pill it'll make you well. If you're dead....your dead."

The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit doesn't have the belly-laugh comedy of some of the better Disney films and, in spite of its marketing, isn't really a comedy at all. Aside from some amusing scenes of Dean Jones riding Aspercel bareback, it is more of a warm domestic drama. Like The Happiest Millionaire, it seems as though the Disney studios were experimenting with trying to capture an older audience. The film gently delves into a variety of different sub-surface topics such as gender equalities and single-parent child-raising all the while keeping the audience entertained and amused with its central theme - horses. 

One of the more important dramatic aspects of the story plot, however, is the psychological trauma of children who support their family. Unbeknownst to Fred, his eagerness to make his publicity plan work puts a lot of untold pressure on the shoulders of his daughter. Helen feels that she is homely and that boys do not like her. Her equestrian skill is the only substance for her self-confidence, but she finds she doesn't enjoy riding as much when she discovers that it is her medals that will either keep or break her father's position. When Fred shamefully realizes this it dawns on him that he has been valuing his job more than his family and quickly makes amends to change that.

The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit is a personal favorite of ours because of its "feel good" quality. Like most Disney films, it leaves you with a sense of satisfaction after watching it. The film is colorful, features talented performers, an entertaining plot and - most amazing of all -actually does focus on what you would expect to see in it based on its title: horse jumping. The twenty-five-minute finale will make any horse lovers heart thump, with actual footage from the Washington D.C International Horse Show spliced in between sequences. Overall it's a tally-ho-ho show! 

From the Archives: That Darn Cat! (1965)

Oh, no! Things can get really dirty when you are trying to fingerprint.. ahem, pawprint.. a cat. Federal agent Zeke Kelso (Dean Jones) finally found the perfect print - he took it off his forehead! Hayley Mills looks on at Zeke and the mess he made in this NBC-TV release photo from Walt Disney's That Darn Cat! (1965). 

From the Archives is our latest series of posts where we share photos from the Silverbanks Pictures collection. Some of these may have been sold in the past, and others may still be available for purchase at our eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/Silverbanks-Pictures 

From the Archives: The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit ( 1967 )

Dean Jones is sharing a cup of beer with his pal Aspercel after a successful competition at the International Horse Show in Washington D.C. in this still photo from Walt Disney's The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit ( 1967 ).

From the Archives is our latest series of posts where we share photos from the Silverbanks Pictures collection. Some of these may have been sold in the past, and others may still be available for purchase at our eBay store : http://stores.ebay.com/Silverbanks-Pictures

Snowball Express ( 1972 )

Johnny Baxter (Dean Jones) is your average hard-working American family man stuck in an accounting job he doesn't like but staying on because he has a wife and two children to support. "In the five years I've been there I moved from Accounts Receivable to Accounts Payable", he explains to his wife. Fate intervenes one day when a lawyer visits his office bearing good news - his great uncle passed away and left him the Grand Imperial hotel in Silver Hill, Colorado, a hotel that at one time was making $11,000 a month. Before you can say "money pit" he cleans his desk and walks right out the door, never to return to his boring job. His family is not pleased to hear that they will be moving to a town they never heard of and helping to run a hotel which none of them have the faintest idea how to do, but they follow along and come to find that embarking on an adventure blindfolded can be fun. In essence, trying something new is what Snowball Express is all about. 

The 1970s are generally not considered great years for the Disney company and the films they released during this time were not critically-acclaimed pictures. However, all of them ranked high on entertainment and Snowball Express is one of the best from this decade featuring a great cast, a clever script, and plenty of laughs. Seeing Dean Jones attempt to ski is worth the price of the DVD alone. 

Dean Jones had struck a chord with audiences in Disney's That Darn Cat in 1965 and he quickly became the studio's busiest leading man, often playing underdogs or losers just waiting for a good break. In this picture, his character, Johnny, is quite a gambler. He takes a chance packing up his family and heading out West, bluffs his way into a mortgage agreement with a scoundrel banker, and then gambles the entire property on the hopes of winning a snowmobile race...even though he never sat on a snowmobile in his life. But sometimes we all have to take risks to achieve what we want and what we think is best. 

Snowball Express, in its own light-hearted way, tells the story of a man who wants to leave his mundane routine and strike out on something entirely new. He doesn't want to do this without his beloved wife's, or his children's, consent, and yet, if need be, he would leave them and trek out on his own...... yep, because in the 1970s, men were still men. Papa Baxter was the modern version of our forefathers, who packed up their families in covered wagons to head out into the unknown territory of the West in the hopes of creating a better life. 

Once Johnny and his family arrive at Silver Hill, they find one obstacle after another to overcome, in typical Disney fashion, before they can settle down into their new home. But the Baxter family soon learns that no matter how tough things may become, if they stick together and love and support one another, everything will turn out well in the end. This is a common theme in Disney films...a message of hope. 

Snowball Express boasts a strong cast of supporting players including Keenan Wynn (playing the villain, yet again), Harry Morgan, David White, George Lindsay ("Goober"), Mary Wickes, and Dick Van Patten. Morgan, as the Baxter's grizzled hired man Jesse McCord, delivers some of the best quips in the film with his deadpan expression. 

Nancy Olson is wonderful as Johnny's wife and was frequently cast in Disney films as a strong but sweet-natured woman. Johnny Whittaker (Family Affair) and Kathleen Cody portray Johnny's children, and Disney regular Michael McGreevey appears as a local teenager eager to help the family convert the hotel into a ski resort.

Snowball Express was filmed on location in Colorado with Crested Butte standing in for Silver Hill. The finale - the spectacular snowmobile race - shows the beautiful winter landscapes of the area and is the highlight of the film. 

If you are considering quitting your job to buy a hotel or just want a great way to spend an hour and a half, then take a gander at Snowball Express. It's an underrated gem from the marvelous Disney studio.

A Ghost of a Chance to Win

After seeing what a lackluster bunch of athletes the Godolphin track team is made up of, new coach Steve Walker ( Dean Jones ) has his doubts that he can whip them into shape for the new season and begins to despair. Just look at that despondent face....but by thunder! Why should he despair when he has the aid of that incorrgible rum-guzzlin' rascal of a pirate, Captain Blackbeard ( Peter Ustinov ), to help him win the upcoming tournament?  

A rare still from the 1967 Walt Disney comedy Blackbeard's Ghost.

The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968)

Last year on this day - the day of the Kentucky Derby - we launched Silver Scenes with our very first post - The Triple Crown Winner. It was a personal selection of our favorite horse-racing themed films. Twelve months, one hundred and twenty four posts and sixteen blogathons later we have arrived at our one year anniversary. Tally ho! It's amazing how quick a year can go by. 

In order to celebrate this monumental event we decided to write another post about a horse - none other than The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit. After all, the Kentucky Derby is once again taking place this evening. 

The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit really has no bearing on horse racing but rather covers an event in the equestrian world that has seldom been depicted in the motion pictures - horse jumping.

Advertising executive Frederick Bolton (Dean Jones) finds he is up to his neck in bills and in stress. His daughter Helen (Ellen Janov) desperately wants a horse - which he cannot afford - and his boss wants him to dream up a winning advertising campaign for a prestigious pill company "Aspercel" by tomorrow - or else, lose his job. 

After hours scheming up campaign angles, a bolt of inspiration hits him and he finds it may just be a solution that will please both his boss and his daughter: enter a horse named Aspercel in horse jumping competitions across America. What better way to instill in the minds of the social elite the tongue-tripping name of Aspercel and receive headline coverage nationwide? 

The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit was based on the novel "The Year of the Horse" by Eric Hatch, who was an author and screenwriter best known for My Man Godfrey and Topper. The film was originally planned to be released as The Year of the Horse, but instead, the publicity department decided to pun the popular 1956 Gregory Peck film The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, which also dealt with the world of advertising. 

Dean Jones' comedic skill in the short-lived television series "Ensign Pulver"(1963), had caught the eye of Walt Disney and when the series was canceled he was cast as the handsome cat-chasing FBI agent in That Darn Cat (1965). Jones has come to be known for his family man roles of the 1970s, but in the 1960s he was usually cast as a bachelor or a childless husband. In this film, he portrays a widower, whom we imagine has not been on a date since his wife's passing. Like most of his roles, he plays Fred with a lot of harried gestures and frequent bursts of nervous laughter.

Ellen Janov was performing at a club in Palm Springs singing when she was spotted by a Disney exec and screen-tested for the role of Helen Bolton. She was fifteen years old at the time of filming and this was the only picture she ever made. Later, she recorded a few songs released through Capitol Records before becoming a primal therapist in Los Angeles. She died tragically at the age of 22 in a house fire. 

                               " For $2,000 I'd jump a few fences myself "

The lovely Diane Baker was making her first - and only - appearance in a Walt Disney production as Suzie "S.J" Clemens, Helen's riding instructor. Suzanne Pleshette could have easily played her role as well, but it is nice to see Baker in this part. The riding habit suits her.

Kurt Russell, who was soon to become one of Disney's biggest stars, had a supporting role as Helen's boyfriend Ronnie, while Morey Amsterdam provided comic relief as Fred's co-worker Charlie.  Lloyd Bochner, Fred Clark, Alan Hewitt and Lurene Tuttle rounded out the cast. 

The star of the film "Aspercel" was really Albarado, a dapple grey jumper who practically steals every scene he is in from the principal actors. In certain scenes, he was doubled by Sir Winston and Could Be, but don't ask us which scenes those were. 

The beautiful Bolton estate and other location scenes were filmed on Disney's 900 acre Golden Oak ranch near Newhall, California.

The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit was the first film to be marketed with "Walt Disney Productions Presents" after Walt's death in 1966. It was released on December 20, 1968, along with the short, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, but alas, the film was not the big success it was hoped to be. It brought in only $3.3 million dollars (half of what The Ugly Dachshund fetched).

"Aspercel, Aspercel...take one pill it'll make you well. If you're dead....your dead."

The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit doesn't have the belly-laugh comedy of some of the better Disney films and, in spite of its marketing, isn't really a comedy at all. Aside from some amusing scenes of Dean Jones riding Aspercel bareback, it is more of a warm domestic drama. Like The Happiest Millionaire, it seems as though the Disney studios were experimenting with trying to capture an older audience. The film gently delves into a variety of different sub-surface topics such as gender equalities and single-parent child-raising all the while keeping the audience entertained and amused with its central theme - horses. 

One of the more important dramatic aspects of the story plot, however, is the psychological trauma of children who support their family. Unbeknownst to Fred, his eagerness to make his publicity plan work puts a lot of untold pressure on the shoulders of his daughter. Helen feels that she is homely and that boys do not like her. Her equestrian skill is the only substance for her self-confidence, but she finds she doesn't enjoy riding as much when she discovers that it is her medals that will either keep or break her father's position. When Fred shamefully realizes this it dawns on him that he has been valuing his job more than his family and quickly makes amends to change that.

The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit is a personal favorite of ours because of its "feel good" quality. Like most Disney films, it leaves you with a sense of satisfaction after watching it. The film is colorful, features talented performers, an entertaining plot and - most amazing of all -actually does focus on what you would expect to see in it based on its title: horse jumping. The twenty-five-minute finale will make any horse lovers heart thump, with actual footage from the Washington D.C International Horse Show spliced in between sequences. Overall it's a tally-ho-ho show!