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Will James’ “SmokyI was walking down Broadway ab-sorbed in the joy of having seen Smoky” for the third time, when a rasping feminine voice brought my thoughts back to the filthy city from where they had been drifting on therange. “Yeah,” said the voice, “did Mabel get fooled! She went to see thepitcher ‘Smoky’ thinkin’ it was gonna be hot stuff, and it turned out to be nothin’ but a story about a horse!I ask my readers to reserve some part of Thursday or Friday to go to the Bronxville Theatre and see this“story about a horse.”“Smoky” is a film made from one of the eleven books by Will James, and it is his favorite story. James, the cowboy who won fame as an author-artist appears briefly in the picture as narrator. The rangeman’s warm voice lovingly traces Smoky’s career, and in the very sound of his charming drawl is imbued the devotion that existedbetween James, who really was the Clint of the story, and Smoky, who really was his horse. (An even truer though less detailed account ofSmoky’s life than is given in “Smoky may be cound incorporated in “Lone Cowboy.” the author’s fascinating autobiography.)Victor Jory, for whom I predicted success no less than two years ago, plays Clint in the film: if he never does another part he will have gained that success as a result of his portrayal of the bronc-busting cowpuncher in “Smoky.” Others in the cast contribute excellent support; and Irene Bentley is a welcome change from the ordinary run of “Western movie heroines.Make no mistake—“Smokv” is not¥iust a children’s picture. And one needn’t be familiar with horses to appreciate it. Show me the person whose heart will not melt watching baby Smoky’s introduction to water as his mammy leads him across a stream, whose heart will not beat fasterwhen four-year-old Smoky brings his wounded master to aid, whose heart will not run the gamut of human emotions when Smoky is stolen, beaten until he turns outlaw, ridden in rodeos as the killing “Cougar,” sold as chicken feed when his gallant spirit is crushed, and then found—to becomeagain Clint’s one man horse until he shall line out on the heavenly range.
Newspaper Details
Bronxville Press
Bronxville, New York, US
Tue, Jan 30, 1934
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Rotten T.
USA 08 Sep 2021
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