Taglines: In every girl is the woman she is destined to become… And in every woman is the girl she used to be.
International Velvet movie storyline. This sequel to the Dame Elizabeth Taylor movie National Velvet (1944) focuses on Sarah Brown (Tatum O’Neal), a young, recently orphaned American girl sent to England to live with her aunt, a now grown Velvet Brown (Nanette Newman). The troubled Sarah is only interested in one thing; horses, and has clearly inherited her aunt’s talent. She and her horse Arizona Pie (son of Velvet’s Grand National winning steed The Pie) work their way up through the world of eventing, finally being selected for the British Olympic Squad, growing up and finding love along the way.
International Velvet is a 1978 American picture and a sequel to the 1944 picture National Velvet starring Tatum O’Neal, Nanette Newman, Anthony Hopkins, Sarah Bullen, Christopher Plummer, Jeffrey Byron, Richard Warwick, Daniel Abineri, Douglas Reith, Jason White, Norman Wooland, and directed by Bryan Forbes. The film received mixed reviews. International Velvet was partly filmed at Birmingham University, England.
About the Story
Velvet Brown, who gained fame in her native England for winning the Grand National horse race at age 12, gains custody of her niece, Sarah Brown, after the girl’s parents die in a tragic car accident. Raised in Arizona, eleven-year-old Sarah moves to England to live with Velvet and her longtime boyfriend, John Seaton. Miserable, Sarah makes several unsuccessful attempts to run away. One day, she sneaks out of the house at dawn, provoking Velvet’s panic. After calling the police, Velvet finds her niece in the fields, riding her beloved horse, “The Pie.” Furious, Velvet warns that Sarah will be sent to boarding school if she runs away again.
Over the next few months, Velvet laments her difficulty with the girl, who prefers to be left alone in her grief. Eventually, Sarah explains that her parents often traveled and left her alone, making her feel abandoned. She notes the irony that she is now alive because her parents left her behind to go on another trip. Observing that Sarah is passionate about horse riding, Velvet asks the girl to help care for The Pie.
Sometime later, The Pie is officially “retired from stud” and Velvet takes Sarah to see the birth of his last foal. Smitten, Sarah watches the young horse grow and fantasizes about owning it. She works odd jobs around the house to earn enough money, but the foal’s owner sells it. Later that day, Velvet and John surprise Sarah by revealing that they purchased the foal as a gift. Sarah names the horse “Arizona Pie.”
Over the next few years, Sarah and Arizona Pie grow and ride together and Sarah becomes obsessed with competing in the Olympics. Now a teenager, Sarah enters a local equestrian competition, hoping to impress the Olympic trainer, Captain John “J. R.” Johnson. Sarah’s smitten classmate, Alan Wilson, takes photographs, but she does not notice his attention because she is too disappointed about coming in second place.
Later, Alan defends Sarah when his friends taunt her, calling her a “stuck up little cow.” Alan refuses to join the boys when they chase Sarah and Arizona Pie with their car, and cause her to fall. The boys crash the vehicle and die in a fiery explosion. Despite the tragedy and her injury, Sarah is more determined than ever to make the Olympic team. Sarah cannot return Alan’s affection, although she likes him as a friend.
One day, Sarah asks Velvet why her aunt gave up riding, and Velvet mentions losing her nerve at the time her first marriage failed. Later, Sarah receives an invitation from Captain Johnson, inviting her to train as a possible candidate for the Olympic team. Impressed with Arizona Pie, Johnson informs Sarah she should start from scratch with her training, but warns that he is a tough coach, and expensive.
Back home, Velvet and John promise to pay for Sarah’s training, but privately struggle to find the means. Velvet later learns that John has been writing erotic novels under the pseudonym “Jack Delacroix” to earn money. During training, Sarah is lonely and worries that she is unable to make friends. One day, John tells Sarah that Velvet miscarried during her former marriage, when she fell from The Pie. Afterwards, she was unable to have children. Sometime later, Sarah is selected as an alternate on the British team for an upcoming U.S. competition in Ledyard, Massachusetts.
International Velvet (1978)
Directed by: Bryan Forbes
Starring: Tatum O’Neal, Nanette Newman, Anthony Hopkins, Sarah Bullen, Christopher Plummer, Jeffrey Byron, Richard Warwick, Daniel Abineri, Douglas Reith, Jason White, Norman Wooland
Screenplay by: Bryan Forbes
Production Design by: Keith Wilson
Cinematography by: Tony Imi
Film Editing by: Timothy Gee
Costume Design by: John Furniss
Music by: Francis Lai
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: United Artists (United States / Canada), Cinema International Corporation (International)
Release Date: July 19, 1978 (Los Angeles and New York)
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