Differences Between the Black Stallion Book and Movie
Seen the popular 1979 film The Black Stallion? You’ve seen a much different animal than the original 1941 book by Walter Farley. Although the main plot is the same, the details went through some radical reimagining by scriptwriters Melissa Mathison, Jeanne Rosenberg and William D. Wittliff. Farley did have some minor input to the making of the film.
All movies have to cut out many passages from the books they are based on in order to keep the film between 90 to 120 minutes. The Black Stallion was no exception. Therefore some dramatic scenes from the book such as a fight between the Black and another stallion when they are being loaded on a boat are completely removed from the film.
Alec Ramsey
In Walter Farley’s book, Alec is a freckle-faced teenaged redhead who just happens to be short for his age. When the book opens, he has just completed a summer-long vacation with his Uncle Ralph, a missionary in India. During this time, Alec learned to ride and received a birthday present – a pearl-handled pocket knife. He has traveled to and from India alone. Both of his parents are safe at home in New York.
The film decided to aim at a younger audience and changed Alec into a ten-year-old boy traveling with his father. Alec had black hair but did have freckles. He is given the pocket knife and a figurine of Alexander the Great’s horse Bucephalus by his father on the night before his father is drowned. No such figurine appears in the book series.
Farley wrote about a fantasy horse in his series. The Black is described as being too big to be an Arabian, but with a dished face, long yet crested neck and knees “not too high nor too low.” He would be described as a gigantic horse of an unknown combination of breeds. The next book in the series, The Black Stallion Returns (1945), would describe the Black’s dam as a purebred Arabian, but the sire as a mixed breed.
How do you cast a horse that is from a secret mix of breeds? Eventually it was decided to cast a purebred black Arabian stallion. A Camargue was used for the shipwreck scenes while a thoroughbred was used for some of the racing scenes. But for promotional materials, close ups and for many of the most difficult scenes were played by the stallion Cass Ole who only stood about 15 hands stall.
Other Differences
A complete list of differences between the book and the movie would go on about as long as the original Black Stallion book, so here is a partial list of the major differences in plot:
· Alec and the Black’s rescuers spoke English in the book, unlike the film
· Former racehorse trainer Henry Daley was Alec’s next door neighbor in the book, while a wild chase through and outside of Flushing leads to the first meeting between Alec and Henry
· Henry was married in the book while he was single in the movie
·. No such welcome occurs in the book.
· In the movie, Alec tosses off his goggles and hard hat. This does not happen in the book. According to the rules of thoroughbred racing, the Black would have been automatically disqualified because Alec lessened the weight the Black carried during the race. This detail (and many others) is completely overlooked in the emotional conclusion of the film.
