The Horse Without a Head (1962)

When Walt Disney started to move into television, he kept up the same high level of quality that was usually found in his theatrical movies, so much so that these television productions sometimes later got a theatrical release to American and/or foreign theaters. "The Horse Without a Head" is one such example of this. One of the most interesting aspects of this effort is that it lacks the clean polish usually associated with Disney; while it's obvious some considerable expense was put into it, the look and feel of the movie is scuzzy and unkempt. But it's appropriate for this particular tale of poor French children getting tangled with a robbery plot. Strangely, these children, while essential to the plot, don't make much of an appearance in the first third of the movie. The plot unfolds in a fairly predictable and familiar manner, and there is a bit too much talk and not quite enough action. But kids with some patience will probably get a kick out of it. Parents will find it tolerable, and probably find the most amusing part of the production the fact that one of the villains strongly resembles a young Walt Disney!

"The Horse Without a Head" is an amusing but pretty standard Disney kids' film from the early 60's.The plot: A sleepy French town catches the attention of a gang of sophisticated thieves because trains passing near the town have to slow down at a bend in the railroad tracks. This makes that town the perfect place to safely toss the ill-gotten proceeds of an ambitious train heist to waiting associates. However, the thieves led by "Schiapa" (Herbert Lom) make a mistake of relying upon a short-tempered and irresponsible small-time criminal, "Roublot" (Leo McKern), to be their "local" man who would assist in ensuring that their enterprise does not draw attention from the authorities especially the conscientious "Inspector Sinet" (Jean-Pierre Aumont). Roublot's obnoxiousness has caused him to be on very bad terms with the town's underprivileged children whose main source of entertainment is racing a wheeled, headless, hobby horse down a hilly street. Eventually, Roublot's conflict with the kids and their quick wits disrupt and frustrate what should have been an easy score.A group of marginalized kids frustrating the nefarious schemes of adults was a very common plot for many of Disney's live-action films: "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," "Candleshoe," "Escape from Witch Mountain," etc. "The Horse Without a Head" is an OK version of this story-line. It's well acted, but several scenes appear to be padding to draw-out its thin story to cover two TV episodes of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. (A nearly 10 minute sequence when the kids stumble upon an abandoned harlequin factory is a prime example.) Besides the padding, the pace is still rather slow. It's not hard to understand why it has been forgotten despite its Disney roots.It does have some interesting aspects. Despite its French setting, it was filmed in England with a mostly British cast with the big exception of Mr. Aumont. Further, it does make one wonder if the makers of the 2004 film "Millions" saw it as kids which led them to borrow plot elements from it for their film which also features a train heist being foiled by unwitting kids. Also, "Game of Thrones" fans may enjoy seeing a relatively young Peter Vaughn as a lazy police sergeant.However, what really stuck-out for me was the performance of 12 or 13 yr old Pamela Franklin as "Marian," one of the de facto leaders of the kids. With her cropped hair and freckled nose, she's cute-as-a-button, but almost unrecognizable. Yet, it's still Pamela Franklin just a few short years away from 1967's "Our Mother's House" and 1969's "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie." Here she is in this very lite, kiddie flick, but she'd soon be more than ably matching acting heavyweights such as Dirk Bogarde, Robert Stephens, and Maggie Smith in films with very adult themes. In some ways, she was Jodie Foster before anyone ever heard of Jodie Foster- a kid actor who was seamlessly transitioning into adult roles. But then her career died. By the mid-70's, she was doing TV guest spots on cheeseball programs like "Fantasy Island" and in the early 80's she stopped acting. What happened? She was very talented, but it appears that sometimes talent isn't enough. Sad.

I saw this film when I was fourteen and since that time, I've come to imagine it must have been made in French with English sub-titles, perhaps due to the presence of M. Aumont. Clearly, it has a quite unique kind of atmosphere and I would certainly recommend it to young and old alike.

A group of poor children spend their time playing with a riding-size toy horse on wheels, which they found in a scrap heap. This toy horse's head is missing, hence the title. A group of thieves think the horse is the perfect place to hide their booty when they are pursued by the police. The children are on to the thieves, and work together to protect their horse and bring the gang of thieves to justice. A fantastic sequence in a party favors storeroom is one of the major highlights of the film.Disney produced this mystery film in England; it's got an overall feel that could only have been created on location. Several other comments note that it may have been filmed in France, which could be true. However, the film's dialogue is all English, and there are no subtitles. Children (and adults who saw it on the Disney show in the 60's, like me) will love this film. It's vintage Walt, and exactly something he would have been excited to film. It's also got a catchy title song that will run through your head for days.