Expert: Mel - 4/25/2009

Question
Hello!  I'm trying to find the name of a film that had a huge effect on me years and years ago - but I can't remember anything about title etc - except that it was about a boy? living somewhere pretty remote? I think that he was lonely and had animals/birds for 'friends' - especially a pony (which I think may have been white) and at the end of the film the pony drowns - possibly in sinking mud?  Sorry, all very vague, but I'd really like to find out its title if at all possible
Thank you
Trinity

Answer
Hello Trinity,

That sounds like the 1969 film "Run Wild, Run Free", which was about a young boy, Philip Ransome (played by Mark Lester), mute since the age of three, who spends his days roaming the moors alone. His parents (Sylvia Sims and Gordon Jackson) despair of a cure, but one day he sees a wild albino pony with blue eyes, and he  befriends it. A kindly retired colonel (John Mills), who accepts Philip as he is, a girl (Fiona Fullerton), and a pet falcon, provide him with more things to care about. Slowly Philip emerges from his shell, but the way out is full of heartbreak and setbacks. The pony sinking in the mud at the end is what causes the boy to cry out, making vocal sounds for the first time in several years.

Have a look at the following site:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV5iAKkvQao


Glad to be of help. Cheers.........Mel.