Movie Type: Animal Picture, Family-Oriented Comedy
Themes: Office Politics
Main Cast: Dean Jones, Diane Baker, Lloyd Bochner, Fred Clark, Ellen Janov
Release Year: 1968
Country: US
Run Time: 114 minutes
MPAA Rating: G
Plot
Advertising executive Fred Bolton (Dean Jones) is under pressure from his boss Tom Dugan (Fred Clark) to come up with a new ad campaign for a wealthy client. Fred's daughter Helen (Ellen Janov) loves to ride horses, so her father buys her one to tie the equine into the profitable advertisement. Nearly a third of the film's length is devoted to a Washington D. C. horse show in which Helen participates. Morey Amsterdam, Kurt Russell, Lloyd Bochner, and Diane Baker also appear in this Disney production. Shown with the animated Winnie The Pooh, the cartoon was far more popular and memorable than The Horse In The Gray Flannel Suit, which is one of the studio's less-inspiring efforts. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
Review
Amiable (if occasionally aimless), The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit is a typical 1960s Disney live-action effort, and those who enjoy such similar fare as The Ugly Dachshund or $1,000,000 Duck will embrace this wholeheartedly. Those who want a little meat on the bones of their movies will probably tune out before the end of this Horse race, but it's actually a perfectly fine little film. Yes, it's undeniably manipulative and the plot is made to order, but it's also effective, and the children that are its primary audience should get a great deal out of it. And if one can forget the dispensable plot mechanics and just sit back and watch the graceful maneuvering of the various horses, it can be a leisurely way to pass a couple of hours. Dean Jones is doing his usual patented Disney routine, and while it's not great acting, it is done with conviction. Diane Baker brings much more to her role than the part requires, Ellen Janov is light and lovely, and vets like Fred Clark and Morey Amsterdam help to keep things lively. If Horse never even attempted to deliver on the Madison Avenue satire promised in its title, it's still an agreeable little film. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Carroll Clark - Art Director, John Mansbridge - Art Director, Bill Thomas - Costume Designer, Norman Tokar - Director, Larry Lansburgh - Director, Larry Lansburgh - Second Unit Director, Robert Stafford - Editor, George Bruns - Composer (Music Score), Otis Malcolm - Makeup, Walter Schenck - Makeup, William Snyder - Cinematographer, Winston Hibler - Producer, Emile Kuri - Set Designer, Frank R. McKelvey - Set Designer, Tim Barr - Special Effects, Robert O. Cook - Sound/Sound Designer, Dean Thomas - Sound/Sound Designer, Louis Pelletier - Screenwriter, Eric Hatch - Book Author
