The Tattooed Police Horse (Disney) (1964)

Syuopescs (Not for Publication) Jolly Roger, a young registered trotting horse of fine breeding and excellent speed, unable to stand the pressures of track competition when in the stretch and beginning to outpace the field, he consistently breaks from a trot to a gallop before victory can be his. This in spite of the loving care and expert guidance given him by his pretty, blonde trainer, Pam Churchill (Shirley Skiles). He is bought by his groom, Ben (Charles Seel), an oldtimer who is certain that he can correct Roger’s costly habit. But Ben fails and Roger is officially banned from racetracks as a menace to other racers. The pair travel west, Ben is sure he can put Roger’s unusual speed to his own monetary advantage. In Arizona he matches the talented but strangely disturbed horse against a trio of Indians and their aging roadster, certain a nimble horse and sulky can outmaneuver the car in an obstacle race. Roger is winning handily when a tire blowout sends him highballing off across the fields and old Ben loses most of his savings in his “surefire” betting. Roger is sold for a mere pittance and is soon in an eastern stockyard where Martin Hanley (Sandy Sanders), a captain in the Boston police force and noted horseman, buys him, After some pretty bad panics on Roger’s part, Hanley patiently gets the horse used to the worst in sudden noises a modern city can offer. The captain and his steed are patrolling a harness race-track one day when a driver loses a sulky wheel and, unable to halt his horse, is being badly dragged. Hanley spurs Roger to the rescue and instead of galloping as a good saddle horse should, he slips into his trot and swiftly races down the runaway and saves the driver. It’s a top-line newspaper story in Boston that evening. Pam Churchill, in Boston for the harness meeting, recognizes Roger, identifies him by the registration number tattooed on his upper lip and attempts to buy him back. Hanley refuses, but when he is pressured by all the horse lovers in town to let Roger race, he gives in. Pam re-trains him and is given permission to enter Roger in a featured race. Most of Boston breathlessly awaits Roger’s debut. He comes through with flying colors; running a great race and winning hands down. The discipline given him by Hanley has paid off. Roger is not only the toast of Boston, but is on his way to becoming a great champion. Walt Disney’s Technicolor featurette, “The Tattooed Police Horse” was produced and directed by Larry Lansburgh for Disney. Keith Andes narrated the Buena Vista release. Mat TAT-2C IN THE WINNER'S CIRCLE . . . Captain Hanley, played by Sandy Sanders, and Pam Churchill, by Shirley Skiles, join Jolly Roger after his exciting win and come-back in a featured trotting race. Walt Disney's new Technicolor featurette, ‘The Tattooed Police Horse," is released by Buena Vista. ‘Tattooed Police Horse’ Supporting Cast Reads Like Who’s Who in Harness Racing The supporting cast of Walt Disney’s exciting new Technicolor featurette, “The Tattooed Police Horse,” reads like a who’s who in harness racing. Determined to give his story about a trotting horse authenticity in casting, Walt’s director, Larry Lansburgh, himself a renowned equestrian, persuaded a number of prominent harness racing figures to play small roles in the picture. Bill Hilliard, owner of Kentucky’s Futurity Hill Farm and a ranking polo player, essays the role of a leading trotter trainer. George Swinebroad, the nation’s foremost horse auctioneer, plays a stable owner, and Stan Bergstein, head of the Harness Racing Institute, calls the races in the film. Others who play roles in the picture are Walter Gibbons, the general manager of Lexington Trots; Bob Cox, Grand Circuit publicity director; Earl Teater, general manager of Castleton Farms; Bob Hackett, editor of the “Horseman and Fair World,” and Ralph Baldwin, a trainer. Walt Disney’s Technicolor featurette, “The Tattooed Police Horse,” was produced and directed by Larry Lansburgh for Disney. Keith Andes narrated the Buena Vista release. ©1964 Walt Disney Productions Mat TAT-2D BRAWL BUSTER . . . Captain Martin Hanley, played by Sandy Sanders, breaks up a fight on a Boston street. Hanley is mounted on Jolly Roger, the equine star of Walt Disney’s new Technicolor featurette, ‘The Tattooed Police Horse.'’ A Buena Vista release. ‘The Tattooed Police Horse,’ A Must For Horse Lovers and Disney Fans For horse lovers, horse bettors and anyone who enjoys exciting, heartwarming Disney pictures about horses and people, “The Tattooed Police Horse,” Walt’s newest Technicolor featurette, is a must. The story is about a trotting horse named Jolly Roger which is shuttled from pillar to post when he develops the distressing habit of breaking into a gallop just before crossing the finish line. He finally becomes a champion when a captain of the Boston Mounted Police teaches him discipline. Larry Lansburgh, who, with Walt, produced such outstanding pictures as “The Horse with the Flying Tail” and “The Wetback Hound”’—both Academy Award winners—“Greta, the Misfit Greyhound,” “Stormy the Thoroughbred,” “Horse of the West,” “Arizona Sheepdog,” ‘“Cowdog” and others, is one of the most versatile and talented independent moviemakers in the business. As with all his other productions, Mat TAT-2E “ON YOUR MARK .. Lansburgh wrote, directed, filmed and co-produced this latest outdoor adventure about animals and people. In brilliant Technicolor, the featurette was filmed on location in Kentucky’s beautiful blue-grass country, in Boston with its historic landmarks and cobbled streets, and in Arizona with its red rock mesas and clear blue skies. Keith Andes narrated the Buena Vista release. TATTOOED HORSES PROVIDE TITLE FOR DISNEY FILM Practically every race horse Competing in the United States is tattooed with a registered serial number on the inside of his upper.lip for positive identification. The United States Trotting Association has lip tattooed some 50,000 harness horses since the program was inaugurated for standardbreds — trotters and pacers — a few years ago. The painless practice fathered the idea for the title of Walt Disney’s latest Technicolor featurette, “The Tattooed Police Horse.” Lansburgh Production Produced and directed for Disney by Larry Lansburgh, one of Hollywood’s top equestrians as well as an Oscar-winning producer, “The Tattooed Police Horse” is the heartwarming story of a trotting horse so high-strung he can’t take the excitement of the race track and habitually goes off stride in competition. Banned from racing, the wellbred trotter suffers a series of misadventures, drops from sight and eventually winds up a member of the Boston Mounted Police Force. Here he is taught to cope with and handle practically every nerve-racking situation imaginable. Grand Return Through a quirk of fate he is re-discovered by his original trainer, positively identified by the tattoo on the inside of his upper lip, and with his old fears conquered, triumphantly returns to the race track. Keith Andes narrated the Buena Vista release. Flivver Versus Trotter Provides Laughs In Disney’s ‘The Tattooed Police Horse 7 In his exciting Technicolor featurette, “The Tattooed Police Horse,” Walt Disney pits a champion trotting horse against a broken down flivver in one of the funniest and most bizarre races ever filmed. In the picture, Jolly Roger is a champion trotter whose unfortunate habit of breaking into a gallop at the finish line has kept him and his trainer out of the money. Ben Jones, the driver-owner, figures that he can pick up some extra cash by racing his nag against a beat-up Model A and its Indian owners at an Arizona Fairgrounds. The redskins lay their moola on the line, load down the rumble seat ." It’s flivver-power against horse-power in this hilarious and exciting scene from Walt Disney's ‘‘The Tattooed Police Horse.’ The race has a surprise “bang-up” ending. The new Technicolor featurette is released by Buena Vista. with a 200-pound squaw — for traction — rev up the engine and wait for the start. Ben, in racing silks and sulky, and Roger, raring to trot, line up alongside the old Tin Lizzie. The starter gives them the go-ahead flag, ina they’re off and running — and chugging. Horse and car run nose and headlight most of the way, then Roger pulls out in the lead. Just as he is about to cross the finish line a winner, the flivver has a noisy blowout, scaring the horse off the track and the Indianladen old auto chugs across the finish line first. The redskins wind up with all of Ben’s wampum, but both horse and driver benefit by the beating when an admiring cowboy plunks down hard cash for the steed. This provides Ben with traveling money and Roger another chance at becoming a champion. Walt Disney’s Technicolor featurette, “The Tattooed Police Horse” was produced and directed by Larry Lansburgh for Disney. Keith Andes narrated the Buena Vista release.