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GAIT OF CHAMPIONS (1972 Short Subject Film)
Philadelphia broadcast pioneer Jim Leaming takes Gail and Michael on a tour of the sport of Harness Racing from pastoral scenes of Standardbreds as foals at Hanover Shoe Farms, to getting first-hand experience of what 6-month training is involved (harness and cart) to get a horse to the track with a horse called BIG SHOT RODNEY, to county fairs where several high-profile harness races are run.
Historic footage in this film include STRIKE OUT and JAY TIME winning the 1972 Adios in a dead-heat after three rounds at the Meadows Racetrack, RON DANCER (driver) giving tips on Standardred training as does PETER HAUGHTEN - then a 19-year-old up and coming driver and SUPERBOWL winning the 1972 Colonial Trot being driven by Stanley Dancer at Liberty Bell Park.
Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front and behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something like writing a top-notch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget and schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the studios' feature films.
The visual and audio quality of this feature may be variable in parts due to the inconsistency of source material which reflects the technology of its era. Most short subject films were originally on 16mm or Super 8 film and then converted to video or dvd so there may be an inconsistency/clash when two technologies come together in the conversion process, which is understandably normal.
(20 Minutes)
Listing Info: | |
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Listing ID: | 1243 |
Format(s) Available: | DVD And VHS |
Category: | Harness Racing |