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HARNESS CHAMPIONS (1953 Short Subject Film)
Every movement is watched closely long before the yearlings are broken to the harness. The Standardbreds and their drivers face years of training before they're wise to all the ways to the harness - it's hard work but gradually they become accostomed to the rigid routine.
Every aspect is covered in what goes into the proper training of pacers and trotters including all the various equipment used. In addition, slow-motion film compares the gait of a trotter and that of a pacer to distinguish the two different running styles.
Tom Berry is shown fine-tuning some of the yearlings as he drives in buggy on the farm track - getting them ready for the next challenge of leaving the farm to make their way in the world of harness racing.
The next scene takes the viewer back to 1946 and shows Tom Berry whipping and driving CHESTERTOWN en-route to winning the Hambletonian - the pinnacle of harness racing.
All over the circuit they're racing - the speedy Standardbreds furnishing entertainment and thrills for thousands. The one-time sport of small county fairs now reaches big cities. Here is horse racing with all the excitement of Roman chariot races. Fast horses with clever, daring drivers and dangerous upsets combine in a sport that has grown to gigantic proportions. From sheer beauty to the wildest spills there is plenty of action when you watch HARNESS CHAMPIONS!
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.
(10 Minutes)
Listing Info: | |
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Listing ID: | 823 |
Format(s) Available: | DVD And VHS |
Category: | Harness Racing |