WHITE MANE

1953
WHITE MANE

White Mane (French: Crin-Blanc and Crin Blanc, Cheval Sauvage) is a 1953 short film directed by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse.

The forty-seven minute short, filmed on location in the marshes of Camargue, France, won numerous awards on its release, including the Short Film Palme d'Or Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The film also became popular with children and was marketed for them. The story tells a fable of how a young boy tames a wild white stallion called White Mane.
In the marshes of Camargue, France, a herd of wild horses roam free. Their leader is a handsome white-haired stallion named White Mane (Crin Blanc in French).

A group of ranchers capture the wild stallion and place him in a corral. Yet White Mane escapes. A boy named Folco (Alain Emery), who lives with his fisherman grandfather, watches intently as White Mane escapes, and he dreams of one day handling White Mane. The ranchers once again try to capture White Mane and fail. Folco asks the men if he can have the white horse. Yes, says one of the men, "but first you have to catch him, but your fish will grow wings before you can manage that."

Later Folco comes across White Mane in the marshes, and he tries to rope him. However, White Mane gallops and drags Folco in the water for quite a while. Folco refuses to let go of the rope and almost passes out. White Mane relents and the two become friends.

White Mane returns to his herd and another horse challenges him for dominance. White Mane loses the fight and returns to join the boy.

The ranchers return and try to spook White Mane by setting fire to the area he and his herd live in. Folco jumps on White Mane (for the first time) and rides him bareback across the marshes of Camargue, over the sparse dunes to the sea. The ranchers give chase and surround them, but they refuse to be caught. With Folco on his back, White Mane rides into the sea. The film ends as the narrator states that White Mane took Folco to an island where horses and children can be friends forever.
Cast

Alain Emery as Folco, the boy
Pierre Bestieux
Denys Colomb Daunant
Alain Colomb Daunant
Charles Fouhetty
Jean-Pierre Grenie as Narrator (French language)
Charles Guillaume
Pascal Lamorisse
Pierre Moureaux-Nery
Francois Perie
Laurent Roche
Frank Silvera as Narrator (English language)
Les Marshak as Narrator (English language)
Awards

Wins

Cannes Film Festival: Palme d'Or, Best Short Film, Albert Lamorisse; 1953.
Prix Jean Vigo: Prix Jean Vigo, Short Film, Albert Lamorisse; 1953.

Nominations

British Academy of Film and Television Arts: BAFTA Film Award, Best Documentary Film, France; 1954.

Directed by Albert Lamorisse
Produced by Albert Lamorisse
Written by Screenplay:
Albert Lamorisse
Commentary:
James Agee
Albert Lamorisse
Saul J. Turell
Story::
Denys Colomb de Daunant
Narrated by Frank Silvera
Les Marshak
Starring Alain Emery
Music by Maurice Leroux
Cinematography Edmond Séchan
Editing by Georges Alépée
Distributed by Films Montsouris
Janus Films
Release date(s) March 1953
Running time 47 minutes (France)
31 minutes (USA)
Country France
Language French