Editing Lewis Milestone (section)

===''The Red Pony'' (1949)===

Milestone's next project, in collaboration with novelist [[John Steinbeck]] at [[Republic Pictures]], was to direct a film version of ''[[The Red Pony]]'' (1937),<ref name="Millichap, 1981 p. 157"/> a [[short story cycle]] set in California's rural [[Salinas Valley]] in the early 20th century. Milestone and Steinbeck had considered adapting these [[Coming-of-age story|coming-of-age stories]] about a boy and his pony since 1940. In 1946, they partnered with Republic Pictures, an amalgamation of "[[Poverty Row]]" studios known for low-budget [[Western (genre)|westerns]] but now prepared to invest in a major production.<ref>Barson, 2020: "The Red Pony (1949) was an adaptation by Steinbeck of his book of four related stories. The coming-of-age film centers on a boy who bonds with his pony."<br />Arnold, 2008 TCM: "Formed as a union of half a dozen poverty-row film studios, Republic Pictures in its early years didn't carry much prestige. This view changed in the late 1940s when the studio made a concerted effort to propel itself to more respectable ranks by producing 'serious' dramas with renowned filmmakers{{nbsp}}... [their] most expensive picture to date"<br />Millichap, 1981 p. 157: Milestone and Steinbeck "became good friends" while working on ''[[Of Mice and Men (1939 film)|Of Mice and Men]]'' (1939). And "Republic, essentially a studio devoted to westerns" and p. 158: The story set "about 1910."<br />Higham and Greenberg, 1968 p. 155: "Shot mainly on location, the film was part of Republic Studio's bid for 'prestige' that had also resulted in [[Orson Welles]]' ''[[Macbeth (1948 film)|Macbeth]]'' (1948). Its score by [[Aaron Copland]], its attractive restrained color{{nbsp}}... fully realized the studio's prestigious aspirations."</ref>

Steinbeck served as sole screenwriter on ''The Red Pony''. His novella, composed of four short stories, is "unified only by continuities of character, setting theme".<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 157 : "Steinbeck served as screenwriter, his only adaptation of one of his own works, while Milestone took credit as both producer and director" and p. 159 and p. 168: The quote on "distorts" is a composite quote used for clarity. And p. 158: "The four separate tales [of the story sequence] are connected by common characters, settings and themes."<br />Arnold, 2008 TCM: "For The Red Pony, Steinbeck actually adapted his own work to the screen{{nbsp}}... the screenplay was based not on a single novel but on several of his short stories [and] blending them into one complete tale must have been an intriguing challenge and an appealing chance to create something wholly original.</ref> Identifying a market for the film was a key concern for Republic, which insisted on a movie aimed at young audiences.<ref>Higham and Greenberg, 1968 p. 155: "A film of [high] caliber was Lewis Milestone's version of John Steinbeck's The Red Pony (1949), from a screenplay by Steinbeck. This entered with sensitivity and imagination into the world of childhood"<br />Millichap, 1981 p. 157: Republic "pigeonholed" the film as a "children's picture, a kind of kid's western" and p. 162: Some of the scenes possess "a kid's picture undertone{{nbsp}}... right out of a [[Walt Disney|Disney]] production"</ref> In the interests of crafting a sequential, coherent narrative, Steinbeck mostly limited the film adaptation to the stories "The Gift" and "The Leader of the People", omitting some of the novella's harsher episodes. Steinbeck willingly provided a more upbeat ending to the film, an accommodation that according to Millichap (1981), "completely distorts{{nbsp}}... the thematic thrust of Steinbeck's story sequence".<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 157: "The film's conclusion, altered to a stock happy ending represents the transformation of the plot character and theme in the screen version" of "one of Steinbeck's finest works of [literary] fiction" and p. 159 and p. 164 re: focus on "The Gift" and "The Leader of the People" with "The Great Mountains" expunged and "The Promise" severely cut. And on "willingly" See p. 168: "the author himself included [the happy ending] in the screenplay{{nbsp}}... [altering] the thematic thrust of the story sequence"</ref>

Casting for ''The Red Pony'' presented for Milestone difficulties developing Steinbeck's characters and themes, which explore a child's "initiation into the realities of adult life".<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 162: "the film quickly loses much of the power promised by the literary source and anticipated in the strong opening sequence."</ref> The aging ranch hand Billy Buck is portrayed by the youthful and virile [[Robert Mitchum]], whose character effectively displaces the father Fred Tiflin ([[Shepperd Strudwick]]) as male mentor to the nine-year-old Tom Tiflin ([[Peter Miles (American actor)|Peter Miles]]). The boy's mother is played by [[Myrna Loy]].<ref>Arnold, 2008 TCM: "Myrna Loy plays against type here, and film historian Lawrence Quirk has wondered "why [she] took this role, merely a ranch housewife and mother who is very much on the periphery of this bucolic mood piece."<br />Millichap, 1981 pp. 159&ndash;160: "[[Louis Calhern]]{{nbsp}}... seems a strange amalgamation of [[Will Geer]]'s Grandpa [[The Waltons|Walton]] and [[Joel McCrea]]'s [[Buffalo Bill]]."<br />Barson, 2020: "Myrna Loy and Robert Mitchum gave fine performances"</ref> According to Millichap, "The major casting problem is the [young] protagonist. Perhaps no child star could capture the complexity of this role, as it is much easier for an adult to write about sensitive children than for a child to play one."<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 160: "Miles sensitivity often seems rather sugary and his anger at the world is more or less a tantrum."</ref>

According to Millichap (1981), Milestone's cinematic effort fails to do justice to the literary source but several of the visual and aural elements are impressive. The opening sequence resembles the prologue of his 1939 adaptation of Steinbeck's novel ''Of Mice and Men'', introducing the natural world that will dominate and inform the characters' lives.<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 161: "Like many Milestone films, it opens quite well [but] does not sustain the artistic intensity" and p. 168: "Although Milestone's The Red Pony is not as artistically successful as Steinbeck's story sequence it remains a sincere film adaptation" and pp. 160&ndash;161: "Milestone opens the film with a pre-title sequence which clearly recalls ''Of Mice and Men'' in both visual and aural imagery{{nbsp}}... establishing a complex relationship between the human characters and the natural world"</ref>

''The Red Pony'' is Milestone's first [[technicolor]] film; according to Canham (1974), his "graceful visual touch" is enhanced by cameraman [[Tony Gaudio]]'s painterly renderings of the rural landscape.<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 99: "his first technicolor film"<br />Millichap, 1981 p. 157: "the film is notable as Milestone's first color effort" and p. 160: "[[Tony Gaudio]]'s cinematography" in technicolor "suggests the best of American regional painting [in his use of] natural, muted tones."</ref> According to Barson (2020), composer [[Aaron Copland]]'s highly regarded film score perhaps surpasses Milestone's visual rendering of Steinbeck's story.<ref>Barson, 2020 TCM: "Aaron Copland wrote the acclaimed film score."<br />Arnold, 2008 TCM: "Aaron Copland's wistful and haunting score was one of just six the famed composer wrote for American feature films."<br />Millichap, 1981 p. 160: "Perhaps the best single feature of the film is the powerful score by [[Aaron Copland]], who had also scored [Milestone's] ''Of Mice and Men'' (1939); both scores became concert favorites, among the finest pieces of music created for Hollywood. As in his earlier work with Milestone, Copland's script perfectly matches the mood of the visuals, and this case often surpasses them in invoking the lyric naturalism of Steinbeck's original work."</ref>

''The Red Pony'' provided Enterprise with a satisfactory "prestige" property, generating critical praise and respectable box office returns.<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 157: "the movie proved a moderate success, both critically and financially."<br />Arnold, 2008 TCM: In its effort to make "prestige" productions{{nbsp}}... the studio made a concerted effort to propel itself to more respectable ranks by producing 'serious' dramas with renowned filmmakers such as Orson Welles' ''Macbeth'' (1948), Frank Borzage's ''Moonrise'' (1948), and Lewis Milestone's ''The Red Pony'' (1949)."</ref>