After being shipwrecked with a magnificent horse off the coast of Africa in the 1940s, a boy bonds with the stallion, and trains him to race after their rescue.
While traveling with his father, young Alec becomes fascinated by a mysterious Arabian stallion who is brought on board and stabled in the ship he is sailing on. When it tragically sinks both he and the horse survive only to be stranded on a desert island. He befriends it, so when finally rescued, both return to his home where they soon meet Henry Dailey, a once-successful trainer. Together they begin training the stallion to race against the fastest horses in the world.—Anonymous
In 1946, shortly after the end of World War II, ten-year-old Alec Ramsey and his father are traveling on a ship off the north coast of Africa, on their way back to England. While on deck, he sees a handsome black Arabian stallion being pushed into its quarters by some brutal men. Later he visits it with sugar cubes, which it takes. That night, the ship is struck by lightning and catches on fire in a violent storm, and Alec manages to set the horse free but is thrown overboard himself. The ship goes down with everyone on board, leaving only them as survivors. Marooned on a remote island, they forge a strong bond, and after being rescued they return to the U.S. where Alec meets a horse trainer named Henry Dailey (Mickey Rooney). He teaches him how to ride, and he Alec and the beautiful horse (whom he names "The Black") will challenge two of the country's fastest race-horses in a challenge match.—medic249a2
1946. While traveling with his card shark father aboard an ocean liner off the north coast of Africa, pre-teen Alec Ramsey becomes fascinated with a spirited wild black stallion being housed inside one of the upper decks. During a storm which claims the lives of many of those aboard including Alec's father, Alec is thrown overboard and eventually washes up on a deserted island along with the stallion. Although they initially treat each other with trepidation, Alec and the stallion, who he names Black, eventually form a symbiotic relationship and friendship. Alec credits Black with saving his life and keeping him alive. They are eventually rescued and brought back to Alec's home in the suburban United States. Alec quickly discovers that a suburban American backyard is no place to house a horse. By happenstance, Alec meets farmer Henry Dailey who offers to house Black for him. Alec learns that Henry was once a horse trainer and jockey. Together, they begin the improbable tasks of training Black to become a race horse and training Alec to be Black's jockey, all in an effort to show the world that Black could be the fastest race horse in the world, despite his wild upbringing. These goals are beyond their other obstacles, including Black having no official papers, and Mrs. Ramsey having to provide her consent for Alec to embark on this journey.—Huggo
Shortly after WW2, Alec Ramsey and his father are sailing home on a passenger ship off the coast of Africa when a beautiful black stallion is secured on board by some Arab men. Alec is fascinated by the horse and sneaks him some sugar cubes. Later that bought the ship catches fire during a storm and Alec frees the horse before falling overboard. He grabs ones of the ropes trailing behind the horse and is towed to safety. Waking on the shore of a desert island, Alec hears a commotion and finds the horse tangled in his ropes. Alec cuts him loose. Eventually, he gets the horse to trust him and they are rescued by some fishermen. Back in the U.S., the horse is scared by the garbage men and runs away with Alec in pursuit. He tracks him to a farm owned by Henry Dailey, a retired jockey. Together they realize the horse's potential as a racer and create a sensation leading up to a match race with the two fastest horses in the country.—jacartist66
In the summer of 1946, Alec Ramsey (Kelly Reno) is travelling by steamer off the coast of North Africa. Alec is also a lonely boy. Onboard the streamer, he sees a wild colored stallion (Cass-Ole) being forced into a makeshift stable and heavily restrained by ropes leading to his halter. The stallion resists fiercely to protect its freedom, but eventually submits to the trauma of the whiplashes.Captivated by the horse, Alec later sneaks to the horse to feed him some sugar cubes. The stallion eats the cubes, but still would not allow any human to get close to him. Alec is caught by the horse's owner, who tells him in Arabic to stay away from Shetan and shoves the boy away.
Later in his bunk, Alec's father (Hoyt Axton) shows Alec his winnings from a card game and gives him a pocketknife and a small statue of Bucephalus and tells the story of how Alexander the Great became Bucephalus' master. Bucephalus was a magic horse, so wild that King Phillip couldn't tame him. So, he decided to kill it publicly in a huge arena. In the arena, a young boy claims he can ride that horse and does so. King Phillip gives him the horse for keeps. The boy was young Alexander.
Later that night, the carving is illuminated with a bright orange light. The ship pitches violently and Alec is thrown from his bunk onto the cabin floor. Grabbing the carving & his pocketknife, Alec gets to his feet and his dad throws a life jacket over him.Alec's dad sees water pouring in through a door, and they make their way onto the deck. As Alec looks up he sees the superstructure of the ship blazing with fire.
The ship had caught fire and begun to sink. In the chaos, Alec grabs his knife and makes his way to the stallion and manages to free him. Alec is attacked again by the horse's owner who cuts the life jacket from Alec's body with a knife for his own use. Seeing this, Alec's dad leaps onto the man from the upper deck & throws him against the rail.
The stallion then jumps into the sea. Alec himself is thrown overboard by the waves. In the water, he swims toward the stallion. The Stallion had its head above the water, and its ropes caught in the propeller. Alec swims over & cuts the rope, freeing the stallionAlec manages to grab hold of the ropes of the stallion's restraints just as the ship explodes, rendering him unconscious. Only Alec and the Stallion survived.
Alec wakes on the shore of a deserted island (with his Bucephalus figurine and the pocketknife) and starts to explore. Finding a cave, he makes a fire and starts catching fish. He eventually discovers he is not alone as the horse had also survived and was trapped with its ropes caught on some rocks. At first the frightened animal is wary of Alec, but he gets close enough to cut the ropes and free the horse, which shakes off the ropes & flees. Alec follows the horse's tracks, but they vanish in the sand.
For a time, the two keep their distance. Alec discovers means to survive by catching fish (with his hunting knife, fashioned into a spear) and seaweed.As Alec suddenly faces a cobra eye to eye. Alec, frozen with fear, tries to back away, but the snake hisses more aggressively. The stallion comes to the rescue and kills the snake with its hooves, only to run off again.
By now, Alec decides to try to get closer to the horse and offer him some seaweed. The hungry stallion finds himself unable to resist, but visibly struggles with his distrust for humans. Eventually, the hunger wins, and he takes Alec's offer; their bond has been sealed and the two are now inseparable. Together, they enjoy the pristine beauty of the island. Alec even manages to ride the unbroken horse, after many times falling off the horse.
One day, a fishing ship arrives, rescuing both Alec and the stallion (the sailors take Alec forcibly and the horse follows him through the water). Alec refuses to leave without his beloved animal, and the horse refuses to let Alec go. The men on the rescue boat tether the horse and help the animal to a larger ship, and Alec & the horse are on their way home to America.
Back home in America, Alec is given a hero's welcome. Alec's mother is enormously relieved her son is alive but also grieving the loss of her husband and expresses her thanks to the stallion for saving his life.The stallion has a temporary home in Alec's back yard. A garbage man not knowing that there is a wild horse in the back yard is chased by the stallion (who was scared looking at the hat on the head of the garbage man, which looked very much alike to the headgear worn by the stallion Arab master), who races off down the street after being spooked by a passing car. Alec chases after him through every part of town but loses track of him.
The next day, Alec meets Snoe (Clarence Muse) (and his horse Napoleon) who tell him where the stallion is. Alec finds the stallion in the barn of Henry Dailey (Mickey Rooney), a retired racehorse jockey, who apparently spent all night catching the stallion. Alec arranges for the stallion to stay at the barn in exchange for cleaning his stables. One day Alec finds all of Henry's trophies and convinces him to train the stallion and him. Henry is not entirely on-board as the stallion is a desert horse and has no US papers.
The two of them, along with the stallion, undergo frequent, rigorous training in riding and saddling a horse. At first the stallion is reluctant to allow a saddle but eventually becomes used to it, and soon Alec & the stallion are making runs on a racetrack.
When Alec wonders how fast the stallion is, Alec and Henry decide to train the stallion for the racetrack, while Henry teaches Alec how to be a jockey. The stallion surprises Henry with his speed. Henry maintains complete secrecy around the stallion even when on training runs around the racetrack.
Henry immediately starts plotting a plan to get the stallion into the match race between the country's current two champions, which is set on a few months out. To do that, he sets up a secret demonstration at night where the press led by Jim Neville (Michael Higgins) can witness his speed (it was pelting down and with a strong headwind), keeping the identity of Alec and the stallion secret. Soon, promotions about the upcoming challenge are sprouting up everywhere, and even Alec's mother takes notice.
The news spreads about the mystery horse and the stallion is entered into the race. However, Alec's mother (Teri Garr) disapproves of this, fearing that her son would be taking a huge risk as a jockey. She fears the worst after losing her husband. After talking with Henry and Alec again, though, Alec reveals the carving of Bucephalus and how he got it - and when. His mother relents & allows Alec to ride the stallion in the challenge.
The race is the most anticipated horse-racing event of the year. Before the two champions and the stallion enter the starting gate, the stallion gets into a fight with one of his opponents, wounding his leg. Alec does not see the wound until he is in the gate.
As he dismounts, the bell rings and the horses take off. Alec desperately tries to stay on his horse and trying to stop him. He falls behind, but the stallion won't stop. When Alec regains his balance, the stallion is well on his way to catch up with his opponents. Alec now encourages the stallion to run as fast as he can, remembering the wild rides on the island, as they catch up. The stallion eventually wins by two lengths.
