The Black Stallion is a 1979 American film based on the 1941 classic children's novel The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. It tells the story of Alec Ramsey, who is shipwrecked on a deserted island, together with a wild Arabian stallion whom he befriends. After being rescued, they are set on entering a race challenging two champion horses.
The film is adapted by Melissa Mathison, Jeanne Rosenberg and William D. Wittliff. It is directed by Carroll Ballard. The movie stars Kelly Reno, Mickey Rooney, Teri Garr, Hoyt Axton, and the Arabian horse Cass Ole. The film features music by Carmine Coppola, the father of Hollywood producer Francis Ford Coppola, who was the executive producer of the film.
In 2002, The Black Stallion was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Cass Ole, a champion Arabian stallion, was featured in most of the movie's scenes, with Fae Jur, another black Arabian stallion, being his main double. Fae Jur's main scene is the one where Alec is trying to gain the trust of the Black on the beach. Two other stunt doubles were used for running, fighting and swimming scenes.
El Mokhtar, an Egyptian Arabian racehorse, was the producers' first choice to portray the Black, but they were unable to secure his services for the film from his owners, who declined any offers. He does appear in The Black Stallion Returns, alongside Cass Ole, by which time the studio bought out the syndicate of owners in order to secure El Mokhtar's services.
The movie was followed in 1983 by a sequel, The Black Stallion Returns, which also starred Reno. There was also a television series called Adventures of the Black Stallion which aired from 1990 to 1993 and starred Richard Ian Cox and Mickey Rooney. In 2003, a 45-minute prequel called Young Black Stallion was shot and released for IMAX theaters.
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