The Red Pony

The film stars Peter Miles as Tom Tiflin, a boy of about ten, growing up on an isolated ranch in the Salinas Valley. Since his city-born father has never adjusted to life on the ranch which his wife Alice (Myrna Loy) has inherited from her amiably double-talking father (Louis Calhern), the couple squabble constantly. Given such an environment, the boy spends much of his time out on the ranch, especially in the company of cowboy Billy Buck (Robert Mitchum). Peter worships the laconic ranch hand, who is actually more of a father to the boy than Fred, a fact which adds to his father's unhappiness. The boy's long-held wish to have a pony is fulfilled when Billy's prize mare gets a colt, and he makes a gift of it for the boy, teaching him to care for and train it. (official distributor synopsis)