The Legend of the White Horse
Encyclopedia
Legend of the White Horse (also known as Biały smok) is a 1986 Polish
-American
adventure film for children. The film's premiere was on July 13, 1987. Produced by Alina Szpak for CBS Theatrical Films, Legend Productions & Film Polski, it is based on the magic realism novel White Horse, Dark Dragon
by Robert C. Fleet, a political satire-adventure.
an country - Karistan, where beautiful Alta lives with her young blind daughter Jewel. Jewel has a friend in the form of an enigmatic white horse. Meanwhile, American Jim Martin is sent there to prove that a new investment is not going to harm the environment in Karistan...
As Biały smok (White Dragon), it was the second highest grossing theatrical feature in Poland when it was released in 1987. It was renamed "Legend of the white horse" by CBS in the U.S., but the CBS Theatrical Films division was closed down in late 1986 and the feature languished in tax write-off obscurity until it was released to video by CBS/Fox Video a few years later.
The novel White Horse, Dark Dragon was held up for publication for contractual reasons, but finally published by Putnam/Berkley/Ace in 1993.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
adventure film for children. The film's premiere was on July 13, 1987. Produced by Alina Szpak for CBS Theatrical Films, Legend Productions & Film Polski, it is based on the magic realism novel White Horse, Dark Dragon
White Horse, Dark Dragon
White Horse, Dark Dragon is a novel written in the style of magical realism by Robert C. Fleet, a political satire-adventure. It was published by Putnam/Berkley/Ace in 1993.-Plot summary:...
by Robert C. Fleet, a political satire-adventure.
Plot
The action takes place in a fictional Central EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an country - Karistan, where beautiful Alta lives with her young blind daughter Jewel. Jewel has a friend in the form of an enigmatic white horse. Meanwhile, American Jim Martin is sent there to prove that a new investment is not going to harm the environment in Karistan...
Cast
- Christopher LloydChristopher LloydChristopher Allen Lloyd is an American actor. He is best known for playing Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He played Reverend Jim Ignatowski in the television series Taxi and more...
as Jim Martin - Stephan Szpak-FleetStephan Szpak-FleetStephan Szpak-Fleet was born on April 25, 1979 in Warsaw, Poland to Alina Szpak and Robert Fleet. As a child he starred in three feature films: "Brothers of the Wilderness", "Legend of the White Horse" and "The Friends of Harry." Stephan also worked regularly as a commercial actor and in the...
as Steve Martin - Dee Wallace as Alta
- Allison BalsonAllison BalsonAllison Balson is an American actress, who is also a published singer and songwriter. Her best known role was Nancy Oleson on the Little House on the Prairie series which she held between 1981 and 1983...
as Jewel - Soon-Tek OhSoon-Tek OhSoon-Tek Oh |M*A*S*H]], Charlie's Angels, Airwolf, Magnum, P. I., Hawaii Five-O, Kung-Fu, Zorro, and Touched By An Angel....
as Tai Ching - Kazimierz KaczorKazimierz KaczorKazimierz Kaczor is a Polish actor and television presenter. He has made over 40 appearances in film and television. He starred in the 1986-1987 television series Zmiennicy but is well known for hosting the Polish version of Jeopardy!.-External links:...
as The Superintendent - Christopher StoneChristopher Stone (actor)Christopher Stone was an American actor.Stone appeared on film and television from the early 1970s and married actress Dee Wallace in 1980. Together, they appeared in a number of films including the classic horror films The Howling and Cujo...
as Doc - Archie Lee Simpson as Silver
Background
The book is described by The Science Fiction Chronicle as "an interesting juxtaposition of fantasy and modern politics", and has become something of a cult due to its dry political humor satirizing late-era Communism and U.S. corporate boardrooms - mixed with action, historical romance and nuanced characters. The movie takes a simpler tack, perhaps reflective of Hollywood mind-think: good guys vs. bad guys. It was a decision that makes for an uneasy blend of target marketing vs. reality, since the result was a movie that at least one reviewer, Michael Medved, thought was "too intense for children."As Biały smok (White Dragon), it was the second highest grossing theatrical feature in Poland when it was released in 1987. It was renamed "Legend of the white horse" by CBS in the U.S., but the CBS Theatrical Films division was closed down in late 1986 and the feature languished in tax write-off obscurity until it was released to video by CBS/Fox Video a few years later.
The novel White Horse, Dark Dragon was held up for publication for contractual reasons, but finally published by Putnam/Berkley/Ace in 1993.