Under My Skin (film)
Under My Skin is a 1950 American sports drama film directed by Jean Negulesco and starring John Garfield and Micheline Presle. It is based on the short story "My Old Man", by Ernest Hemingway, about a jockey being threatened by a mobster after winning a race he had agreed to throw.
| Under My Skin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Jean Negulesco |
| Produced by | Casey Robinson |
| Written by | Casey Robinson |
| Based on | "My Old Man" short story by Ernest Hemingway |
| Starring | John Garfield Micheline Presle Luther Adler |
| Music by | Daniele Amfitheatrof |
| Cinematography | Joseph LaShelle |
| Edited by | Dorothy Spencer |
Production company | 20th Century Fox |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Hemingway story was later adapted for a 1979 CBS television film, My Old Man, starring Kristy McNichol, Warren Oates, and Eileen Brennan.
Plot
Accused of throwing races back home, American jockey Danny Arnold now rides horses in Italy, where a gangster named Bork insists he deliberately lose a race. Dan double-crosses him, then avoids Bork's thugs, taking young son Joe with him to Paris.
Intending to look up an old friend, Dan learns from cafe owner Paule Manet that the friend was murdered by criminals due to unpaid debts. British jockey George Gardner is able to find Dan gainful employment at the racetrack, while Joe persuades his dad that a new horse of theirs called Gilford would make a fine steeplechase racer. Dan disappoints his son by winning money on a fixed race that involved George.
Bork and his henchmen turn up. They threaten to kill Dan if he doesn't lose the next steeplechase race. They have their own jockey in the race to make sure things go their way, but Dan defies them, with George's help. He wins the race, but when another horse runs into Gilford at the finish line, Dan is thrown off and killed.
Cast
- John Garfield as Dan
- Micheline Presle as Paule
- Luther Adler as Bork
- Noel Drayton as George
- Orley Lindgren as Joe