Davey Chung became an orphan after his father is murdered by white Americans. Charley Eagle (Anthony Quinn) is a native American cowboy who comes upon the boy. Charley adopts the boy and dreams of racing his horse Black Hope.

This is a western trying to be progressive. It is loosely based on a true story although I don't how loose. For this subject, accuracy is not that important. More important is giving Quinn the lead along with an unknown Chinese kid. That is very progressive for its time. Quinn may not be a full blooded Indian, but he probably had some in the mix. The only issue is that I wish he was written smarter. I'm not saying that he's dumb and I know the claim race has a real story behind it. Alright, he could just speak normally instead doing the fake Indian speak.

Black Gold (1947) is a movie I recently watched on HBOMAX. The storyline follows a Mexican man camping in the desert who encounters an Asian orphaned boy and adopts him. The Mexican man teaches him the ways to train a horse and they enter their horses into several horse races hoping for the opportunity to one day have a horse in the Kentucky Derby.

This movie is directed by Phil Karlson (Hell to Eternity) and stars Anthony Quinn (Lawrence of Arabia), Katherine DeMille (The Crusades), Raymond Hatton (In Cold Blood), Kane Richmond (The Lost City) and Jonathan Hale (Strangers on a Train).

The storyline for this movie is very unique, unpredictable and contains fantastic characters. Katherine DeMille Steals the show and delivers a captivating performance. I was impressed by the twists and turns of the storyline and the depiction of how minorities were taken advantage of and how they kept pushing forward. The final Kentucky Derby scene is very well shot.

Overall this is a unique addition to the western genre that contains fantastic characters and a worthwhile storyline. I would score this a 7.5/10 and strongly recommend it.

Is it a crime for classic movies, or any movie, to use sentiment and sweetness to tell its story? I frankly wish there were more in this slowly decaying world of ours. Cynicism is a slow killer, so when I see a story like this, it gives me a sigh of relief that I haven't quite fallen over to the dark side. I wish more films had the courage to show those nationalities in a kinder light, and unfortunately, the natives who were here before the European arrivals turned nature upside down and forgot about the beauty of the world outside its modernization.

Anthony Quinn is a very spiritual man, away from home when he meets orphaned Chinese teen Dickie Louie. Embittered over the white man's murder of his father, Louie can't even bear to eat until Quinn tells him his own dealings with the white man. Quinn has learned that peace only comes from forgiveness, and he also knows that for every evil white man are ten good ones.

Happily married to the gorgeous Katherine DeMille (Quinn's real life wife at the time), Quinn brings Louie home, and makes him their ward. Sadly, Louie finds nothing but prejudice, ridiculed for being Chinese as he attempts to start school, and instead skips. Teacher Elyse Knox shows up and promises that things will be different. Unfortunately, the script overlooks Louie returning to school, basically giving the assumption that Knox worked on educating Louie's harasser, played by Darryl Hickman.

The remainder of the film shows how Quinn and DeMille adopt Louie and how Quinn influences him in his love of horses. Quinn strikes it rich with oil found on his property but a chance in his financial situation isn't a cause for celebration. The white men who earlier treated him as second class come around, and it is obvious that it isn't his character which impresses them but his sudden bankroll. Tragedy strikes the family, and it is up to Louie to show that dignity and grace come from rising above the odds and that the so-called "little man" can be just as worthy as the so-called big men.

Outstanding performances by Quinn, De Mille and especially Louie make this a wonderful sleeper, a rare "A" picture from the studio formerly known as Monogram. The Cinecolor process really stands out here, having been tested in such films as " The Enchanted Forest" and a version of "Black Beauty". Treat your family to a real reminder of what life really can be like with God's world as your backyard, and life's many other problems fall into perspective.