Review of There Must Be a Pony

The phrase "based on a true story" is one of the most hackneyed in all movie reviews. This film is, however, more than based on a true story; James Kirkwood who wrote the novel and play on which the movie takes its story actually lived the plot. His mother, a former movie star with severe problems, was under suspicion for shooting her boyfriend at Manhattan Beach in the 1930s. Young Jim found the body, and hence you have the heart of this tale. The real question about whether the victim was murdered or committed suicide created tabloid headlines in its day. The question of whether Kirkwood knew the answer may be hidden in his book and, to some extent, in this film version. Updated to a modern Hollywood, the tale still contains fine performances by its major stars and still contains much amusing cynicism about the movie business that was the hallmark of the original play (starring Myrna Loy) in 1962. Many do not know that a revival of the play in 1982 starred producer Dean Devlin who grew up from the boy in the story to become the producer of films like INDEPENDENCE DAY. The film version of Kirkwood's life is well produced by Robert Wagner and is a great introduction to the writings of James Kirkwood.