The marriage did not survive and eventually O’Hara moved back east, to Maryland, where she lived until her death in 1980. Because of her husband’s philandering, the income from her writing had to support the ranch. O’Hara’s time in Wyoming was not as idyllic as the landscape just as the McLaughlin family had experienced financial struggles, so did O’Hara. Her life there without doubt provided much of the inspiration for My Friend Flicka, which was penned there. During the 1930s, O’Hara and her second husband moved to a ranch in Wyoming. She married her first husband in 1905, later divorcing and re-marrying in 1922.
Mary O’Hara was born in Cape May, New Jersey, July 10, 1885, and shortly after moved with her family to Brooklyn Heights, New York, where she spent her childhood. While the book was advanced in terms of its presentation of female authority, the film evinced more regressive attitudes.
MY FRIEND FLICKA BOOK MOVIE
Even the cat, Pauley is changed from a female cat in the book to a male cat in the movie so that Hildey can make the remark, “I wish I was a boy, Even you’re a boy!” (directed at Pauly after being left behind again). She is not allowed to go out with the horses on several occasions, being told “because you’re a girl,” despite being around the horses in their stalls and during saddling. Second, Ken’s brother Howard has been changed to a younger sister named Hildey. This could be seen as progressive during the period of the book’s release. In the book she plays an active role on the farm, not only as a caregiver to the family, but also training and caring for the ranch’s horses, delivering Rob with supplies and weapons out in the pasture, and contributing equally to family decisions. First, Nell has been glamorized and reduced to an accessory. The 1943 film version of My Friend Flicka follows the general story line of the book with a few important changes. A writer in the Atlanta Constitution, Octostated: “While the book contains little that could be classified as exciting, the love and understanding of this father and mother for their two sons makes the best kind of reading … I shall not be surprised to see My Friend Flicka become an American classic.” (5) Advertisements: Reviews of the story were mostly favorable.
In 1944, when the Book-of-the-Month Club released the Curry illustrated box-set of My Friend Flicka and Thunderhead, the set sold for $5.75 (if adjusted for inflation, today the set would cost approximately $80.00).
MY FRIEND FLICKA BOOK SERIAL
While originally issued as a serial in magazines and newspapers, the book form of My Friend Flicka was sold for $2.50 (4).
John Steuart Curry did not illustrated the final sequel. The last book in the trilogy, Green Grass of Wyoming, appeared in 1946. The bonding and love between Ken and Flicka are a timeless coming of age story (1).įollowing My Friend Flicka, O’Hara penned a sequel, Thunderhead, which was released in 1943. He calls her “Flicka.” The remainder of the plot follows Ken’s internal wrestling with the idea that the filly could follow the wild blood of her mother and fall into self-destruction during taming or that she could become the friend and companion he desires. He chooses a foal bred from a mare with tainted, wild blood, and the ranch’s sire. Through the process of choosing a foal and acquiring more trust from his father, Ken begins to grow into a sensitive and dependable son. Ken’s mother, Nell, convinces Rob to do so, believing that ownership of a foal will teach Ken the responsibility his father wants him to display. The family patriarch, Rob, does not want to give Ken a foal until the boy can show responsibility. Ken is a daydreamer and, despite his best intentions, he loses track of time, damages equipment, and ignores instructions, sometimes triggering significant problems on the ranch. Beginning in the summertime between his fifth and sixth grade years in school, we find Ken in trouble for failing to be promoted. Centered around Ken, the youngest of two brothers, the plot details his desire to have a colt of his own. The story recounts the experience of the McLaughlin family on their family-owned Goose Bar Ranch in Wyoming. My Friend Flicka was written by Mary O’Hara in 1941.
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