The Black Stallion (1979): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1979, The Black Stallion is an adventure and family film directed by Carroll Ballard, running about 118 minutes. “From the moment he first saw the stallion, he knew it would either destroy him, or carry him where no one had ever been before…” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. While traveling with his father, young Alec becomes fascinated by a mysterious Arabian stallion that is brought on board and stabled in the ship he is sailing on. When it tragically sinks both he and the horse survive only to be stranded on a deserted island. He befriends it, so when finally rescued both return to his home where they soon meet Henry Dailey, a once successful trainer. Together they begin training the horse to race against the fastest ones in the world.

Who’s in it. The Black Stallion stars Kelly Reno as Alec Ramsey, Mickey Rooney as Henry Dailey, Teri Garr as Alec's Mother and Clarence Muse as Snoe, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 7.1/10, The Black Stallion has been warmly received by audiences. It went on to earn $37.8M at the box office.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Prime Video with Ads and rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home and Spectrum On Demand. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Black Stallion page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Black Stallion tend to enjoy The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Inception, Interstellar and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.