Rocking Horse Winner is a dark, atmospheric and complex psychological British drama, adapted from DH Lawrence's story about Paul, a young boy (a 10 year-old John Howard Davies) who receives a rocking horse for Christmas and soon learns that he is able to pick the winning horse at the races - to the delight of his spendthrift mother (Valerie Hobson) and his hopeless gambler of a father (Hugh Sinclair) Young Paul teams up with Bassett the servant (John Mills), with the two of them forming a profitable partnership - yet the house continually whispers to Paul that it needs more money, with this need exacting a high price.