Hollywood Hoofbeats Page 10
McCutcheon had a penchant for American Saddlebred horses, and he preferred to work with stallions. He loved palominos, pintos, and shiny blacks. His most famous horse was Highland Dale, a gorgeous black Saddlebred stallion who starred in a number of films, beginning with the 1946 version of Black Beauty and culminating with the successful television series Fury, which ran from 1955 to 1960. Highland Dale, known around the barn as Beaut, also made some memorable cameo appearances in Westerns. In one, McCutcheon and Beaut pulled an astonishing reverse train transfer. In a normal transfer, the rider jumps from his galloping horse to the train. In this instance, McCutcheon, doubling an actor, called Beaut to the train and leaped from the moving vehicle onto the galloping horse. The confidence Beaut had in McCutcheon is extremely rare.
Like the other great Hollywood horse trainers, Jack “Swede” Lindell, Les Hilton, and Glenn Randall, Ralph McCutcheon had a natural talent for communicating with animals. These few gifted men, and the many skilled wranglers, stuntmen, and women who worked with the horses of the Western’s golden era are responsible for some of the most exciting equine entertainment ever filmed.
The romantic appeal of the handsome gunfighter (Alan Ladd) on an equally handsome horse is not lost on rancher’s wife Marian Starrett (Jean Arthur) in George Stevens’s classic 1953 Western Shane.
A former racehorse, Missed-a-Shot looks like he’s not going to miss nailing Swede Lindell’s protégé Jack Sanders, but for Misty it was just an acting lesson.
The “A” List Horses
Just like their human counterparts, horse actors fall into three categories: stars, supporting characters, and extras. The following horses are standouts from the Hollywood herd from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Misty
One of Fat Jones’s best horses was a black Thoroughbred stallion named Missed-a-Shot, Misty for short. A racehorse, Misty was “discovered” when he was laid up at the Fat Jones Stable with a bowed tendon. Misty would never race again, but Jones had a hunch that the sleek black stallion would make a good actor. Misty proved him right. After his tendon healed, the horse appeared in almost seventy films, spanning a twenty-five-year career.
The wild stallion is a staple of many an old Western plot, and Misty was born for the role. He began as a double for Rex in Smoky (1933), when just two years old. Far too talented to remain in the shadows, Misty quickly graduated to featured roles as the wild stallion in numerous early Westerns.
Misty’s most famous performances came late in his career. Playing the wild stallion “Banner” in My Friend Flicka (1943) and Thunderhead, Son of Flicka (1945), Misty displayed his greatest talent: fighting. Trained by Swede Lindell’s protégé, Les Hilton, he had the ability to look truly frightening. Fat Jones once said, “No horse could snake out his neck, show his teeth, and fight like Misty. You knew he meant business when he was cued to fight.” Off-camera, however, he was a kind and gentle horse.
Misty was so attuned to his trainer that Hilton could call him from a herd of horses. When he heard the trainer’s voice, Misty would come directly to Hilton, ignoring the mares. It is most unusual for a stallion to respond this way, and Hilton modestly attributed the phenomenon to the horse’s superior intelligence. Misty was so popular with audiences that his performances as Banner in My Friend Flicka and Thunderhead, Son of Flicka prompted more fan mail than the performances of Flicka and Thunderhead combined.
One of Misty’s last films is the melodramatic Western Duel in the Sun (1946). Misty makes a cameo appearance opposite star Gregory Peck when Peck’s character is forced into a “hand to hoof” battle with a wild black stallion. Because Misty was so gentle, Peck did not need a stunt double. The cooperative stallion allowed the complicated sequence to be shot in just one day.
A few months after his appearance in Duel in the Sun, Misty began to decline rapidly. Hobbled by arthritis, the once noble stallion was in pitiful condition. Jones knew it was time to say goodbye to his beloved equine star. He called for the truck to take him to the slaughterhouse, but he made special arrangements for Misty to be euthanized so he would not suffer. Those who worked at the stable say that Jones locked himself in his office for the entire day after Misty was gone.
It may seem unthinkable that many movie horses were slaughtered once they outlived their usefulness, but businessmen such as Jones could not afford to summon a veterinarian to put down each and every one of the many animals they owned. Misty was one of the lucky ones.
Black Diamond
A large black American Saddlebred stallion, Black Diamond started his career as Misty did, doubling Rex in Smoky. He was purchased by Fat Jones to make some liberty runs in the 1933 film and groomed for stardom in the type of wild-stallion roles made famous by Rex and Misty. Les Hilton claimed that Black Diamond could do more work without doubles than any other horse. His uncanny ability to track himself made him especially valuable. Hilton would lead him at a walk along the route mapped out for a particular shot up to distances of a quarter of a mile. When taken back to the starting point and released, Diamond would gallop along the exact same path, making the cameraman’s job very easy. An unusually versatile performer, Black Diamond could fight, work at liberty, and be an actor’s spirited, yet safe, steed. He won special American Humane Awards of Excellence for his roles in Black Midnight (1950) and Flame of Araby (1951), in which his work as a tempestuous stallion is especially riveting. Other notable roles include Robert Mitchum’s mount in The Track of the Cat (1954), in which his ebony coat and high-stepping gait are striking in snow scenes, and the leader of a band of wild horses in Black Horse Canyon (1954), with Joel McCrea. Black Diamond lent his majestic presence to the movies for twenty years.
Black Diamond displays the fire that fueled his award-winning performances in Black Midnight and Flame of Araby.
Fat Jones accepts the American Humane Association’s Award of Excellence on behalf of Black Diamond for his spectacular work in 1951’s Flame of Araby.
Steel
Most actors accepted whichever mount was doled out to them by the production’s boss wrangler. To a star, however, the right horse was almost as important as the right leading lady—in male-dominated Westerns, often more important. An actor’s image, after all, could be complemented or diminished by the quality of horse he rode. The most desirable horses were smooth gaited and had wonderful dispositions and handsome appearances. A Quarter-type stallion named Steel was by far the most popular star mount of the 1940s and ’50s. During his career, he carried the likes of Gary Cooper, Henry Fonda, Clark Gable, Ben Johnson, Joel McCrea, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Randolph Scott, Robert Taylor, John Wayne, and Richard Widmark across miles of cinematic terrain. Owned by Fat Jones, Steel was a goldmine for the stable: to guarantee that the star could ride the popular stallion, the studio was obliged to rent all the production horses from the shrewd Mr. Jones.
A flashy sorrel with a wide blaze and three stockings, Steel was distinguished by his flowing mane and long forelock. Born on Hyde Merritt’s ranch in Arizona, Steel most likely acquired his name as a result of his pedigree. Steel Dust was one of the earliest acknowledged sires of Quarter Horses. Steel was discovered by rodeo producer Andy Jaurequi, who brought him to California. He showed the stallion to Joel McCrea as he was preparing to portray Buffalo Bill Cody in 1944’s Buffalo Bill. Steel was immediately cast as Cody’s horse, Powderface. McCrea and Steel got along famously, and the star wanted to buy the stallion. However, Steel had caught the eye of Fat Jones, who knew a moneymaker when he saw one. He purchased the stallion with the promise that McCrea could ride him in any picture he wanted. McCrea rode Steel in just one more Western, Four Faces West (1948).
Steel’s striking looks and easygoing personality made him an ideal picture horse. Unfazed by the glaring lights, cables, overhead swinging microphone booms, and the general commotion of a movie set, he reportedly became quite a ham. Steel kept his eye on the camera: when the little red power light came on, he came to life. His many film credits include Tall
in the Saddle (1944) with John Wayne, Yellow Sky (1948) with Gregory Peck, and Across the Wide Missouri (1951) with Clark Gable. He was the only horse Gary Cooper considered for a mount in It’s a Big Country (1951).
One of Steel’s most ardent champions was stuntman-turned-actor Ben Johnson, who was married to Fat Jones’s daughter Carole. An expert horseman, Johnson even rode Steel in his spare time, using him for calf-roping competitions.
Johnson chose the stallion for several John Ford Westerns, including two films out of three in his horse-heavy Cavalry trilogy: She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949) and Rio Grande (1950). In She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, shots of Ben Johnson and Steel galloping across Arizona’s picturesque Monument Valley are quintessential Ford action. Johnson’s frequent Ford film costar, Harry Carey Jr., related an anecdote about 1950’s Wagonmaster in a 2001 interview. A scene called for Johnson to be bucked off by the supertame Steel, who, according to Carey, “wouldn’t buck if you put a firecracker under him and lit it!” Steel was doubled by a rank bucking horse, and poor Ben Johnson had to take the fall twice after a well-meaning observer ruined the first take.
Unfortunately, all of Steel’s human costars were not as competent as Ben Johnson. The stallion eventually developed a nervous tic as a result of being ridden by too many heavy-handed actors and having guns fired close to his ears. When his habit of constant head tossing began ruining his appearance, Fat Jones knew it was time to retire the stallion. Like Misty, Steel was euthanized. He was eighteen, not particularly old for a movie horse but the many chase scenes and shoot ’em ups had taken their toll on the magnificent stallion.
Steel with his favorite horseman Ben Johnson, as they appeared in several John Ford Westerns.
Steel with his very famous costar Clark Gable in Across The Wide Missouri (1951).
Steel with Gary Cooper in It’s a Big Country(1951).
Right: Steel and Gregory Peck in Yellow Sky (1948).
Opposite: Steel and Joel McCrea in Buffalo Bill (1944).
Dice
Ralph McCutcheon’s superstar pinto Dice was the fortunate son of an Arabian/Thoroughbred stallion and an American Saddlebred/Thoroughbred mare. The flashy black-and-white stallion was discovered at a Colorado horse show in 1935 by the head of livestock procurement for MGM Studios. McCutcheon, then a forest ranger, had taught the stallion a number of amusing tricks and agreed to let Dice be tested for a role in It Happened in Hollywood (1937). Dice beat out eight horses for the role of Toby, sidekick to a fictitious Tom Mix-style star, played by Richard Dix. Dice’s few tricks in the film, including bowing and pawing, caught Hollywood’s fancy, and McCutcheon was suddenly a movie-horse trainer.
McCutcheon taught Dice to push someone with his nose, pick up a hat, pull a revolver out of its holster, lie down and play dead, kneel, count, bow, smile, and yawn on command. The showy scene-stealer was instrumental to Gregory Peck’s seduction of Jennifer Jones in A Duel in the Sun (1946) and prompted Life magazine to cite him as “one of Hollywood’s finest performing horses.” In It’s a Great Life (1943), Dice sauntered through a hotel lobby, entered an elevator, changed his mind and backed out, and climbed the stairs. Venturing into buildings was apparently no big deal for the pinto, who probably learned the trick by carrot mooching in McCutcheon’s tack room. While on location for A Duel in the Sun in Arizona, Gregory Peck rode Dice into the dining room of the Hotel Rita, causing quite a stir.
Columbia Studios was so protective of Dice’s image that they kept him under contract for eighty-four weeks after A Duel in the Sun was released so his fans would have no other opportunity to see the exciting stallion in action. Dice’s final film was an offbeat Western called Thunderhoof (1948), in which he starred as an elusive wild stallion. Dice had trouble taking direction in Thunderhoof, and McCutcheon realized he was becoming a bit senile. He retired his famous horse to pasture, where he cruised through the next ten years. When he was no longer able to enjoy life, Dice was euthanized in 1958 at the age of thirty. He lives on in many Westerns from the 1930s and 1940s; his coat and character make him impossible to miss.
Dice’s role as Gregory Peck’s mount in the 1946 film A Duel in the Sun earned him praise as “one of Hollywood’s finest performing horses.”
Pie
One of Hollywood’s most beloved leading men, James Stewart rode a sorrel gelding named Pie in seventeen Westerns. Their first picture together was Winchester 73 (1950). An elegant horse with a graceful arching neck and a white star, Pie was the perfect complement to the handsome, lanky actor. The gelding, described by Stewart as half Arabian/half Quarter Horse, belonged to Stevie Myers, the daughter of wrangler George Myers.
In 1987, Stewart recalled his first meeting with the horse who was to become his trusty companion for twenty-two years. It took place on the Universal lot in 1949. Stevie Meyers had brought three horses for Stewart to try for Winchester 73. Stewart wasn’t impressed with any of them. Then he noticed a sorrel horse peeking around a building, looking for Stevie. She called his name, “Pie!” According to Stewart, “He came around, and I said, ‘Well, how ’bout can I ride him?’ Stevie said, ‘You can ride him but he’s my horse.’ Of course, it was love at first sight.”
Pie was a feisty horse who had reportedly almost killed actor Glenn Ford by running him into a tree. Stewart, however, instantly felt at ease with the gelding. Their chemistry must have been obvious to Stevie Myers because she allowed the actor to ride Pie in all those Westerns. Stewart attempted to purchase Pie from Stevie, but she refused to sell. According to the actor, she loved Pie like a son.
“I got to know him like a friend,” Stewart recalled in 1972. “I actually believed that he understood about making pictures. I ran at a full gallop, straight towards the camera, pulled him up and then did a lot of dialogue and he stood absolutely still. He never moved. He knew when the camera would start rolling and when they did the slates. He knew that because his ears came up. I could feel him under me, getting ready.”
By the time they made The Far Country (1954), Stewart had developed such a rapport with Pie that he was able to direct him at liberty. In this movie, Stewart’s character’s trademark is a little bell tied to his saddle horn. Whenever the distinctive bell is heard, the audience—and bad guys—know Stewart and Pie are approaching. In the crucial scene, Stewart uses the horse as a decoy, sending him riderless down the street to fool the villains. With no trainer on the set, the assistant director asked Stewart if he could get Pie to do this scene. Assuring him he could, the actor simply led the gelding to his mark and explained in plain English what was expected of him. The moment he heard “Action!” Pie did exactly what he had been told, and the scene was shot in one take. Everyone except Stewart was astonished. “That was Pie,” he said simply.
Pie’s last movie with Stewart was Bandolero (1968). When Stewart and Henry Fonda went to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to costar in The Cheyenne Social Club (1970), Stewart insisted on taking Pie even though Stevie Myers was worried about the altitude affecting the aged gelding. Despite her concerns, Pie was transported there in his own private trailer. (One of his quirks was that unlike most horses, he preferred to travel alone.) The altitude did prove too much for Pie to work, but he was content to watch the proceedings from a nearby corral. Meanwhile, in his spare time, unbeknownst to Stewart, Henry Fonda painted a watercolor portrait of Pie. According to Stewart, “When we got home, he brought me the picture, and two days later Pie died. It was a great loss.”
After Pie’s death, Stewart arranged to have the horse buried in a secret grave in the San Fernando Valley. The actor enjoyed Fonda’s portrait of Pie until his own death on July 2, 1997. It is still a treasured possession of the Stewart family.
James Stewart and Pie ride as one in The Far Country (1954).
Henry Fonda’s painting of Jimmy Stewart’s beloved costar Pie.
Standout Performances
It’s impossible, of course, to cite all the great horse work in thousands of Westerns. The following examples are some of the
most stellar performances by horses in the genre.
Smoky
If the PATSY Award had been given in the 1940s, a seal brown Thoroughbred stallion named Country Gentleman would surely have won for his role in the 1946 version of Will James’s classic horse story Smoky. The scenario follows the life of a wild horse, from colthood to old age. In the title role first made famous by Rex, Country Gentleman, whose barn name at the Fat Jones Stable was, naturally, Smoky, gives a stellar performance opposite costar Fred McMurray.
Trained by Jack “Swede” Lindell, who received screen credit as “Equine Consultant,” Smoky portrays an exceptionally wild stallion who, captured by a compassionate wrangler played by McMurray, is gentled into becoming a working cow pony. Smoky trusts only McMurray’s character and, in one of the most memorable scenes, helps him get back to the ranch after a debilitating fall. Smoky was required to carefully drag the cowboy through the countryside and even ford a stream. Lindell trained the stallion with a dummy tied to his saddle. Once Smoky accepted the weight without kicking at it, actor and stuntman Ben Johnson, who doubled McMurray, looped his arm through the right stirrup for the drag. Lindell stood off-camera to cue Smoky, who would take a few steps then halt and look back at his charge with concern before proceeding. The horse kept his head slightly turned to the right during this sequence, to keep an eye on Lindell. His very distinctive foxy ears twitched slightly when he took his cues.
Smoky was also trained to fight. In one frightening scene, he stomps the villain to death. Escaping back to the wilds, he is hunted down and sold as a rodeo bronc. Injured and exhausted, he winds up pulling a junkman’s wagon. He finally wanders into a parade, made up to look old and starved, where he is spotted by his old friend, McMurray, and rescued at last. A double horse had to be used in the final scene as the real Smoky was suffering from a cold and kept ruining takes by coughing. Fans wrote to the studio, concerned by the switch. They had easily spotted the double as Smoky’s ears curled in at the tips and the double’s ears were straight. Smoky, meanwhile, recovered to appear in more films, but none was as demanding as the vehicle that gave him his nickname.