Lights! Camera! Gallop! The story of the horse in film By by Lesley Lodge Published by Cooper Johnson Limited Copyright Lesley Lodge © Lesley Lodge, 2012, all rights reserved Lesley Lodge has reserved her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. ISBN: 978-0-9573310-1-3 Cover photo: Running pairs Copyright Paul Homsy Photography Taken in Ruby Valley in northern Nevada, USA. Shadowfax – a horse ‘so clever and obedient he doesn’t have a bridle or a bit or reins or a saddle’ (Lord of the Rings trilogy) Ah, if only it was all that simple . Contents Chapter One: Introducing... horses in film Chapter Two: How the horse became a film star Chapter Three: The casting couch: which horse for which part? Chapter Four: The stars – and their glamour secrets Chapter Five: Born free: wild horses and the wild horse film Chapter Six: Living free: wild horse films around the world Chapter Seven: Comedy: horses that make you laugh Chapter Eight: Special effects: a little help for horses Chapter Nine: Tricks and stunts: how did he do that? Chapter Ten: When things go wrong: spotting fakes and mistakes Chapter Eleven: Not just a horse with no name: the Western Chapter Twelve: Test your knowledge now Quotes: From the sublime to the ridiculous Bibliography List of films mentioned in the book Useful websites: find film clips – and more – for free Acknowledgements Photo credits Glossary About the author Chapter One Introducing….horses in film The concept of a horse as a celebrity is easy enough to accept – because, after all, few celebrities become famous for actually doing much. But horses as actors? Isn’t their ‘acting’ all trickery and Computer Generated Imagery? Well, one of the greatest film directors of all time, Steven Spielberg, who directed the moving film War Horse with some 280 horses, has said: ‘The horses were an extraordinary experience for me, because several members of my family ride. I was really amazed at how expressive horses are and how much they can show what they’re feeling.’ War Horse, released in 2012, tells the epic tale of how Albert, a young boy, and his beloved farm horse, Joey, are separated and undergo harrowing adventures in World War One. In the process of filming, yes, there were stunts, props, tricks and Computer Generated Imagery (CGI), but there was also great acting by the horse stars. The horse actors had make-up – and indeed their own make-up artist. But what shines through, what really impresses the audience, is the personality and inherent beauty of the horses. No amount of cinematic trickery or CGI can replace the genuine dramatic qualities of horses. For example, horses provide a feast for the eyes. Throughout the history of cinema, audiences have fallen for the most glamorous screen stars. This is just as true for horse stars – especially the outstandingly beautiful ones with their gleaming coats of pure black or dazzling white, or the Palominos with a golden coat and flowing silver tail. Think of the well-toned bodies, with manes to die for, of horses such as Black Beauty, Gandalf's horse Shadowfax or Roy Rogers’ Trigger. Lights! Camera! Gallop! will introduce you to all these and many more: the great stars and some lesser-known but still brilliant actors, from the beginning of film to the present time. You will learn about their film characters and their real off-screen personalities. You’ll also find out about how some of the most awe-inspiring scenes involving horses were filmed and even how to spot some of the tricks of the trade. All the main genres of film featuring horses are covered: Westerns (great for stunts and exciting chase sequences), ‘wild horse’ movies (surviving against enormous odds), action films (even horses versus Nazis!) and comedies (horses on pianos, horses tricking humans – and a drunken horse). A word on terminology: many of the great horse actors were stars in the days when – for example – Native Americans were routinely referred to as ‘Indians’ and frequently depicted as ‘the cowboys’ enemy.’ This book focuses on the parts played by horses in the movies of those times; it does not condone the use of such discriminatory terms or the stories told in films. Some pictures are included to inspire you – glimpses of some beautiful horses and amazing stunts. This book will also give you tips on how to look up horse stars on the internet, how to find fascinating facts and where to watch key horse scenes from famous films on the internet – for free. Performances by classic horse stars from the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s – for example, in series such as The Lone Ranger or The High Chaparral – can occasionally be found on satellite or cable TV nowadays, or on DVDs. So towards the end of this book, you can find a list of key books, DVDs and websites where you can track down your favourite horses in film and on TV. And at the very end, you and your friends can test your knowledge with a fun quiz. 1. Black Beauty. Publicity still of Black Beauty, 1994. Copyright by Warner Bros Pictures and other respective production studios and distributors. Chapter 2 How the horse became a film star There were horse actors in stage shows and circuses for centuries, of course, but the story of horse actors in film starts with the very beginnings of the movies themselves. The first horses in films were simply there to provide a means of transport – at that time they were often still a key mode of transport in real life. It didn’t take long, though, for the horse to steal more and more screen time, by playing a far wider range of roles: as supporting actors, as stunt performers and as extras. By now, horses have had almost as many kinds of roles onscreen as their human counterparts. And as stars they have provided plenty of glamour and many strong characters. At the time of the earliest movies, America was of course the leading producer. It was a period when many Americans were keen on reminiscing about a glorious (if not wholly realistic) past through stories of the Wild West. It’s not surprising, then, that many of the first horse actors to really catch the audience’s attention were involved in the Western films which aimed to recreate that glorious past. And although horse actors started off in mainly supporting roles, horse stars were soon to emerge. William S Hart, a silent movie star and the first really famous screen cowboy, was also one of the first to bring his horse to stardom. Hart starred in many Westerns, such as Tumbleweeds and The Narrow Trail, and he aimed for realism, as opposed to the more wildly romanticised re-enactments found in the ‘Wild West’ stage shows popular until then. He started off by doing all his own fighting and riding stunts in films. A large black gelding named Midnight was the first horse Hart rode on-screen. However, Midnight’s owners refused to sell him outright to Hart and so he switched over to a smaller, brown and white pinto named Fritz. Fritz and Hart performed all sorts of stunts together, including riding over a canyon on a fallen tree, jumping over cliffs and swimming out of caves. The techniques of filming were not yet fully developed – there were no tracking shots, for instance – but audiences certainly loved Fritz. Hart reported that moviegoers sent the horse sugar lumps and fan mail. Some horses even rose to the dizzy heights of double-billing with their riders – or at any rate nearly equal billing. Just as Laurel and Hardy or Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were famous couples, so too were Tom Mix and his horse Tony, Roy Rogers and Trigger and of course Gene Autry and Champion. Tom Mix followed William S Hart’s lead in the cowboy-horse partnership but his style was quite different: where Hart had tried for gritty realism ‘as rough as the real thing’, Tom Mix was flamboyant and showy. Mix was originally best known for his daring stunts, but later became equally famous for his elaborate outfits. His movie image was that of a dandyish, squeaky-clean cowboy partnered by his famous steed, Tony the Wonder Horse. Mix’s movie career wound down in the 1930s, after silent films were replaced by talkies. Most of Mix’s films are no longer in existence, but on YouTube you can watch some creaky black and white clips – with sound – of Tony helping out his rider in times of trouble. Hopalong Cassidy managed to be completely different from both William S Hart and Tom Mix. Where Mix’s outfits were elaborate and Hart favoured the rough and ready style, Hoppy – as Cassidy’s character was affectionately known – and his horse Topper went in for a plainer look and a milder image. Although most of his films were B movies – a B-movie was a shorter, low-budget film designed as support for a main feature film in the days when an evening at the cinema usually involved a newsreel, a B movie and the main feature – they were outstanding for their time. By the early 1940s, Hoppy had made seven of them, filmed not by the big movie studios, but by independent producers. The photography was excellent and the settings picturesque. The films were followed by an extensive TV series. Hoppy and Topper’s bubbly innocence together caught the public’s attention, with catchy songs, cute antics and Hoppy’s oh-so-squeaky-clean screen character – he never swore, smoked or drank anything stronger than sarsaparilla (a soft drink popular in nineteenth-century America).