Hollywood Hoofbeats

by Petrine Day Mitchum

  Actor Christoph Waltz, however, took a spill while learning to ride in pre-production, before Hendrickson and his team were hired. Waltz injured his pelvis in the fall and was unable to ride until it healed, hence the use of the wagon in early scenes. Waltz’s riding lessons resumed without incident during the film’s hiatus over the Christmas holidays. After working with Hendrickson and his team, the actor’s confidence was restored. Waltz later quipped that “Riding a horse wasn’t much of a challenge. Falling off was.” His costar, Jamie Foxx, presented him with a gag gift: a saddle rigged with a seatbelt.

  No seatbelt was in evidence in Foxx’s most challenging riding sequence in the film. Toward the end of the movie, Django is once again enslaved. While being transported to a sadistic new owner, he outsmarts his captors and liberates three Mandingo, slaves forced to fight to the death for their owners’ amusement. Django also liberates a palomino horse that had been pulling the slave wagon. He hops aboard the palomino and gallops bareback without a bridle back to the plantation where his wife is imprisoned. Tarantino specifically wanted a palomino for the sequence. Already on location in Wyoming, Hendrickson scoured the countryside for a horse that could do the job. He found the mixed-breed palomino, Silky, at Turtle Ranch, home of Robin Wiltshire, an Australian-born trainer who trains the Clydesdales for Budweiser beer commercials. A riding horse, Silky had to be trained to drive a wagon, to handle working around explosions, and to gallop alongside a camera car. The wranglers used him as a utility horse to inure him to set activity, and the sturdy palomino settled nicely into his new job. For the exciting galloping scene, he was fitted with a monofilament bridle. which gave Foxx the ability to steer and stop him, but on film is invisible. The dramatic image of Django on the golden palomino brings to mind that most famous celluloid cowboy hero, Roy Rogers, riding to the rescue on his iconic golden steed, Trigger.

  Production placed traction boards under fake snow to create the illusion of riding through snow.

  Quentin Tarantino recreated a classic Western image, first seen in silent films, when he staged this visually stunning “circle of death” sequence for Django Unchained.

  The Lone Ranger Reimagined

  The masked cowboy crime fighter known as The Lone Ranger and his iconic white horse Silver are familiar to baby boomers—and their parents—from the eponymous television series that debuted in 1949 starring Clayton Moore. The popular legend of the masked man, his fiery steed, and Native American sidekick Tonto had already been entertaining radio audiences since 1933. In 1938, a fifteen-episode Lone Ranger serial filmed in Lone Pine, California, featured the famous early equine star Silver King, who may well have been the inspiration for Silver. In 1956, Moore and his television costar Jay Silverheels (Tonto) appeared in a feature-length film version of the legend, with the Glenn Randall-trained Silver showing off his talents as a trick and rearing horse.

  Several television movies and a couple feature films followed. The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981) starred the unknown Klinton Spilsbury (whose high-pitched voice resulted in his being dubbed throughout the film by actor James Keach) in his only film role and Michael Horse as Tonto, with veteran wrangler-trainer Bobby Davenport supplying Silver.

  In 2013 The Lone Ranger rode back into movie theaters with an extravagant Disney production directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Armie Hammer as John Reid, aka The Lone Ranger, and Johnny Depp as Tonto, who is a Comanche in this incarnation. The action-packed film follows the basic plotline of its predecessors but incorporates a supernatural element with the villains being such evil spirits that they have caused an imbalance in the natural world. The filmmakers also created a backstory for Tonto who is out to avenge the deaths of his tribe who were murdered by greedy white men when he was just a boy. Showcasing Depp’s flair for eccentric characters, his Tonto brings the film a quirky comedic element. Tonto’s antagonistic relationship with the mysterious white horse who will become Silver is part of the fun.

  Silver is introduced in the film as a Spirit Horse, revered for his wisdom by the Comanche. This conceit is a departure from the original concept of Silver. According to the 1938 radio serial episode, The Lone Ranger Finds Silver, The Lone Ranger’s horse, reportedly a chestnut mare named Dusty, is shot dead by the outlaw Butch Cavendish. Carrying the two heroes, Tonto’s brown and white Paint, Scout, is no match for the villain’s speedy mount. The Lone Ranger and Tonto happen upon a storied wild white stallion locked in battle with an enraged buffalo. Outweighed, the valiant horse is critically injured by the buffalo that moves in for the kill. The Lone Ranger shoots the buffalo, saving the stallion’s life. He and Tonto nurse the wounded horse back to health and instead of returning to the wild when cured, the stallion voluntarily submits to The Lone Ranger’s training, not merely out of gratitude but through “some mysterious bond of friendship.” It is Tonto who notices that the stallion’s coat gleams like silver in the sun and Silver is thusly named.

  In the 2013 Disney film, Tonto is about to bury John Reid, along with his brother Captain Dan Reid and their posse of Texas rangers who have been murdered by the outlaw Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) and his gang, when the Spirit Horse appears at John’s grave, carrying his white hat in his teeth, thus designating him for resurrection. Skeptical of John’s valor, Tonto argues with the horse. Finally acquiescing, Tonto mounts up and drags John, who was not really dead, through the desert. When John revives he discovers Tonto talking to the horse in what becomes a running gag. Tonto convinces John to wear a mask made from Dan’s leather vest to disguise himself from the outlaws as they seek revenge, and thus The Lone Ranger is born. The Spirit Horse remains unnamed until the end of the film.

  The Spirit Horse carries The Lone Ranger and Tonto on their quest for justice, always showing up in the nick of time to whisk them away from danger. He uses his supernatural abilities to rescue them from a burning barn by appearing on the roof and jumping off the blazing structure through the flames. He also appears in a tree, drinks beer in a lighter moment, and when the heroes find themselves buried up to their necks in sand and attacked by scorpions, the Spirit Horse licks the lethal insects from their faces and devours them. Then, in classic fashion, The Lone Ranger manages to grab the horse’s reins so he can pull him out of the sand.

  In the film’s climactic action sequences, The Lone Ranger gallops the Spirit Horse across town rooftops and along the top of a speeding train. At the film’s end, when he is finally named Silver, the horse performs a spectacular rear with The Lone Ranger aboard. It is then that we hear The Long Ranger say the signature catchphrase first made famous on the 1933 radio show, “Hi-Yo-Silver! Away!” Tonto, now mounted on Scout, dryly replies, “Don’t ever say that again.”

  Head wrangler Clay Lilley headed a team of wranglers, supervising the stuntmen and horses who performed the demanding action during Comanche and Calvary charges, train-to-horse and horse-to-train transfers, and battle sequences. Aerial equipment was used to assist the stuntmen as they made the exciting transfers, and special sets were built to simulate the rooftops and train that the Spirit Horse gallops upon.

  The fire scene was carefully orchestrated and beautifully cut to make it appear as if the horse is jumping off the barn through flames when, in reality, he jumped from a low platform and the flames were nowhere near him. The amazing scene with scorpions was achieved through computer-generated imagery that added the scorpions to the actors’ faces after the fact. The illusion was further created by covering dummy heads with cookies shaped like scorpions that the horse was cued to eat by head trainer Bobby Lovgren.

  Lovgren worked with the four white horses it took to portray Silver. The main horse who portrayed the Spirit Horse and performed at liberty in scenes with Johnny Depp is a Quarter Horse gelding coincidentally named Silver. Owned by Clay and his father Jack Lilley’s Movin’ On Livestock company, Silver had appeared in several commercials and smaller parts before stepping into his first starring role. His onscreen chemistry with Depp is a big part of the
movie’s charm. Depp has ridden in several of his films and has a true affinity for horses. His ease with his equine costar is apparent in Tonto’s scenes with Silver. “Johnny was very respectful of the horses,” says Lovgren. “I was very impressed with him and how easy he was to work with. He was so conscientious of what we needed and made my life very easy!”

  Lovgren spent a month fine-tuning Cloud, a rare white Thoroughbred, who was initially started by Rex Peterson when the film first went into pre-production. Lovgren taught Cloud to “drink beer” from a rubber bottle that was specially vented to give the illusion that the horse was guzzling the brew. Cloud also executed all the jumps in the sequences and is the horse who did the rooftop and train-top running scenes. Lovgren also perfected the horse’s rear, so essential to The Lone Ranger’s trademark. It is Cloud who performs the spectacular stunt as Silver in two scenes.

  The two other Silvers were Caspar, a white Paint and the Quarter Horse Leroy whom Armie Hammer rode in much of the film. According to Lovgren, the handsome actor has a natural aptitude for horsemanship and spent a lot of time perfecting his abilities to portray the masked man. Hammer had previously worked with the trainer on the 2012 film Mirror, Mirror, in which he rode Lovgren’s beloved veteran movie horse Houdini.

  Houdini, whose credits include Seabiscuit and 2005’s The Legend of Zorro, has a cameo in The Lone Ranger as a striking black horse the heroes follow through the desert as they track the villains. Houdini, a natural buckskin, was dyed black for the film and was directed by Lovgren to walk at liberty on top of a ridge through the sand for quite a distance. It was the most challenging sequence in the film for Lovgren, who walked off-camera at the base of the ridge in knee-deep sand. “I was very glad I had Houdini for the scene because he had had so much experience,” says Lovgren. The bond between the trainer and his horse must be very strong for a horse to work at liberty in such conditions.

  At the end of the sequence, the black horse suddenly falls over, dead, in a macabre gag that sets up a joke when The Lone Ranger tries in vain to get directions on where to go next from the immobile animal. A fake horse was used for the fall and subsequent scene.

  All the animal action in The Lone Ranger was monitored by the American Humane Association, which gives it an outstanding rating. Hi-Yo-Silver!

  As the title character in The Lone Ranger, Armie Hammer strikes the classic pose aboard Silver, portrayed here by Cloud.

  Tonto (Johnny Depp) faces off against the opinionated Silver.

  7. A Child’s Dream of Horses

  “Every night I pray to God to give me horses, wonderful horses.”

  —Velvet Brown, National Velvet (Screenplay by Theodore Reeves and Helen Deutsch)

  Elizabeth Taylor’s adoration of King Charles is obvious in this charming shot of the costars of National Velvet (1945).

  National Velvet

  In the classic film National Velvet (1945), a dreamy-eyed young actress named Elizabeth Taylor, portraying Velvet Brown, looks heavenward and confesses her prayer for God-given horses. Countless children have shared Velvet’s dream of owning a majestic animal who would not only be as loyal as the family dog but also have the power to transport them to magical lands. Many horse-themed films have capitalized on that dream, usually tossing in a strong moral about responsibility, perseverance, and compassion. Surprisingly modern in its outlook, National Velvet promoted the idea that a girl could excel in steeplechasing, a sport traditionally reserved for men. Of course, she needed the right coach, played in the film by a young Mickey Rooney and, most importantly, the perfect horse.

  Based on the best-selling book by Enid Bagnold, National Velvet is set in the 1920s and revolves around working-class Velvet Brown and her horse, Pie, whom she enters in the most harrowing of races, the Grand National steeplechase, renowned for its formidable obstacles. In the novel, Pie stands for piebald, an English term for black-and-white pintos. Because piebalds were discriminated against in tradition-bound racing circles, Pie had an extra obstacle to overcome in the book. In the film, however, a blaze-faced chestnut Thoroughbred, King Charles, played Pie. His nickname was explained as a derivative of “Pirate.” King Charles was a spectacular jumper and had appeared in previous films performing his specialty, leaping over cars.

  Taylor fell in love with King Charles, a seven-year-old grandson of Man O’War, at the Los Angeles riding school where she trained with Egon Mertz. At first rejected for the movie because she was small, Taylor campaigned aggressively for the part of Velvet Brown. She built her strength by riding an hour and a half every morning before school and began eating high-protein meals—including two giant farm breakfasts—and doing stretching exercises. After growing 3 inches, Taylor won the coveted role. She also convinced the producers to cast King Charles instead of a piebald horse.

  A gifted equestrienne who started riding at age three, Taylor claimed she could jump King Charles over 6-foot fences bareback. Like many star horses, however, King Charles had an ornery side, and when a trainer tried to teach him to play dead, he bit a chunk out of the man’s shoulder. According to Taylor, only she and the jockey who doubled her in the race sequence could ride King Charles, but he followed the young actress around like a puppy, and she handled him with only a rope around his neck.

  After the movie wrapped, producer Pandro S. Berman gave King Charles to Taylor for her thirteenth birthday. Taylor described that event as “one of the moments of my life.”

  In 1961, National Velvet, the television series, debuted on NBC. Produced by MGM Studios, the series featured Lori Martin as Velvet Brown and a horse named Blaze King (“King” for short) as Pie. An American Saddlebred stallion, King was only three years old when the series producers saw him pulling a carriage. He had never been broken to ride but had the look the producers wanted. The script based Pie on King Charles: a blaze-faced chestnut with four white stockings. Wrangler Ken Lee was given six weeks to saddle-break King and teach Lori Martin to ride as well. Both pupils learned quickly and were ready on time.

  Soldier and Chief were two horses from the Fat Jones Stables who doubled King. Wrangler Lee felt it was too risky to teach the main cast horse to rear, as sometimes a horse will use the trick offensively. When the script called for King to rear, Chief performed the trick instead. The gentle Chief, however, never harmed anyone. Soldier was a big horse who doubled King in all the jumping sequences. Although the series only ran for two years before it went into syndication, a number of National Velvet products were merchandised. One of the most unusual ones was a “King” horse seat, with a plastic horse head and yarn tail, for children to “ride” while watching the show.

  After the series ended, Soldier was sold as a show jumper. A restaurateur in Cincinnati purchased King and Chief for his daughter. Eventually, they were donated to a farm for underprivileged children.

  It wasn’t until 1978 that a feature-length sequel to National Velvet was released. International Velvet starred a young Tatum O’Neal as Velvet Brown’s niece, who trains for the British Olympic team aboard a horse named Arizona Pie. Olympic equestrian William Steinkraus served as a consultant on the film. Although the film contains some excellent jumping sequences, it did not achieve the success of the beloved original.

  Wrangler Ken Lee was given six weeks to saddle-break Blaze King and teach Lori Martin to ride for the TV series National Velvet (1961–1963). Both pupils learned quickly, and Lori and King became the idols of millions of girls.

  Black Beauty

  Anna Sewell’s popular children’s book Black Beauty was first published in 1877 and has remained in print ever since. The evergreen story is told from the perspective of a black stallion forced from a loving country home and subjected to cruelty as a saddle and carriage horse in Victorian London. The book’s stark depiction of horse abuse is credited with starting the animal-welfare movement in Britain.

  Black Beauty’s compelling story has inspired six films, the first in 1917, a silent film originally titled Your Obedient Servant. The t
itle was later changed to Black Beauty, and the film was rereleased in 1921. Vitagraph released its own silent version of Black Beauty in the same year. This version inspired the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman to become a filmmaker. Although Bergman was only six years old when he saw Black Beauty, the powerful emotions evoked by the film—particularly the dramatic burning-barn sequence—ignited his own lifelong passion for cinema.

  The next Black Beauty was a sound film released in 1933 by Monogram Studio. No record of the horses who starred in these early Black Beauty films has been found.

  In 1946, Twentieth Century Fox released the third filmed version of Black Beauty to critical acclaim. A number of black horses were considered for the part of Beauty; the title role went to equine ingénue Highland Dale, who was only two years old at the time of his acting debut. Foaled in Missouri on March 4, 1943, the American Saddlebred stallion boasted an illustrious southern pedigree. Pedigree doesn’t guarantee star quality, but Highland Dale had “it.” Discovered when he was just eighteen months old by trainer Ralph McCutcheon, the beautiful Highland Dale proved to be a natural actor. Although only 15 hands high, he had such screen presence that he often stole the show from his human costars. After his impressive work as Beauty, Highland Dale was known around the McCutcheon barn as Beaut.

  Highland Dale as Beauty has his ears cocked for signals from trainer Ralph McCutcheon and ignores the fire as the human actors play out the drama in the 1946 Black Beauty.