The Greatest 4 Legged Star

 

As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.

Paul kindly shared a movie with me in Lee Marvin starring in Monte Walsh and while this is filmed as the last of the old cowboys, what stunned me was the long scene which was shot of Walsh riding a grey bucking horse which no one else could.

Interested in who this horse was, as it was a star, I asked Gemini, but it drew nothing. The closest I can come up with is this was a local Arizona bucking horse, which probably ran the circuit down there. I should say "bucking horses" as there were at least two bucking horses filmed in a clever edit.

To explain this, this horse was a well schooled bucking horse. It was in good rig. It was a saddle bronc which means it was steered by the rider with a rope, unlike bareback where the cowboy just hangs on and spurs for the money.

In watching where this horse was ridden, it was not spooked by being in a china shop or anywhere else. It probably got more work than it had in years, as 8 seconds is the mark in rodeos, and then the horse trots back to the pen and gets it's oats and loafs around as it's work is done.

This horse was a "money" horse, meaning it bucked so a rider could make a pretty ride, stay on and make money.  Some shots showed a bit different pattern which cowboys would hit the ground, but Floyd Baze who did the stunt work was an accomplished bucking horse rider. It was the greatest stunt sequence with a horse ever filmed. 

No pictures of this man are available.

Meet you on the other side

Regarding the real-life horses that played "the Grey" on set:

• around the 1970 Lee Marvin Production: During filming in 1969–1970 (with stunt coordination by Hollywood legend Jack Williams and stunt work by riders like Jim Baze), studio records did not formally log or credit the individual names of the local rodeo stock horses brought in for the scene. In film history and lore, the animal remained uncredited outside of being "the grey bucking horse."

• The 2003 Tom Selleck Remake: For the television remake, the American Humane Association logged the exact horses used for that famous town-wrecking sequence:

  • Popcorn — A trained stunt horse used specifically to jump through the store window.

  • Roxy — A real bucking horse brought in to do the actual wild bucking and store-smashing inside.

So while the 1970 Marvin film kept its real-life rodeo stock anonymous as "the Grey," the stunt work tradition carried through to Roxy and Popcorn in the modern retelling!

Like most things, I have no intention of watching Tom Selleck as there can be no improvement in the bucking scene nor on Lee Marvin.

Where the 1970 Film Was Made

The 1970 movie Monte Walsh was filmed on location in Arizona.

• Old Tucson Studios and Mescal, Arizona: Production was centered around the famous Old Tucson movie ranch. The crew built the fictional town sets (such as the town of Harmony) about 35 miles east of Tucson at what became the Mescal movie location.

• Circle Z Ranch (Patagonia, Arizona): Key outdoor ranch and open-country riding scenes were filmed on this working dude ranch down near Patagonia.

The Stock & Wranglers Behind the Livestock

Because Monte Walsh was filmed in 1969 before production logs systematically tracked livestock origins, the exact rodeo stock contractor or named rodeo string used for the 1970 release was not officially credited on screen or in production notes.

What is known about how the livestock and stunt horses were sourced:

• Local Arizona Ranches & Old Tucson Wranglers: The horses, cattle, and livestock used in the production were supplied and handled through Old Tucson's resident studio wranglers and local southern Arizona ranches.

• Stunt Coordination: The horse stunts and bucking sequences were oversaw by veteran Hollywood stunt coordinator Jack Williams along with seasoned western stunt riders and wranglers. Unbroken or high-energy ranch horses from local Arizona stock were paired with expert stunt double riders to capture the wild bucking without risking the main actors.

Lastly, Richard Farnsworth was in this movie who later became a big star. Billy Greenbush who you know by his infamous twin daughters who played Carrie on Little House on the Prairie makes an appearance too. The cook is an alumni of MASH like Greenbush in playing a cantankerous supply officer in the Incubator episode. Bo Hopkins makes a very young appearance too. Allot of well known people who were very young appeared in this movie.

Is there a record of the rider who rose that horse or I should say horses as there were at least two filmed in that extended bucking scene.

One of the key stuntmen who doubled for Lee Marvin and rode the horse during that bucking sequence was Jim Baze.

Baze was a former rodeo rider turned Hollywood stuntman who worked heavily on westerns. During the filming of Monte Walsh, a horse actually fell and broke Baze's leg on set. Rather than stopping, he wrapped his broken leg in an elastic bandage, put on a wig/beard to match Lee Marvin's appearance, and kept riding through the sequence.

The overall stunt team on Monte Walsh was coordinated by veteran Hollywood stunt legend Jack Williams, and also included prominent cowboy stuntmen such as Richard Farnsworth.

So when that horse in the movie falls, it was real, and they incorporated it into the film.

Yes, that is precisely how it went down!

During the filming of that intense bucking scene, the fall wasn't a planned, scripted stunt trick—it was a real, high-speed accident. When the bucking horse went down hard, taking stuntman Jim Baze with it and fracturing his leg, director William A. Fraker kept the cameras rolling.

Instead of scrapping the shot or treating it as a ruined take, they realized the violent crash fit the raw, chaotic energy of Monte riding a completely untamed horse through town.

In the finished film, you see the grey bucking horse crash through the wooden corral fence and hit the ground hard. Thanks to Baze masking his injury with an elastic bandage, riding through the pain, and seamless editing, it looks as though Monte gets right back up, remounts the wild bronco, and continues tearing up the town.

It turned a painful, real-life accident into one of the most memorable and visceral bucking sequences in 1970s Western cinema.

It is not often that a horse steals the show in a movie. I hate the Humane Society, but things got a bit out of hand on horses after this movie was filmed and bad things happened, and horses were protected along with other animals after this.

I'm still old Western prejudiced as I do not want sex scenes or women around being a distraction. So the love interest for Marvin should have been this horse and not the pretty gal he was visiting. Is why I liked John Wayne movies in the women had their place and it was nothing romantic with John Wayne, outside of Kate Hepburn and that was kept all proper as it should have been.

I really think this bucking horse scene would be fantastic on a big screen television. It was a surprise in it taking place and that is part of the joy I had in watching this film in this was a gift and honestly Lee Marvin deserves a great deal of credit in actors have a maxim in not being in movies with kids or animals as it always ends badly.

Maybe I will look up Tom Selleck and be disappointed.......no not going to tarnish the movie legend of this grey horse. It was the best and no one is ever going to out act that Arizona stock horse.

Nuff Said

agtG