Fri Jan 29, 2010 12:34 pm
I had fun watching "The King of the Wild Horses" (1924) starring Rex the Wonder Horse. (I've put off watching this for two or three years; but now, all of a sudden, I have two copies, and I figured I might as well not waste my money any longer - "Get watching, Pyle," I put it to me in the imperative!) The humans in the cast were a treat, too. The star, of all people, was none other than Léon Bary, the French actor who came over to the States earlier on and was later Athos, one of the three musketeers in Fairbanks' movie of the same name. Also in the cast were Edna Murphy, Pat Hartigan, Sidney De Gray, and - of all people - Charles Parrott - yes, Charley Chase!! I couldn't believe my eyes at the beginning when I saw Charley Chase, and I wondered if it could really be! But, yes, it was, and he plays a ne'er-do-well's ne'er do well, if ever there was one. He plays the son of a ranch owner (de Gray) who bilks his father along with Pat Hartigan (who's really forcing Chase, it turns out). That's one of three stories.
Another is a mutual interest - I'd not quite call it a love interest yet - between Bary and Murphy.
The real story, though, is the story of man versus wild horse - The Black - Rex the Wonder Horse - and it's a wonderful story. A horse in wild horse country rules a roost of other wild horses (I know, the metaphor's false) and, at the beginning, shows how he keeps ruling the roost by ousting another competitor. But men have been after this one, too. That's the story we follow until Bary tames the horse while a fire threatens both of them! Then Bary tames the bad guys, too, with the help of the king of the wild horses, of course. Hopefully, he eventually would tame the girl, besides. I must admit that this entire 60 minute film is nothing more than a cowboy fantasy if ever there was one. Nothing like this could ever happen - but it sure was fun watching it happen!
I must admit that there were some of the worst cut to's and back's I've ever seen in a film. The editing was quite sloppy, but no one but a film nut like myself (and the bunch on this blog) would notice. I also noticed in a couple of scenes that Rex was sweating far too much, building up a slather, indeed, way, way too much. They must have worked him like a dog, if you'll pardon the expression! He was so slathered in one scene that he looked like a different horse because of the color of his sweat in the sun, filmed by an antique camera. Early westerns that weren't "A" pictures didn't necessarily get the treatment other films did. This was made by Hal Roach, by the way, and that's probably why Charley Chase was in it.
I enjoyed this film immensely! So will anyone else who watches it. Very highly recommended if you like horse flesh in the wild...
My print is in a double DVD release from Televista/Mvd. The other DVD is "Thundering Hoofs" with Fred Thomson. I watched it, too. Wonderful show, but I have seen it before. Decent print, though. There's only one surviving print, I think, and it's the only Thomson still in existence where he's the cowboy lead.