Detailed Animal Action Report

Horses were used throughout this film in the background or simple A – B action. However, there were also stunts throughout the film as well. In the beginning of the film, Louis is riding his horse with Zip at his side as they trot along the trail. Suddenly, someone shoots at them and they turn and run in another direction. For this and other scenes with gunfire, quarter loads were used in the guns and cotton was placed in the ears of the animals. Further along in that scene, Louis’ horse jumps over a fallen log. The horse was a trained jumping horse. The ground on either side of the log had been swept and smoothed out for the jump. Zip, the dog had also been trained. For this particular scene, one trainer released the dog, while another trainer on the other side of the log called for him with food as his reward.

Later in the story, Louis and Lillian, both on horseback, with Zip along side of them, ride further into the valley then they have ever been. They have a pack mule with them as they ride through some rough terrain, rocks and streams. For this scene, the mules and the horses had special barium shoes for climbing in rough terrain. The area had been previously walked by the wranglers to make sure there were no loose rocks. The wranglers surrounded the horses for protection. As they walk their horses and mule along a steep ledge, Lillian slips and falls, leaving her horse behind on the ledge. Louis ties a rope to Lillian’s horse which is pulling her up, but then Louis slips and falls. Louis yells up at Zip and tells him to lead Lillian’s horse further back. For this scene, the dog’s trainer had cued Zip to fetch the reins of the horse and bring them back to her. Several trainers, off camera, then helped the horse to pull the two up the cliff, making it appear as though the horse was doing all the pulling. The stunt doubles also aided the horse by climbing as much of the cliff as they could.

When the Cheyenne first capture Louis and Lillian, Zip starts barking and will not stop. To accomplish this, the trainer had cued the dog to keep barking. One of the Indians shoots Zip with his bow and arrow. Zip yelps and moans. This scene was filmed in cuts. We see the Indian shoot the arrow then in the next scene we see the dog with the arrow in his flank. For this scene, the trainer placed an arrow in the fold of the dog’s skin and secured it with monofiliment. The dog had been trained to fall on his side. As they are transported on foot to the Cheyenne’s camp, Louis holds Zip in his arms. Eventually, Lillian is allowed to ride her horse, so Zip is put up on the horse with her.

When Louis rides back to town, Yellow Wolf comes with him as far as a cave. Then Louis is on his own from there. On the way down the mountain, his horse starts grunting and slows down. Ahead of them is a deer carcass with cougar nearby. As the cougar growls, Louis’ horse spooks and goes galloping down the hill, trips and falls over, throwing Louis off and the two of them slide down the rest of the hill. This scene was filmed in cuts. A trained falling horse was used for the fall. What appears to be the horse falling down the steep hill, was actually only about three feet. Low camera angles were used to make the hill appear steeper. For the horse’s comfort, a pit about twenty to thirty feet across was dug and branches, rocks and any other debris was cleared away, replacing it with dirt and sand. For the scene where the mountain lion growls, the trainer hid behind the mountain lion with a leash on it. A second trainer stood in front of the mountain lion and promted him into growling. In scenes where the horse and mountain lion were near each other, five trainers stood between them to avoid any attacks.

For the scene in town as Louis gallops down an alley way and into the street, the horse wore rubber shoes. All of the signs and poles were removed from the alley so that the horse would not encounter any obstacles. Louis smashes Briggs’ windshield with his shotgun and keeps on going. A stunt double was used for this scene and the rearview mirror on the side of the car was removed so the horse would not be hurt when it ran by. Deegan fires his gun at Louis as he rides by. Louis’ horse, jumps over the road block and and a police car and keeps on going, almost running into a truck. Louis quickly reins the horse and dodges the truck. Louis then rides his horse under a bridge and off toward the hills. The horse for this scene was a trained jumping horse ridden by a stunt double. The car that the horse jumped over, was only about three and a half feet high. This horse was used to jumping even higher obstacles and was in no way harmed. There were several rehearsals prior to filming this scene. The cars in the road block were placed in different angles to give the horse more space to jump. The scene was limited to three takes only. Plywood was put over the cross pieces of the bridge so that the horse’s feet would not get caught. Any other bumps in the dirt were leveled prior to the jump. The wranglers were used as stunt doubles to insure the horse’s safety.

Later, Louis and the dog soldiers fight to deter Sheriff Deegan and his men from going after the Indians who have gone to higher ground. Louis has packed some old dynamite found at the reservation, which he places in different parts of the area, mainly the cave. Louis was going to shoot at the dynamite to make it explode, but Deegan’s men capture him and he is arrested and handcuffed. Yellow Wolf, on the other side of the cave aims an arrow, and the entire cave explodes, sending Louis, the sheriff and his men flying down the mountain. The scene was filmed in cuts. When we actually see the explosion, no horses are even there. After the scene, we cut to see Deegan, Gates and the posse running for cover as dust and debris rains down on them. There is a scene on the reservation where a deer carcass is hanging. This was made by the special effects people. A taxidermied deer was used in the scene when we see a deer carcass on the ground with the mountain lion nearby.