Great Horses Of The Silver Screen

The term “Wonder Horse” was coined to describe Tom Mix’s horse Tony, but eventually was used to describe any of a select cadre of movie horses known for performing risky or amazing stunts. Tony was the best known and most popular horse of his day, making personal appearances with Mix all around the world. He performed for royalty in Europe and visited President Harding at the White House. In Movie Monthly magazine Tom Mix reported that “Tony was patted by so many people it’s a wonder he has any hair left. “ Tony achieved such popularity that three films featured him in their title:  Just Tony (1922), Oh! You Tony (1924), and Tony Runs Wild (1926).  He was a flashy fellow with a white diamond blaze on his face and white stockings on his rear legs, well suited to Mix’s flamboyant style. He was known for his intelligence and needed to be shown a trick only once to learn it. Mix and Tony performed all their own daredevil stunts; running after trains, jumping through fire, and leaping from cliff to cliff.  As an enduring testimony to his popularity Tony was even invited to leave his hoof prints in cement in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Eventually age caught up to him and he could no longer safely or reliably perform stunts so he was retired to the Tom Mix Ranch. No other horse could replace him in the hearts of the public, but on screen Tony, Jr. and Tony II stepped into his horseshoes.

But even before Tony came along, there was Fritz. Fritz was a red pinto who was owned and trained by the first real cowboy movie star, William S. Hart. Though a small horse, Fritz had stamina and guts and mastered an array of dazzling tricks that earned him his own fan base.  Hart and Fritz had a grittier more realistic style than Mix and Tony. In 1922 Hart wrote a book, Tales Told Under a White Oak Tree, detailing Fritz’s adventures. The story is narrated in the horse’s voice as if he were sharing his story with his horse buddies in the barn. He tells how with Hart on his back he walked on a narrow log crossing a canyon, jumped through a window, swam raging rivers and even survived being caught in a whirlpool.

Fritz’s markings were so distinctive that Hart never used a stunt double for his feisty little horse, except in his last film. The script required Hart and Fritz to jump off a cliff into a 150 foot gorge. Hart felt this far too dangerous for his beloved horse so at great expense constructed a mechanical horse to take the plunge. Movie censors were aghast as the scene was realistic enough to convince them that Hart had endangered his horse. Fans who adored Fritz and regularly sent him fan mail and sugar cubes were equally concerned. Much to everyone’s relief Hart was able to explain how the illusion had been accomplished, and although the dummy horse was destroyed in the stunt and Hart injured, Fritz was unharmed. Fritz ended his days in fine style, retiring to Hart’s Horseshoe Ranch.