Fifty-five years ago Diana Cary - barely twenty months old - made
150 two-reel comedies in the Century studio which stood on the
corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street. At the same time a few
hundred legitimate out-of-work cowboys were hired by Century and
Universal as riders, stunt men and doubles for Western stars. This
raunchy, colorful, widemouthed crew of storytellers became known as
the "Gower Gulch" men, and this book pays a warmly eloquent tribute
to them. In 1940 Cary began noticing that these oldtimers were
passing away, so she recorded verbatim their tales about DeMille,
John Ford and others. From this material she has produced a
wonderful book about movies, not a gush phrase anywhere, just
cussed authenticity overflowing with the pride of their work. "The
horsepower bottled up in six high-strung, speed-hungry stage
horses, has simply got to be felt to be appreciated. When an
experienced driver climbs up on the box and takes the four lines
knowingly into his hands, threading them through his fingers and
letting them ripple over the backs of his ponies like silk floss,
he can feel that strength surging up through his wrists and arms
and across his powerful shoulders." The book is also a coda for all
the lost horses rigged for neck-breaking falls - The Charge of the
Light Brigade was a horror: 25 horses killed, scores lamed and a
dozen cowboys hospitalized on the critical list. A stylish canter
on those chromocolored cardboard lots. (Kirkus Reviews)
After 1912, when the great cattle empires began to crumble,
hundreds of seasoned cowboys found themselves jobless. A handful of
discarded horsemen, however, stumbled upon an entirely new
frontier-Hollywood. In a rare insider's view, Diana Serra Cary
tells the story of these cowboys, who survived for another fifty
years as riders, stuntmen, and doubles for the stars. Filled with
humorous anecdotes, The Hollywood Posse reveals the full story of
the cowboys' long and bitter feud with autocratic director Cecil B.
De Mille; their relationships with the great Western stars-from the
flamboyant Tom Mix to the durable John Wayne; and above all, their
touching loyalty, code of honor, and devotion to each other.
General
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