Stars on Horseback

Trite little short supposedly shows Hollywood stars on horseback--but instead lifts clips from their films in the case of Bette Davis (DARK VICTORY) and Olivia de Havilland (GOLD IS WHERE YOU FIND IT).

Otherwise, the viewer gets brief glimpses of Priscilla Lane, Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, George Tobias and Joel McCrea in brief outdoor shots on horseback.

Really just a chance for Warner Bros. to remind patrons of their stars, but cheating just a little by using only film clips for Bette and Olivia.

Summing up: Easy to miss.

Stars on Horseback (1943)

*** (out of 4)

Interesting documentary short takes a look at blacksmith George Garfield who is best known for helping Hollywood stars with their horses. Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, John Garfield, Tim Hold, Pricilla Lane, George Tobias and Joel McCrea are just a few of the stars on display here. I'm not sure if horse buffs will find too much to enjoy here but film buffs outta get a kick out of the large cast on display. A lot of the footage comes from movies or promotional stuff but there's some nice footage of McCrae clowning around with Garfield. We also get some nice footage of Garfield working on McCrae's horse and fitting him with the proper shoes.

Although this short film purports to extol the virtues of blacksmiths and, in particular, a blacksmith who serves various Hollywood celebrities (all of which just happen to work for Warner Brothers), the film really is just a case of shameless self-promotion by the studio. The narration and laudable comments notwithstanding, the film is nothing but shot after shot of stars on horseback. Now I know that some of them truly did love horses and were excellent equestrians, but I also wonder if some of them couldn't tell one end from the other and were just stuck in this short to promote their careers! Regardless, it's pretty dull stuff and seems so scripted that it doesn't even seem to offer a 'behind the scenes' look at the stars as they play. Mildly interesting at best.

Here's a short subject on the dying work of the blacksmith, and in particular George Garfield, "Blacksmith to the Stars", like Joel McCrea, who ran a working ranch when he wasn't appearing in movies, Bette Davis, and even supporting actor George Tobias. Most of whom were under contract to Warner Brothers. What a coincidence!

It's one of those shorts which showed the stars when they weren't glamorized and made up for the screen. Cinematographer Leonard Galezio ran the camera for only five movies, most of them short subjects, but the beautifully maintained copy that plays on Turner Classic Movies is lovely.