Kittling: Books: Twisting in Air by Carol Bradley

First Line: Tall, ebony-haired Chuck Roberson had landed his dream job in Hollywood.

Westerns had long been a moviegoer favorite, and Hollywood cranked them out by the dozens. However, it wasn't until the 1940s that movie studios agreed to abide by the Hollywood Production Code's ban on cruelty to animals, which meant they had to stop using deadly tripwires, tilt chutes, and covered pits. Filmmakers still wanted to depict horses falling in battle so they had to start looking for "acting" horses who could fall to the ground on command.

A thoroughbred-quarter horse mix named Cocaine ("Coke") overcame a debilitating injury to become the fastest falling horse of all. Coke was one of only two dozen horses who mastered the athleticism required to fall safely at will. He doubled many times for John Wayne's horse, Dollor, and appeared in several Westerns directed by John Ford.

If you grew up watching Westerns in movie theaters or on television, like I did, you're bound to find Twisting in Air fascinating. Carol Bradley's book is an absorbing look at the early dark history of stunt horses in movies, to its heyday, and on to the present day. I've been a horse lover my entire life, and I'm glad I didn't watch those early Westerns before the Hollywood Production Code's ban on cruelty to animals.

I learned so much about the training and development of falling horses, but-- as usual-- it was the relationship between rider and horse that was key. The relationship explored the most in Twisting in Air is between stunt rider Chuck Roberson and his horse Cocaine. Roberson was the inspiration for the TV series "The Fall Guy," and he doubled for John Wayne many times.

This book explores the entire history of stunt riders and horses, from the early days of the Wild West shows to now. Once the Hollywood Production Code and the Humane Society began to have an increased say in how animals were treated, I knew it was only a matter of time before uncaring, miserly film producers found a way around the rules. (Countries outside the U.S. didn't have those same laws.) What about movies being made today? Computer-generated imagery is a wonderful thing.

Twisting in Air was a valuable read for me because it filled in so many gaps in my knowledge of the movies and television shows I loved to watch in my youth (including the true meaning of animals' facial expressions). Stunt men like Chuck Roberson and horses like Cocaine worked hard to bring a safe kind of realism to Westerns. They really were teams that cared for one another, and I'm glad I now know more about them.

Twisting in Air: The Sensational Rise of a Hollywood Falling Horse by Carol Bradley

eISBN: 9781496240712

eBook, 224 pages

Non-Fiction

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley