Enter now to win a copy of

Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

Silent-film heroine, real-life stuntwoman, future speakeasy queen.

Meet the woman who jumped fences, flattened outlaws, and later drank with them.

A young Indian woman wearing a buckskin dress and leggings rode her white horse fast into a thick forest. Branches slapped her, but the sound of the hoofbeats not far ahead kept her going. It was imperative she catch up to the rider she was chasing. She urged her horse to go faster and the animal complied. They broke through the other side of the trees, emerging behind a rickety set of fence posts. The woman leaned forward in the saddle as the horse made a spectacular jump over the barbed wire strung between the posts. Horse and rider gained on the bad guy they were pursuing. The leathery-faced villain dressed in rough cow-country garb dared to look back to see how much his lead had shrunk. The woman was bearing down on him now. She was close, determined.

Rising out of her saddle with her horse in full gallop, she placed the reins in her teeth, then placed one foot behind the pommel and the other in front of the cantle. Now standing, she leapt off the back of the horse onto the man she was after. The pair tumbled hard onto the ground. The man tried to get to his feet, but the woman got up first, hurried to him, and hit him over the head with the butt of a pistol. They wrestled a bit until finally the woman cracked him hard on the head with the gun again. Exhausted, she stared down at the unconscious outlaw contemplating her next move.

The actress and stuntwoman playing the part of the Indian maiden in the 1920 silent film directed by DW Griffith entitled White Squaw was Texas Guinan. Agile and daring, the vivacious talent insisted on performing her own stunts in numerous motion pictures made between 1917 and 1933.

To learn more about this amazing lady who went on to own a speakeasy and make a name for herself among some of the country’s most notorious gangsters read Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women.

Enter now to win a copy of the book

Enter now to win a copy of

Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

Bertha “Betty” Danko was an accomplished stuntwoman. She doubled for many leading actress of the 1930s and 1940s, but is best known for having doubled for Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. During the filming of the skywriting scene, a pipe attached to the Witch’s broomstick exploded, landing Danko in the hospital with a serious leg wound.

Danko performed many stunts with animals. In one particular film she was working with a cougar when the stunt went wrong. The animal grabbed her leg with his front paws and sank its claws deep into her flesh. He then clamped down with his jaws and started to chew. “The pain was incredible,” Danko shared with the press. “Each bite was torture. I wanted to pass out, but I couldn’t.”

The cougar managed to bite her thirteen times before the animal’s trainer was able to pull him away from Danko. The bites were extremely deep, and doctors told her the scars would never disappear. “I have fallen into lakes, poles, over chairs and tables, down laundry chutes and stairs,” she said. “I have fallen over backwards from a height of 25 feet into 32 inches of water and into a pool fully clothed, though I can barely swim. I’ve been yanked around on wire, had pies and knives thrown at me, have lain amid flames and gasoline all for the sake of art and a paycheck.”

To learn more about the amazing and brave ladies who played an important role in motion pictures read

Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women.

Enter now to win a copy of

Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

When Hollywood recreated the Oklahoma Land Rush for Cimarron, stuntwoman Vera McGinnis rode straight into film history, and danger, to help make an Oscar-winning epic.

Five thousand motion picture stuntpeople and extras, dressed in pioneer costumes, gathered at the Quinn Ranch outside of Los Angeles to take part in the filming of the Western Cimarron. Based on the novel by Edna Ferber, the story is of the opening up of the Oklahoma Territory and its fight for statehood told through the lives of a newspaper editor and his wife.

Director Wesley Ruggles maneuvered back and forth in front of the cast, shouting instructions in preparation for the shoot. The swarm of people taking in the direction perfectly mimicked the restless torrent of humanity waiting to pour onto Oklahoma soil in 1889 to claim homesteads. Thousands of extras sat aboard a fleet of prairie schooners, many were on horses, stagecoaches, manning handcarts, and some were even on bicycles.

Twenty-eight cameraman and a host of camera assistants and photographers positioned at various spots around the setting made last minute adjustments to their equipment. Among the stunt people one of the cameras was trained on was thirty-eight-year-old Vera McGinnis. The cowgirl turned stunter was sitting atop a horse named Blackie who was anxious to get moving. While listening to what the director had to say about the filming, she tried to calm her ride struggling to stand still in the lineup. Vera glanced around at the riders on either side of her. She knew many of the extras had told the employment agency who hired them that they were fine equestrians, but she could tell by the way they sat their horses they were far from experts. She hoped she could successfully lead Blackie through any mishap that might occur as a result of inexperienced riders.

Vera was the stunt double for actress Estelle Taylor. Taylor portrayed a soiled dove in the film who was hoping to secure a section of land for herself in the soon-to-be opened territory. Vera had the unique position of being the only woman to run in the race. All the extras dressed in women’s clothing in the scene were actually men. With the exception of Vera, the director believed the ambitious undertaking was too dangerous for the average female extra to take on. Ruggles was familiar with Vera’s daring and talent and was confident she would get through the filming unscathed.

When the signal was given for the action to start, a great wave of cheering broke upon the air and the great assemblage moved in mass as fast as they could toward the appointed destination. Vera held Blackie back to wait for the wagons and schooners to move ahead and provide space for the horse to run without interference from the vehicles. Blackie didn’t take long to narrow the gap between he and Vera and the teams of horses pulling buggies. The novice drivers guiding those animals crossed in front of Vera and her ride almost hitting them. More than once, the cameras were rolling and horse and rider continued on their way with the rest of the cast.

Just when it seemed the scene would reach an end without injury the great fleet of extras, stuntpeople, and their vehicles traveled over what appeared to be a level plain. It was anything but. The ground was littered with prairie dog holes some two feet across and others in clusters or towns. Before filming began the production company sent a crew out to fill in gaping trenches with dirt. The work was only done on the area that would be contained in the shot. The ground wasn’t touched beyond that. Vera skillfully guided Blackie through the potentially hazardous section of prairie. He cleared the holes with big strides and didn’t stop until they were out of harm’s way.

The action of the mad scramble translated well on the big screen. Critics hailed Cimarron as a “magnificent film production” and boasted that it was “in the class of the never-to-be-forgotten productions.” It would go on to win the Academy Award for the best film, best adaptation, and set design. Vera McGinnis would go on to be one of the most admired and respected cowgirl stuntwomen in the business.

Daughters of Daring

I'm looking forward to hearing from you! Please fill out this form and I will get in touch with you if you are the winner.

Join my email news list to enter the giveaway.

"*" indicates required fields

Your Name

Your Email*

Please add me to your email news list*

Yes

To learn more about Vera McGinnis and the other talents ladies in film read

Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

Enter now to win a copy of

Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

Helen Gibson jumped from speeding trains onto galloping horses while filming The Hazards of Helen proving early audiences were watching real danger on screen.

Pearl White was dragged across rooftops and suspended from balloons in The Perils of Pauline suffering permanent injuries but insisting on performing her own stunts.

Grace Cunard clung to seaside cliffs and battled rough ocean surf without doubles in the serial Lucille Love.

Ruth Roland leapt between moving automobiles trains and motorcycles at full speed so audiences could see it was truly her.

Lillian Gish spent hours clinging to floating ice in freezing water during Way Down East resulting in frostbite and lasting nerve damage.

Helen Holmes hung from sheer cliff faces with no harness relying solely on strength and timing.

Gene Gauntier leapt from battlements and rooftops while doubling herself in wartime spy serials like The Girl Spy.

Mabel Normand drove and wrecked cars herself during high speed chase scenes in Mickey.

Louise Fazenda endured punishing falls collisions and trampling for physical comedy during the nineteen teens.

Musidora performed rooftop escapes window descents and acrobatic chases in the French serial Les Vampires without doubles or wires.

To learn more about these amazing women read

Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women