Journal Notes

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Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

She could out-ride the cowboys, outshine the leading ladies, and leap into the Pacific before anyone yelled “Cut!” Meet Olive Fuller Golden Carey. She was thrilling audiences long before stunt doubles were a thing

When the five-reel western drama A Knight of the Range premiered in early 1916, critics praised silent film cowboy and cowgirl actors Harry D. Carey and Olive Fuller Golden performances. Audiences were dazzled by the equestrian tricks never-before seen in motion pictures. “Stunts that are inconceivable of execution are performed before the all-seeing eye of the camera,” a review of the film in a Hollywood magazine read. “Lovers of riding will miss the treat of their lifetime if they fail to see Western stars Carey and Golden work their magic on horseback. Golden is one of the prettiest and most popular of film favorites.

Olive Fuller Golden learned to ride in upstate New York where she was born on January 31, 1896. Before becoming an actress and stuntwoman, she was a rodeo performer specializing in trick riding and roping. At the age of sixteen, she traveled to Los Angeles where she became an original stock player for director D. W. Griffith – along with Mary Pickford, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, and future husband Harry Carey. She appeared in her first major film in 1914 entitled Tess of the Storm Country starring Mary Pickford.

Olive excelled in stunt work and was unafraid to try even the most outrageous feats. In the picture The Inner Conscience, she played the part of a runaway wife who had to escape her husband by jumping out of a boat sailing around Catalina Island. While rehearsing the scene of her character’s drowning, cast and crew members who didn’t know she was acting jumped in to save her.

Critics were consistently impressed with Olive’s riding skills and often pointed out her ability in their reviews noting that “her feats of horsemanship never fail to thrill us to the core, and we have nothing but admiration for the daring rider, who performs remarkable stunts on the backs of treacherous cow ponies.”

In 1916, she signed a contract with Universal and it was during this time she made the acquaintance of an up-and-coming director named John Ford. After the studio hired him to direct pictures, he cast Olive and Harry Carey in many of his films. The first picture she did with Ford was The Soul Herder in 1917.

Olive and Harry Carey were married on January 5, 1920, and shortly thereafter she decided to retire from motion pictures and helped manage her husband’s career and raise a family. After Harry’s death in 1947, she decided to come out of retirement. She appeared in a number of movies including Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, The Alamo, and Two Rode Together. The most memorable film in which Olive appeared was Ford’s The Searchers in which she played the mother of Vera Miles and her real-life son, Harry Carey, Jr.

Olive passed away in March 1988, after a brief illness at her ranch in Carpinteria, California. She was ninety-two.

To learn more about Olive Carey and other stunt women like her read

Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women.

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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.

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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.

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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

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

Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

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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

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“Chris Enss has done it again. For years and with many, many books, she has brought us wonderful stories and insights about the women of the West. These heroines of calico helped shape, define, and build the frontier. Now we step into the early days of filmdom with strong, independent women who helped create the magic of movies. The weaker sex? Not in a heartbeat. These women mastered feats far beyond those mortal men. An exciting book about women with an iron will, determination, and skill. Daughters of Daring belongs in every western lover’s library.” Peter Sherayko, actor, producer, author

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Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stuntwomen

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Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

“Once again, Enss has unearthed hidden cinema secrets. In Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women, she tells the remarkable story of women who, from the dawn of movies, risked their lives – mostly in secret. Finally, their names are shared and their incredible achievements are told. No one does it better.” Rob Word, producer and host, A Word on Westerns

Daughter of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

coming to bookstores everywhere February 3.

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In the beginning, women in Western films were relegated to playing mothers, daughters, or love interests to the Wester heroes. They were generally always in need and too frail to help themselves. Off camera women were seen differently by film producers. Because women sat lighter in the saddle than men they were called on to perform stunts on horseback that were difficult for their heavier male costars. Many of the sensational feats such as riding horses into a raging river, riding full gallop down a cliff face, or over a small chasm were performed by cowgirls.

When Max Sennett decided to feature those daring stuntwomen as stars in his pictures, placing them in perilous situations and filming their hair-raising escapes, other movie executives followed suit. Audiences proved their appreciation for the films by swarming the theaters to watch the heroines deal with danger. Some of the female silent stars that dazzled fans in a series of fast-paced Westerns were Olive Fuller Golden, Bessie Barriscale, and Anita Bush.

When the five-reel western drama A Knight of the Range premiered in early 1916, critics praised silent film cowboy and cowgirl actors Harry D. Carey and Olive Fuller Golden performances. Audiences were dazzled by the equestrian tricks never-before seen in motion pictures. “Stunts that are inconceivable of execution are performed before the all-seeing eye of the camera,” a review of the film in a Hollywood magazine read. “Lovers of riding will miss the treat of their lifetime if they fail to see Western stars Carey and Golden work their magic on horseback. Golden is one of the prettiest and most popular of film favorites. Her long golden curls droop over her shoulders and her bewitching smile is as golden as an Arizona sunset; golden also is her disposition. She will be a star as long as motion pictures are being made.”

To learn more about Olive Golden and many other talented stunt women read Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women.

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Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women

“Daughters of Daring: Hollywood Cowgirl Stunt Women is a powerful survey of the women who made names for themselves in Hollywood as career stunt women, performing dangerous acts. Most readers have heard of stand-in stunt-men, but few will have prior knowledge of these women, who were chosen both for their ability and because:

That scene and nearly every other thrill the audience witnessed in early motion pictures where a lovely girl was in danger was made by one of Hollywood’s forgotten, fearless stuntwomen doubling for movie stars. She didn’t double for the star because the star lacked courage. She did it because, if she were maimed or killed, it would make little difference to the cost of the picture. If the star tried to wreck a buckboard and suffered even a split lip, the cost of delayed production would have amounted to thousands of dollars. Using a cowgirl stuntwoman in Westerns was insurance for the studios. While beautiful movie stars were expensive, courageous lady equestrians were more common and well within the studio’s budget.

With this introductory surprise, readers are off on a wild ride through the biographical sketches of selected Hollywood stuntwomen whose lives and achievements have, until now, gone largely undocumented.

These portraits embrace how each women got into the stunt-riding act, creating connections between such seemingly disparate circumstances as Lucille Mulhall’s encounter with Will Rogers at the Mulhall’s Congress of Rough Riders and Ropers, which resulted in the teenager’s training and developing extraordinary abilities in roping and riding; or Oregon girl Lorena Trickey, whose early skills with horses and riding led her to work with early film pioneers Mix and Pickford.

Hollywood history, women’s lives, and extraordinary talents of the times meld in a series of stories that are vivid and engrossing, adding depth and dimension to each woman’s experiences.

Enss’s focus not only on what they did but how they became stunt women and often embraced even more achievements outside of Hollywood makes for a vivid collection of biographical sketches supplemented by equally eye-opening vintage photos of the women.

Libraries and readers seeking thoroughly engrossing Western and women’s history accounts will relish how both come to life in this intriguing, unusual survey.

The juxtaposition of U.S. history, western culture, and Hollywood interests assures that, as it deserves, Daughters of Daring will receive broad interest from a wide audience of history buffs, women’s history readers, and general-interest readers alike.”

Midwest Book Review

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