if i didn’t have a dime / gene pitney
Buck Jones busted for Stunt Fraud
Diligent investigative reporting by My Favorite Westerns has uncovered
Stunt Fraud in the 1934 Buck Jones Western Serial ‘Red Rider‘!
Close scrutiny of photo images and the Serial clip clearly reveal
that Buck and his heroine riding Silver did not jump the yawning chasm as
they appear to have done in the clip! Zounds!
Look closely and you will see that the dust from Buck’s steed does
not fall into the canyon – but instead alights on some invisible platform!
Indeed! The illusion of Buck jumping a chasm is achieved by
the clever splicing and overlaying of two separate images!
Buck is really merely jumping a ditch only 2 feet deep.
When confronted with the evidence, Jones responded:
“Only an idiot with risk the life of a young lady and his horse
by actually jumping across a chasm.”
Good point Buck.
But it was a nice illusion while it lasted.
Coming up: The Movie Palaces
Proving that the man was NOT an idiot! Did anyone really believe those stunts were real?
I did. You’ve heard of Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton. These two guys – and other stuntmen from the early Film era – routinely performed stunts that could have easily killed them.