For starters it would be a good idea to define a strawberry roan. It's a horse with chestnut reddish hair mixed with white, and if you want to explore further color variations, you have your bay roans that are somewhat redder, and blue roans that have black coats sprinkled with white hairs.
I guess you could consider this an origin story of sorts for Gene Autry's horse Champion, even though he'd been around for quite a while by this time. Roy Rogers had a similar story regarding his famed palomino in the 1946 flick "My Pal Trigger". Unlike Trigger however, Champ doesn't come on the scene as a newborn foal, he's captured as a wild horse and broken by young Joe Bailey (Dickie Jones), who's severely injured in the process when he's thrown to the ground by Champ and finds that he can't walk due to a spinal injury. Joe's father seeks revenge on Champ and wants to kill the animal, but Gene has other ideas.
I have to say, Champ earned his paycheck in this one. There's a fairly gruesome scene where Champ is shown after he tumbles down the side of a cliff following a chase by the elder Bailey's (Jack Holt) ranch hands. His entire face is covered in blood and it looks like Gene might have to do the honorable thing to put him out of his misery. Matinée fans would not have been happy with that outcome, so Gene nurses Champ back to health on the sly. In fact, Champ becomes so spry he winds up siring a foal with his Sweetheart. Serioulsy, that was the name of Connie Bailey's (Gloria Henry) horse who managed to find time for a moonlight tryst with the film's title character.
I've seen Pat Buttram in plenty enough Autry films, so I was surprised to learn that this was the first one he appeared in. In retrospect it makes sense, as his character here wasn't very well defined and he didn't really operate as a sidekick. Similarly, Dickie Jones was a mainstay in Gene's films and TV shows, and it must have killed him to portray a character who couldn't stay on Champ during the bucking bronc ride. I've mentioned it more than once in my reviews, Jones was probably the best all around stunt rider you're likely to see in a Western. His work in the Range Rider TV series is truly exceptional, working next to Jock Mahoney who was no slouch himself.
So as the story plays out, Gene and Champ spent so much quality time together that it would have seemed unfair for Jones' character to eventually wind up as owner. Not to worry though - remember that foal I mentioned earlier. You just know that was going to be Champ, Jr.
I guess you could consider this an origin story of sorts for Gene Autry's horse Champion, even though he'd been around for quite a while by this time. Roy Rogers had a similar story regarding his famed palomino in the 1946 flick "My Pal Trigger". Unlike Trigger however, Champ doesn't come on the scene as a newborn foal, he's captured as a wild horse and broken by young Joe Bailey (Dickie Jones), who's severely injured in the process when he's thrown to the ground by Champ and finds that he can't walk due to a spinal injury. Joe's father seeks revenge on Champ and wants to kill the animal, but Gene has other ideas.
I have to say, Champ earned his paycheck in this one. There's a fairly gruesome scene where Champ is shown after he tumbles down the side of a cliff following a chase by the elder Bailey's (Jack Holt) ranch hands. His entire face is covered in blood and it looks like Gene might have to do the honorable thing to put him out of his misery. Matinée fans would not have been happy with that outcome, so Gene nurses Champ back to health on the sly. In fact, Champ becomes so spry he winds up siring a foal with his Sweetheart. Serioulsy, that was the name of Connie Bailey's (Gloria Henry) horse who managed to find time for a moonlight tryst with the film's title character.
I've seen Pat Buttram in plenty enough Autry films, so I was surprised to learn that this was the first one he appeared in. In retrospect it makes sense, as his character here wasn't very well defined and he didn't really operate as a sidekick. Similarly, Dickie Jones was a mainstay in Gene's films and TV shows, and it must have killed him to portray a character who couldn't stay on Champ during the bucking bronc ride. I've mentioned it more than once in my reviews, Jones was probably the best all around stunt rider you're likely to see in a Western. His work in the Range Rider TV series is truly exceptional, working next to Jock Mahoney who was no slouch himself.
So as the story plays out, Gene and Champ spent so much quality time together that it would have seemed unfair for Jones' character to eventually wind up as owner. Not to worry though - remember that foal I mentioned earlier. You just know that was going to be Champ, Jr.