This short was probably well received back in the day as an intro to the main feature; today it's probably of interest only to fans of the old time stars, and an eclectic group at that. The center of interest is a man by the name of George Garfield, heralded in the piece as the Blacksmith to the Stars, who plied his trade from celebrity to celebrity when not attending rodeo and horse show events around the country. Today, the only names of note are Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland, shown via film footage from their respective movies, but the picture also includes actors like George Tobias, Priscilla Lane, Jerry Colonna, Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Cliff Nazarro and cowboy actor Tim Holt. There's also a quick glimpse of horse and rider that's intended to bring to mind Roy Rogers atop Trigger, but even though the horse looks right, the man aboard seems of slighter build than Roy, and there's no mention of either in the complete credits cast. There's a brief tutorial on how to properly shoe a horse, but even the film maker probably realized this wasn't going to be the prime focus. As a period piece it's an interesting little flick, but if you miss it, I think you'll survive.
Review of Stars on Horseback
