A HARNESS RACE 62 YEARS AGO
In the summer of 1947, Lancaster, Ohio had very unusual treat in store for people of all ages when a film production crew and a dozen or more professional actors, directors (and whoever else was required to make a movie) came to town. Most reading this will not recall a Class B movie by the title, "The Green Grass of Wyoming" but this was the movie shot "on location" at the Fairfield County Fairgrounds in Lancaster, Ohio. When this film troupe came to town, Lancaster got its share of publicity and memories that I am sure still linger in the minds of hundreds. The story I am about to tell is one that I have recalled recently to a few of my friends and because each one of these friends said, "I never heard that before..." it was decided I had to share this story .
Recently my wife and I rented this old flick from our local library and I must admit the memories were given a spark of life just to be viewing that old movie. The acting, plot and continuity in the movie were a bit naive and not polished compared to today's standards and the most sexually explicit scenes would have to be classified as dull unless you include the snorting of a stallion and the mares in several scenes. As a 15 year-old boy I got to hold Lloyd Nolan's coat (the same one I saw him wear in the movie) and I will remember that incident until I take my last breath. He did not treat me like he was too important to talk with me and I have no accurate recollection as to why he let me hold his coat - he may have just wanted to light a cigarette but that is exactly what I did, held Lloyd Nolan's coat! He was an actor I had enjoyed seeing in the movies and to stand there holding his nice brown sport jacket was thrill enough for me. My grandfather once told me to shake his hand. After I shook his hand he said, "Billy, now you can say , 'This is the hand that shook the hand of the man who shook the hand of President William McKinley." I doubt if I have said that a dozen times in my lifetime but it sure impressed me. I didn't shake hands with Lloyd Nolan but I can remember holding his coat as if it were yesterday. No other star in that movie really got my attention like Lloyd Nolan.
I am not certain how I acquired all the data about that movie but apparently the film production crew made sure certain details would be known before hand so the film shots would be exactly what they wanted and no one would be able to accuse them of abuse to animals in one particular incident of the movie. The part of the film Lancaster shined in was really only about 15-20 minutes, tops, of the whole movie but when the announcer in the film announced the entrance into the fairgrounds, it was as important as entering the most important place in the United States. The camera panned westward on Fair Avenue, and across the race track you could see North Columbus Street where we lived. The deliberate panning of the fairgrounds included the horse barns as well as the active grounds thronged with people. Photo shots were taken from the top of Mount Pleasant which is a large rock outcrop 250 high near the fairground - those were spectacular moments.
Sulky, or harness races were held daily and 20th Century Fox capitalized on this event, specifically seeking such an atmosphere to include in their film. Seasoned actor Charles Coburn (without his monocle) played the part of a grandfather whose memories were a bit more glorious than his actual successes as a winner, but remember, this was just a story. Mr. Coburn's character got a late-in-life chance to win a harness race. Robert Arthur, who played the part of a boy friend of the granddaughter (Peggy Cummins) and he was a sulky driver in the race. Burl Ives was in the movie too, but to the best of my memory I never saw another film where Robert Arthur or Peggy Cummins was in - so their popularity doesn't appear to have been greatly enhanced by "The Green Grass of Wyoming". While researching data for this essay I discovered Marilyn Monroe was an extra in the scenes of a square dance earlier in the movie.
There was one scene in the movie that probably took all of 45 seconds that they worked on for what seemed like days to me. During one scene in the race, a sulky driver was supposed to have been forced to run through the fence of the race track. They tried unsuccessfully to get steer that horse into that fence but for some reason the horse simply would not do it. The production crew had built a couple sections of the fence out of balsa wood and a small child could easily knock the fence down without getting a bruise - but the fake fence section looked real to him (or her). Finally it was decided the only way they could drive that horse into the fence was to use a blindfold. That is exactly what they did. Only problem was, after the sulky driver successfully steered the horse into and through that fake fence, he safely hopped off the sulky which the frightened horse was now pulling frantically through the inner area of the race track. Before anyone could attempt to catch the blind-folded horse, it ran full speed into a length of real fence. The horse was severely injured and had to be destroyed. Naturally, at the time, they had to stop the race (the other racing horses were now in the opposite end and had to be stopped). Film editors performed their magic and nothing of the real-life runaway horse or the its dreadful accident was included in the movie.
On another occasion of regular daily harness races, when I was in the grandstands watching another race, there was a real wreck or pile-up of sulkies and their drivers just a few yards from the grandstands. Strange that with all the professional photographers present and the 20th Century Fox film car and their camera crews, not one shutter clicked to film that incident. That is, to the best of my knowledge, I never saw or heard of that accident being photographed, or even remembered by many I have talked to.
Now that I have told this story I imagine the Fairfield County District Library will have to make a dozen or more copies of that one VHS cassette they have but one thing for sure, you will not see the horse run through the real fence to be injured and put down nor will you see the crash of a dozen sulkies and their drivers right in front of the grandstand. Next time I see you though, I would be glad to shake your hand.
TAKE A LOOK AT THE MOVIE POSTER!
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"WOW!, Mr. Wordwright", yeah...