 (Courtesy of Ed Phillips) Above is a blowup of Rex from the silent THE DEVIL HORSE (Hal Roach/Pathe, 1926) which starred Yakima Canutt. Below is the full still. A lengthy scene in THE DEVIL HORSE became stock library footage which was used in many later westerns and serials - recall the brutal and lengthy horse fight between a black stallion and a paint (see image and text further down this webpage).  (Courtesy of Ed Phillips) |
| Below are some screen captures (in reduced size) from a few of Rex's films, including several with mention of Jack Lindell:
 Above is the opening title card from the silent NO MAN'S LAW (Hal Roach/Pathe, 1927). Below is a credit card showing Lindell as the "Chief Trainer".   Above is a screen capture of Rex from NO MAN'S LAW (Hal Roach/Pathe, 1927) showing the small white mark on Rex's forehead.  Above is a screen capture from the opening titles and credits to the cliffhanger THE ADVENTURES OF REX AND RINTY (Mascot, 1935). Note the white spot on Rex's forehead.  Above - a screen capture from KING OF THE SIERRAS (Grand National, 1938) with Rex at full speed ... and showing that smallish white spot on his forehead.  Above from the opening cast list from KING OF THE SIERRAS (Grand National, 1938) with mention of Rex and Jack Lindell. |  |
Rex often ended the life of the movie villain. As mentioned above, Oliver Hardy was doomed by Rex in NO MAN'S LAW. Kindly old Lafe McKee occasionally stepped out of character and portrayed the brains heavy. In THE VANISHING LEGION serial, McKee is revealed as master villain "the Voice" and Rex dispatches him in Chapter 12 which is appropriately titled "The Hoofs Of Horror".
If you have a high speed cable or DSL connection, you can download or stream KING OF THE SIERRAS (Grand National, 1938) from the Internet Archive website. This is the version re-titled BLACK STALLION, and although the story and content isn't great, the print quality is quite good ... and you get plenty of stock horse footage including the battle of Rex vs. the paint from THE DEVIL HORSE (1926). Go to: http://www.archive.org/details/black_stallion
There was a horse named Rex that was owned by Jack Case. However, this was not the movie Rex. Jack Case's Rex had a white face blaze, and apparently, they did shows and performances. You can read more at: http://jackcase.com/jack-case/ |
There's confusion about who discovered and owned Rex. Some references/biographies mention silent screen stuntman, hoss trainer and silent western movie hero Charles "Chick" Morrison (1878-1924) as the one who discovered Rex ("Chick" was the lesser-known brother of cowboy star Pete Morrison). Others credit horse trainer Jack Lindell (and that info is in the KING OF THE SIERRAS pressbook clipping toward the bottom of this webpage). There is also mention of stable owner Clarence Y. Jones, whose nickname was "Fat". He owned the Fat Jones stable and supplied horses, wagons, etc. to the movie industry. Apparently, Rex was housed at the Fat Jones stables when he was owned by producer Hal Roach.
Morgan horse historian Susan Graf authored an article on several Morgan horses including Rex. A pdf of that article was available for viewing and download, but the website that hosted that article is no longer working (www.2wfmorganclub.com). However, many years ago, I downloaded Graf's writeup and have excerpted her first few sentences on Rex:
"In Classic Morgan Admirers, Issue #18, editor Laura Algranti published a story about Rex written by Anthony Amaral. The article tells the story of Rex, the first horse to star in motion pictures whose career extended into the 1930s in over nineteen films and serials. Rex's real name was CASEY JONES, and Laura identified him as #6255 by Headlight Morgan and out of Nannie L by The Admiral, 2nd dam-Peggy A by Major Gordon, 3rd dam-Brown Gordon by Major Gordon. The article states that Rex was born in Texas in 1915 and sold to the Colorado Detention Home for husbandry purposes ..."
Note the mention that Rex was sold to the Colorado Detention Home. Other stories have Rex being found in a stall at a ranch in Golden, Colorado. Another variation is that Rex was foaled at the Morgan Farm in Texas. And as a colt, he was sold to the Colorado State Boys Reformatory ... or a Colorado military school. Wherever he was originally located, Rex had been beaten and/or abused, and ultimately wound up at a ranch in Colorado or Texas.
And just about every newspaper article and biography on Rex describes the horse with one or more of the following descriptors: mean ... ornery ... dangerous ... vicious ... a killer. Am unsure how much of that is true vs. plain ol' exaggerated studio publicity.
There are some consistencies in all the stories. Rex was a Morgan stallion named "Casey Jones", was born circa 1915 - 1916, and was about 8 years old when he began doing movies for Hal Roach (his first film was 1924). Appears that 'Chick' Morrison (and perhaps his brother Carl) were involved in Rex's discovery and early training. Though he may have been involved in the initial work with Rex, Jack Lindell took over full training reponsibilites sometime after the June, 1924 death of Chick Morrison. Other truths include Rex being owned by Hal Roach who later sold him to Universal circa 1927. Lee Doyle acquired Rex in the early 1930s and Rex continued appearing in a few films (such as the Mascot cliffhangers). The horse was later retired on Doyle's ranch which was located in or near Flagstaff, Arizona.
Rex's life and owners prior to to his mid 1920s Hal Roach films are a maze of confusion with conflicting dates, stories and people involvement.
In a wrap, I don't have EXACT dates on when Rex came to Hollywood ... or when Hal Roach acquired Rex ... or when Roach sold Rex to Universal ... or when Lee Doyle became Rex's owner. But I do have newspaper articles which mention those events. Following is a timeline based on those articles.
| Newspaper article/date | Comments and Quotes from the articles (some or a lot of this could be Hollywood puffery/publicity) |
| December, 1923 | "Chick Morrison, veteran cowboy and horseman of filmdom, was sent out to scout the western states. Finally, chained in a stall at the Colorado State Reformatory - appropriate fate for a bad horse - Morrison found 'Casey' ..." |
| 2 articles from April, 1924 | Mentions 'Casey Jones' as the horse star of THE KING OF WILD HORSES. "'Chick' Morrison, the well-known horse trainer, found Casey in the State reformatory at Colorado. The horse had killed several and maimed many more." "Rex is a registered Morgan stallion, 8 years old." |
| September, 1924 | Article relates to the new Hal Roach film KING OF WILD HORSES (Hal Roach/Pathe, 1924) which marked the screen debut of Rex. "(Hal) Roach had sent Fred Jackman, his director, and 'Chick' Morrison, veteran horse trainer, scouting for an equine leading man." |
| 1 article from August, 1925 and another from January, 1926 | Both are near duplicates which suggest they came from publicity material/press books. They refer to BLACK CYCLONE (Hal Roach/Pathe, 1925) which stars Rex and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams. "Hal Roach heard of a horse named 'Casey Jones', the terror of a section of Colorado, who had been put in chains in a locked stall. A death sentence hung over him. His location was near the birthplace of 'Chick' Morrison, now dead, but at that time, active with his brother, Carl Morrison, in training horses for the pictures." "Carl Morrison now is training him, taking the place of his brother." |
| 3 articles from February, 1927 | Hal Roach has sold Rex to Carl Laemmle and Universal. One article mentions that "Casey Jones' screen name is Rex ...". "The late Chick Morrison broke Rex in and Jack Lindell has taken over the task of working him for motion pictures." |
| May, 1928 | Article is about the film WILD BEAUTY (Universal, 1927). "The first to attempt to ride Rex was the late Chick Morrison, his original trainer." "Jack Lindell, Rex's present trainer, has successfully ridden the horse, although he doesn't relish the sport." |
| December, 1929 | Rex is "In a corral on the Universal lot ...". "Rex can be directed only by Jack Lindell, a cowboy who captured him on the plains of Texas." "Lindell ... sold him to the state of Colorado for breeding purposes." "Later Hal Roach bought him and starred him in 'King of Wild Horses'." |
| November, 1932 | Mentions that Jack Lindell has been the sole trainer of Rex for the past ten years and "This information came straight from Lee Doyle, the owner of Rex." |
Jack "Swede" Lindell Full name: Jacob Walfred Lindell 1898 - 1952  (Courtesy of Peter Lindell) Above is Jacob Walfred 'Jack' Lindell (1898 - 1952). Peter Lindell's grandfather and Jack Lindell were brothers. Peter writes that Jack left Sweden for the United States around 1915 (when he was about 17 years old). He was married twice, first to Georgia Lindell (1897-1981) and then to Jean Lorraine Lindell. Lindell's later "equine supervisor" credits include MY FRIEND FLICKA (20th Century Fox, 1943), THUNDERHEAD - SON OF FLICKA (20th Century Fox, 1945), SMOKY (20th Century Fox, 1946), and GREEN GRASS OF WYOMING (20th Century Fox, 1948).  (Courtesy of Peter Lindell) Above is Jack Lindell training Rex.  (Courtesy of Peter Lindell) Above - on the left is trainer Jack Lindell with Rex and Charles 'Chick' Morrison. This photo would be from 1924 or earlier as Morrison was killed in a horse mishap on June 24, 1924 during the filming of a Hal Roach movie. | |
| Note the markings on Rex's blanket in the above photo: H.E.R. REX The H.E.R. stands for movie producer Hal Roach (1892 - 1992) whose full name was Harry Eugene Roach. The Hal Roach films with Rex began with THE KING OF WILD HORSES (Hal Roach/Pathe, 1924). |  |
 Above - the fight between Rex and the paint hoss which was originally filmed for the silent THE DEVIL HORSE (Hal Roach/Pathe, 1926). Do you have the serial THE PAINTED STALLION (Republic, 1937) - take a look at Chapter 12 for the complete battle. Other films that include this equine brawl are the Kermit Maynard starrer WILD HORSE ROUND-UP (Ambassador, 1936), Gene Autry's COMIN' ROUND THE MOUNTAIN (Republic, 1936), the Three Mesquiteers adventure HIT THE SADDLE (Republic, 1937), KING OF THE SIERRAS (Grand National, 1938), and the twelve chapter serials THE DEVIL HORSE (Mascot, 1932) and THE LAW OF THE WILD (Mascot, 1934). |
 (Courtesy of Ed Phillips) Above are Jack Perrin with his white horse Starlight, and on the far right is Rex. Scene from GUARDIANS OF THE WILD (Universal, 1928), one of the Perrin and Rex Universal silents.  (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above is a lobby card from the silent TWO OUTLAWS (Universal, 1928), with Jack Perrin's "Starlight the Wonder Horse" working on undoing the ropes on Jack's wrist. Note that Rex got first billed over Perrin.  (From Old Corral image collection) Above - a lobby card from KING OF THE WILD HORSES (Columbia, 1933) showing Rex leading a band of wild mustangs. About ten years earlier, Rex made his screen debut in the similarly titled THE KING OF WILD HORSES (Hal Roach/Pathe, 1924).  (Courtesy of Boyd Magers) Above is the title lobby card from Chapter 4 of ROBINSON CRUSOE OF CLIPPER ISLAND (Republic, 1936). |
 Above are DVD screen captures which confirm at least three different horses were used in the ROBINSON CRUSOE OF CLIPPER ISLAND (Republic, 1936), including the authentic Rex. The other two horses may be Tracy Layne's Zane (and the double for Zane) as referenced by Jack Mathis in his Valley of the Cliffhangers (Jack Mathis Advertising, 1975).
1. The opening titles show the authentic Rex with the smallish white splotch on the forehead. |
 (Courtesy of Les Adams) | Left is a biography on Rex from the pressbook for KING OF THE SIERRAS (Grand National, 1938). There's mention of horse trainer Jack Lindell as the person who discovered Rex ... and Rex's early years at the Colorado State Boys Reformatory ... and Rex being the "World's Most Vicious Equine", an "equine outlaw" and "savage animal" and having killed two people. (Courtesy of Les Adams) |
| Image on the right is from the pressbook for KING OF THE SIERRAS (Grand National, 1938). Salome Milstead was working on a video/film about her famous grandfather, horse trainer and stable owner Clarence "Fat" Jones. Am unsure of the current status of that project. Salome e-mailed me with a tidbit regarding this pressbook photo of Rex - which may not be Rex: "... I think it was probably Missed-A-Shot, Fat's (Fat Jones) famous rearing horse. I could definitely be mistaken, but Misty was known for pinning his ears flat back with every rear, and had doubled for Rex for a time." |  (Courtesy of Les Adams) |
Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) has information on Rex, Jack Lindell, and 'Chick' Morrison. Note that there are two IMDb entries for Rex. A few corrections are needed and the two separate entries should be combined: