The Horses

In his 1930s films at RKO, Tom Keene rode Flash, a steed that was black or a very dark brown color. He also rode a paint. Later, Keene did two separate western series at Monogram Pictures --- a brief group in the late 1930s where he rode a nondescript brown horse as well as a darker brown horse with no markings on the legs or face. Then he did a 1941-1942 series where he used two horses --- Keene rode Rusty, the wonder horse, which was earlier utilized by Jack Randall during some of his Monogram films. And then he rode Prince. It's easy to tell the difference between Rusty (large face blaze and 4 longish white socks) and Prince (small white splotch on the face and light colored mane and tail). There's a photo of Rusty on the Trusty Steeds page for Jack Randall.

(From Old Corral collection)

Above is Tom Keene on Flash during his early 1930s RKO oaters. This horse appeared to be black or a very dark brown and had a small, white splotch on the face. Keene rode this steed In SUNDOWN TRAIL (RKO, 1931), FREIGHTERS OF DESTINY (RKO, 1931), BEYOND THE ROCKIES (RKO, 1932), GHOST VALLEY (RKO, 1932), COME ON DANGER! (RKO, 1932). and THE CHEYENNE KID (RKO, 1933). And he often called this horse "Flash".

Footnote on Tom's RKO horses: in THE CHEYENNE KID (RKO, 1933), Keene rides Flash and the paint horse. Flash is shot out from under Tom. Then outlaw Al Bridge arrives with an un-saddled paint hoss ... and fails in his attempt to steal Tom's saddle. After a fist fight, the paint becomes Tom's mount. And to add a bit of confusion, he also rides a white horse which belongs to Roscoe Ates.

(Courtesy of Minard Coons)

Above, Tom Keene on his un-named paint horse that he rode during his early 1930s RKO series. You can spot Keene on this horse in SON OF THE BORDER (RKO, 1933), SCARLET RIVER (RKO, 1933), THE CHEYENNE KID (RKO, 1933). and his last at RKO, CROSSFIRE (RKO, 1933).

(Courtesy of Boyd Magers)

Above are Tom Keene, his trusty horse Prince and young Donald Stewart in a lobby card from Keene's last starring B western, WHERE TRAILS END (Monogram, 1942). Note the fancy saddle. Prince is easy to spot - the horse has a small white splotch on the forehead, is dark brown, and the mane and tail are lighter in color. In his eight film series for Monogram in 1941-1942, Keene rode Rusty the Wonder Horse in his first four adventures. For the last four, he rode Prince which was briefly ridden by Jack Randall as well as Chief Thunder Cloud and Hoot Gibson in Monogram's Trail Blazers.

(From Old Corral collection)

Above - muscular range hero George O'Brien rode Mike during his long stay at RKO in the second half of the 1930s.

The replacement for O'Brien at RKO was Tim Holt, and he rode at least four horses during a starring career that spanned about a dozen years at that studio. In the early 1940s, prior to leaving for WW2 military service, he rode Duke. There were several different mounts in his post-war films, one of which was Shiek as well as a palomino named Lightning. As he neared the end of his western movie career, Holt rode a horse named Sun Dance.

Below is Holt on his dominant post-World War II mount, the palomino Lightning. (Thanks to Denny Linser for jogging my memory on Shiek, and Pat Mefferd for the help on Holt riding Steel.)