Fall Girl: My Life as a Western Stunt Double

by Martha Crawford Cantarini, Chrystopher J. Spicer

Overview

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, acclaimed horse trainer and show rider Martha Crawford Cantarini was among the busiest of Hollywood's elite corps of female stunt riders. She was the regular stunt double for such actresses as Eleanor Parker, Anne Baxter and Shirley MacLaine, appearing in films ranging from Elvis Presley's debut feature Love Me Tender to the epic Western The Big Country. Martha also hosted a Las Vegas television program in the 1960s, while her palomino Frosty gained fame as "the gambling horse" after rolling a seven at the Thunderbird Casino craps table.

This fascinating insider's memoir of the American entertainment industry recounts Martha's personal and professional associations with Clark Gable, Ronald Reagan, Jean Simmons, and other Hollywood luminaries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786447534
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	05/12/2010
Series:	Genre/Western
Pages:	235
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Martha Crawford Cantarini has been honored with the Golden Boot Award and was inducted into the Hollywood Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame. She lives in British Columbia. Chrystopher J. Spicer has written extensively about Australian and American film and history. He teaches writing and communication at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Prologue 1

Preface 3

1 Riding to Hollywood 5

2 Yellow Sky 25

3 Flying High 31

4 Higher Learning 38

5 Interrupted Melody 42

6 Texas lady 56

7 Coming Back 65

8 The Rains of Ranchipur 73

9 Love Me Tender 81

10 The King and Flicka 90

11 Dakota Incident 104

12 My Tin Star Year 112

13 The Seventh Sin 127

14 April Love 137

15 The Big Country 143

16 The Sheepman 154

17 The Law and Jake Wade 164

18 Ride a Crooked Trail 176

19 It's All in the Game 182

20 Las Vegas 189

21 Thunderbird 197

22 The Horse of Many Miracles 205

Epilogue 212

Index 217

What People are Saying About This

Jean Simmons

I knew when I was asked to do The Big Country that I needed a good stunt double. Well, I got her. I got the best...Martha Crawford. (Jean Simmons, academy award-nominated actress)

Laura Hillenbrand

Martha Crawford (Cantarini) has led a remarkable and rich life, one interwoven with those of many special horses. Everyone would enjoy the stories she has to tell. (Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit, An American Legend)

Frank Stallone

...knowing Martha and her skills on a horse makes it all the more thrilling to see the fruits of all her labor and love of horse's and her contribution in film finally come full circle. (Frank Stallone, Grammy and Golden Globe nominated musician and composer: polo player and horseman.)

Editorial Reviews

sweet, insightful and fun autobiography of stunt double/stand-in Cantarini...moving...this book has much to offer fans of the Golden Age...valuable...soulful magic...I’m thankful for this book in which she and her co-writer tell her story so beautifully”—Classic Images; “fascinating...captivating...not to be missed”—Western Clippings; “a great book”—b-westerns.com; “I knew when I was asked to do The Big Country that I needed a good stunt double. Well, I got her. I got the best...Martha Crawford.”—Jean Simmons, academy award-nominated actress; “Martha Crawford (Cantarini) has led a remarkable and rich life, one interwoven with those of many special horses. Everyone would enjoy the stories she has to tell.”—Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit, An American Legend; “knowing Martha and her skills on a horse makes it all the more thrilling to see the fruits of all her labor and love of horse’s and her contribution in film finally come full circle.”—Frank Stallone, Grammy and Golden Globe nominated musician and composer: polo player and horseman.

From the Publisher

a great book

b-westerns.com

fascinating...captivating...not to be missed

Western Clippings

moving...this book has much to offer fans of the Golden Age...valuable...soulful magic...I'm thankful for this book in which she and her co-writer tell her story so beautifully

Classic Images