Sylvester Stallonemade his acting debut in a Western calledHorses, a movie that will never be released. The success ofStallone’sRockymoviesparalleled his own acting career in many ways, including his struggle to break through and how sudden fame impacted his life. Prior to the originalRocky, Stallone had appeared in films likeDeath Race 2000andThe Lords of Flatbush, but the star has spoken often of how tough his early years in the business were. One of his best friends during this era was director John Herzfeld after they met at the University of Miami.
The two have collaborated many times over the years; Herzfeld was a henchman in theStallone action movieclassicCobra, and directed his pal inReach MeandThe Extractors: Escape Plan. Herzfeld has directed several documentaries about Stallone’s work too, includingThe Making of ‘Rocky vs. Drago’,following the creation ofStallone’sRocky IVdirector’s cut.Herzfeld also co-starred and directed Stallone in the tiny budget Western calledHorses, about a cowboy (Stallone) and a Native American (Herzfeld) who rise from the dead a century after they were hanged.
Stallone Made His Film Debut In The Unreleased Western Horses
Don’t expect to see Horses anytime soon
The resurrected duo run amok in the modern day, until the sheriff who executed them (played by Stallone’s own father, Frank Stallone Sr.) also rises from the dead to track them down and kill once again.According to Stallone on hisInstagram, he and Herzfeld pooled together $1100 to makeHorses, and the film was completely silentsince they couldn’t afford to record sound. Reports about when the film was shot vary, but it appears to have been filmed between 1969 and 1971. What is known is that while plenty of footage was shot,Horseswas never completed.
Snippets of the Western can be seen in the Netflix documentarySly, and while it’s never explained whyHorseswasn’t finished, it’s doubtful even independent distributors were interested in a grainy, no-budget silent movie. Stallone’s brother Frank also points this out in the Netflix doc, suggesting that’s the reason it was abandoned.It’s also not entirely clear ifHorseswas a full-length project or a shortfilm, either.
Horsesisn’t the only unreleased Sylvester Stallone movie, with the star having sued the makers of the 1997 comedyThe Good Lifeafter a promo reel made his brief cameo look like a major role; in the aftermath of the suit, the film was never released.
It’s not that uncommon for famous filmmakers to have early, self-funded work they’d rather lock away in a vault; Quentin Tarantino’sMyBest Friend’s Birthday, for instance, was never finished after he became disillusioned with its quality.The way Stallone refers toHorsesas a “terrible epic” hints that he feels the film is best left unseenby the masses. This is a shame, since regardless of its quality, it would be real interesting to see Stallone in a proper Western.
It’s Bizarre That Sylvester Stallone Has Never Starred In A Western
No, Rambo: Last Blood doesn’t count
Outside of action, Stallone has appeared in everything from slasher movies (D-Tox) to screwball comedies (Oscar), but for somebody so well-versed in myth and storytelling, it’s odd he’s never fronted an “Oater.” MakingHorsesindicates it’s a genre he’s interested in, butit appears Stallone wasn’t even loosely attached to a Western during his career heyday.Several of his movies have Western themes and motifs, such asCopland. This saw his small-town sheriff having to deal with corrupt cops, leading to an explosive final shootout.
Rambo: Last Bloodfeatures plenty of Western elements too; a large chunk is set on the Rambo family ranch, Stallone’s title character rides horses constantly and he enacts righteous vengeance after his family is attacked. Still, Stallone has never gotten in the saddle for a movie actually set in the Old West. It’s true thatthe genre had largely died out by the time Sly broke through, so Westerns were rare during his career peak, but it would still be awesome to see him in one.
It’s not too late, of course, but for now, Stallone isn’t linked to any Western-themed projects. Who knows, maybe Stallone will have a burst of nostalgia and makeHorsesavailable in what incomplete state it’s in, just to let fans see his long-lost debut.
