In the summer of 1964, Omak found itself in the spotlight as Larry Lansburgh, a then-prominent movie producer-director, arrived with a camera crew to film the Suicide Race at the Omak Stampede. Lansburgh’s goal was simple – yet ambitious - to determine whether the race could serve as the climactic scene in a film about an Appaloosa horse, a girl, and a pair of rodeo clowns.
Upon his arrival, Lansburgh faced several challenges.
“There are lots of problems with something like this,” he explained in the Aug. 6, 1964, edition of The Omak Chronicle. “We’d like to make it look like pretty wild country, but we have to find camera angles to avoid telephone poles, houses, and other buildings.”
Lansburgh planned to shoot color footage of the 1964 Sunday performance of Suicide Race, with the possibility of calling for a re-run if the initial film met his expectations. He hoped that capturing the race on film would provide national publicity for the Omak Stampede.
At the time, Lansburgh hadn’t written the script yet, nor did he have the movie sold to any film studios. He is in Omak on speculation.
He pointed out that the Suicide Race only lasts about a minute and would provide only a short part of the film’s action.
“We’ll shoot movies of the race and some rodeo action and perhaps some crowd reactions,” he said at the time, noting a former Omak resident Gordon Eastman was assisting him.
The following spring (in 1965), a production crew, led by Lansburgh, spent several weeks filming scenes along the Okanogan River. The Technicolor film was completed in California and sold to Disney whose Buena Vista Distribution Company has dispatched prints to theaters across the nation.
“Run, Appaloosa, Run” opened in metropolitan centers in early July of 1966. Or rather, Disney’s “Lt. Robin Crusoe” starring Dick Van Dyke opened in early-July with “Appaloosa” as the second attraction. (Except in Omak where the Suicide Race film has been given top billing.)
Lansburgh promised the Suicide Race would be publicized in the movie, and he kept his word.
The name in the film was changed to “Hell’s Mountain Suicide Race” but Omak is memorialized once in the dialogue and twice on the screen.
Disney’s press kit, mailed to newspapers in every city where the film played also did ample justice for Omak.
“The high point of the story,” the press kit said, “comes when a young Indian miss demonstrates the Appaloosa’s courage and stamina by winning the celebrated Omak Stampede Suicide Race.”
The press kit emphasized the authenticity of the racing sequences, achieved through Lansburgh’s close collaboration with the rodeo and race officials.
“The Appaloosa tale is fictional, but Disney and his co-producer, Larry Lansburgh, who teamed to win Academy Awards for ‘The Wetback Hound’ and ‘The Horse With the Flying Tail,’ worked closely with the Omak rodeo to depict all racing sequences authentically. Mrs. (Janet) Lansburgh wrote the screenplay. Rex Allen narrates and sings the title song of the Buena Vista release,” the press kit said.
Allen was a prominent narrator in the 1950s and ‘60s with other works including “The Incredible Journey” (1963), “Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar,” (1967) and Charlotte’s Web (1973).
Lansburgh filmed part of the race himself, mounting a horse with a 35mm camera to capture the rider’s perspective as they raced down the bluff towards the Okanogan River.
“While supervising the cameramen photographing the celebrated race, Producer-director Larry Lansburgh, who has a long list of Disney camera credits himself wanted an actual rider’s eye view of the sprint down a bluff overlooking the Omak stadium,” the press kit said. “Being an excellent horseman, he mounted a trusty steed and holding a 35mm camera in one hand, galloped headlong down a 250-foot track of deep, loose sand to the edge of the Okanogan River, filming as he rode; Because much of the race was shot in the swirling midst of a tangle of horses and riders, as well as from a vantage point on the sidelines, moviegoers can know what it is actually like to ride in the thrill-packed event.”
Despite the film being a 49-minute featurette, it received positive mentions in industry publications like “Box Office,” which praised it as an “attractive short Disney film about an Indian girl and her dog, who train an Appaloosa two-year-old to become an entry in an exciting race.”
“Whether ‘Appaloosa’ wins an Oscar or not, it can’t do the Stampede any harm and some viewers may be attracted by the beautiful Okanogan County scenery it portrays,” an article in the July 21, 1966, edition of The Omak Chronicle said.
The film credited local talent, including Gordon Eastman as a photographer and Bobby Weaver, who composed the “Ballad of the Appaloosa,” performed by Allen.
Local citizens, especially those in the final race sequence, enjoyed seeing themselves on the big screen, with the Omak High School band making an appearance, the newspaper reported.
“Many local people will recognize themselves in the movie,” the newspaper article said. “Ray Patnaude may or may not be ‘local.’ Married to a Colville Indian, he had been living at Coulee Dam briefly when he was signed to play the role of the heroine’s brother. Among the longtime hometown talent, only Claire Pentz drew a speaking role, as the starter for the Suicide Race.”
“Hundreds of other Okanogan County citizens appear particularly in the final sequence based on the end of the race. About 2,000 showed up at the Stampede arena that day to provide a crowd for the climax,” the newspaper reported. “We’ll bet you agree though — Silver the dog, trained by Jay Sisler, does the best acting of the lot.”
According to the IMDb (Internet Movie Database), the film stars Adele Palacios (Mary Blackfeather), Jerry Gatlin (Gilly Trask), Ray Patnaude (Dale Blackfeather), Walter Cloud (Tribal Chief) and Wilbur Plaugher (The Clown)
Nowadays the film is considered out-of-print, but used copies can be found online in both VHS and DVD formats. It can also be viewed on select streaming services including Amazon and Fandango. ♦
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