The Horse Killer

The Horse Killer
The Horse Killer
	Behind the scenes. From left, Luke Moberly, Thomas Casey, and leads Shane Erickson and Stephanie Herold.
Directed by	Luke Moberly
Written by	Thomas Casey
Produced by	Luke Moberly; Louis Wiethe
Starring	Shane Erickson; Stephanie Herold; Kathleen Stanley; Julio Cesare; Bud Irwin; Sandra Peabody ; Bob Burns;
Cinematography	Thomas Casey
Edited by	Luke Moberly
Production; company	Empire Studios
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$50,000

Last updated December 04, 2023

The Horse Killer (also known as The Horse Killers) is a lost 1966 American mystery thriller film directed by Luke Moberly, in his directorial debut, and written by Thomas Casey.^[2]^[3] It stars Shane Erickson, Stephanie Herold, Kathleen Stanley, Julio Cesare, Bud Irwin, Sandra Peabody, and Bob Burns. The story is based on a series of real-life bizarre horse mutilations occurring in Davie, Florida in 1964. Moberly co-produced the film with Louis Wiethe on a budget of US$50,000. Filming took place from August to September 1966.^[1] The film was one of Moberly's earliest efforts to contribute to the emerging Miami and Southern Florida film industry. All of the known photographic film existing of it was stolen from him, causing the film to be unreleased.

Premise

The film is based on a real-life incident of horrendous horse mutilations that occurred in Davie, Florida in the early 1960s. It takes a fictionalized approach to the residents attempting to solve the mystery of who is committing the crime.

Cast

The film features a cast of 40 people, but only the following are sourced:

Shane Erickson, lead male.^[4]
Stephanie Herold, lead female.^[4]
Kathleen Stanley^[4]
Julio Cesare^[4]
Bud Irwin^[4]
Sandra Peabody (as Sandy Peabody), the most prolific of the known cast in her second feature film.^[4] She would later star in the Wes Craven written and directed horror film The Last House on the Left (1972). Peabody recollects portraying a "girlfriend" character.
Bob Burns^[4]
Gordon Sanford Diem, was a Palm Beach radio host.^[1]
Blanche Wallace, was a local nightclub entertainer.^[1]
Clint Cullen as himself, he was a local farrier and character actor. He had bit parts in western films prior to being cast.^[1]
Phil Philbin, was the town of Davie's detective lieutenant.^[1]

Production history

I started getting roles in low-budget drive-in movies that were being shot in Florida. The first one was called The Horse Killer. It was actually based on the true story of a man who castrated horses! It was a really bizarre story, but it wasn't like Last House, with sex or murder. It was more of a mystery, where these incidents were happening and they were trying to find this weird guy who was doing it. I was playing the girlfriend and we had a lot of scenes riding horses and that sort of thing.

— Peabody recollecting Horse Killer^[5]

Luke Moberly launched the production company Empire Studios in the mid-1960s. The studio struggled to attract mainstream attention. Moberly had several producers approach him for interest in filming in the Davie, Florida area, only to back out before signing a deal.

Wanting to make a high-quality feature film rather than a pornographic film that were commercially successful at the time, Moberly partnered with former Cincinnati theatre owner turned Broward County resident Louis Wiethe with plans of directing a feature film based on a screenplay of 154 pages by Thomas Casey.^[6] Through this partnership, Weithe allowed Moberly full creative control over the script, production, and casting.^[4]

Shooting began in August 1966, with exteriors filmed in the Davie and Fort Lauderdale area.^[7] Filming later moved to Empire Studios. The sets for the film were all built by Moberly. Scoring and editing took place in January 1967, and a completed version of the film was shipped to New York sometime between January and April for screening to potential distributors.^[3]

Moberly cast 40 local Florida actors and no "big name" Hollywood stars, except the then-known Shane Erickson in the lead role. Sixteen-year-old Stephanie Herold got cast in the lead female role. Moberly described her as a "real actress." Herold was discovered by him in Miami.^[7] The most notable of the cast would be the then-teenaged Sandra Peabody, who had just made her feature film debut in Misfit (1965; another film produced by Moberly's Empire Studios).^[8]^[1] She got cast in an additional supporting role.^[4] Peabody retrospectively recalled portraying a "girlfriend" character and filming a lot of scenes of riding horses. Clint Cullen, a local farrier and character actor, was cast as himself. He had bit parts in western films prior to being cast.^[9]

Lost status

A seemingly nice man, Rene Martinez, visited Moberly in his office. Martinez expressed interest in screening and distributing the film in the Latin market. Moberly agreed to let him take a print. Martinez returned to say it was a success and didn't need a Spanish translation, and that he could get copies of it made at a much cheaper cost in Mexico. Moberly agreed and never saw the negative of the film again. This loss of film led to financial struggles with Moberly's production studio and future endeavors.^[1]

Related Research Articles

WPLG is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, affiliated with ABC. The station is owned by Berkshire Hathaway as its sole broadcast property. WPLG's studios are located on West Hallandale Beach Boulevard in Pembroke Park, and its transmitter is located in Miami Gardens, Florida.

WFOR-TV is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, serving as the market's CBS outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WBFS-TV. Both stations share studios on Northwest 18th Terrace in Doral, while WFOR-TV's transmitter is located in Andover, Florida.

WBFS-TV is an independent television station in Miami, Florida, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS owned-and-operated station WFOR-TV. Both stations share studios on Northwest 18th Terrace in Doral, while WBFS-TV's transmitter is located in Andover, Florida.

WTVX is a television station licensed to Fort Pierce, Florida, United States, serving the West Palm Beach area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside CBS affiliate WPEC and two low-power, Class A stations: MyNetworkTV affiliate WTCN-CD and TBD owned-and-operated station WWHB-CD. The stations share studios on Fairfield Drive in Mangonia Park, while WTVX's transmitter is located southwest of Palm City, Florida.

Richard Grayson is a writer, political activist and performance artist, most noted for his books of short stories and his satiric runs for public office.

WPBF is a television station licensed to Tequesta, Florida, United States, serving the West Palm Beach area as an affiliate of ABC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on RCA Boulevard in the Monet section of Palm Beach Gardens and a transmitter in Palm City southwest of I-95.

WSCV is a television station licensed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, serving as the Telemundo outlet for the Miami area. It is one of two flagship stations of the Spanish-language network. WSCV is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group alongside NBC station WTVJ. The two stations share studios on Southwest 27th Street in Miramar; WSCV's transmitter is located in Pembroke Park, Florida. The station also serves as the de facto Telemundo outlet for the West Palm Beach market, as that area does not have a Telemundo station of its own.

WLRN-TV is a secondary PBS member television station in Miami, Florida, United States. It is owned by the Miami-Dade County Public Schools district alongside NPR member WLRN-FM (91.3); the two outlets are operated under a management agreement by Friends of WLRN, the stations' fundraising arm. Both stations share studios on Northeast 15th Street and Northeast 1st Avenue in Miami, while WLRN-TV's transmitter is located at McTyre Park in Miami Gardens.

WLTV-DT is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, serving as the local Univision outlet. It is one of two flagship stations of the Spanish-language network. WLTV-DT is owned and operated by TelevisaUnivision alongside Hollywood, Florida–licensed UniMás station WAMI-DT. The two stations share studios known as "NewsPort" on Northwest 30th Terrace in Doral; WLTV-DT's transmitter is located in Andover, Florida. The station also serves as the de facto Univision outlet for the West Palm Beach market.

Lorimar-Telepictures Corporation was an entertainment company established in 1985 with the merger of Lorimar Productions, Inc. and Telepictures Corporation. Headquartered at the former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in Culver City, California, its assets included television production and syndication, feature films, home video, and broadcasting.

WBEC-TV is an educational television station owned and operated by Broward County Public Schools, licensed to Boca Raton, Florida, United States. WBEC-TV broadcasts from studios in Davie and a transmitter in Pembroke Park; the school district also owns WKPX, a non-commercial radio station. Although the station is based in Broward County, WBEC-TV's city of license, Boca Raton, is located within Palm Beach County.

WAQI is a commercial radio station licensed to Miami, Florida, United States, featuring a Spanish-language talk format known as Radio Mambí. Owned by Latino Media Network and operated by Uforia Audio Network, the radio division of TelevisaUnivision, under a transitional agreement, the station broadcasts with 50,000 watts and serves as South Florida's designated primary entry point for the Emergency Alert System, one of three in the state. The studios are located at Univision's Miami headquarters, and the transmitter is located at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Florida State Road 997, near the edge of the Everglades.

WGBS-TV was a television station that broadcast on channel 23 in Miami, Florida, United States, from 1953 to 1957. Originally established as WFTL-TV in Fort Lauderdale, it moved south to Miami when it was purchased by Storer Broadcasting at the end of 1954 and consolidated with a construction permit Storer bought for a Miami station.

Sandra Peabody is an American producer, writer, acting coach, talent agent, and a retired actress. Trained the Meisner technique directly from acting teacher Sanford Meisner, she is primarily known for her early scream queen roles in 1970s horror films and her subsequent career as an award-winning children's television producer throughout the 1980s and 1990s. She received accolades during her producing career, including an Emmy and CableACE Award.

<i>Little Laura and Big John</i> 1973 American feature film

Little Laura and Big John is a 1973 American feature film about the exploits of the Ashley gang in the Florida everglades in the 1910s and 1920s.

Media in Miami, Florida, United States, includes newspapers, magazines, Internet-based web sites, radio, television, and cinema. Florida produces some of its own media, while some comes from outside the state for Floridian consumption.

<i>Misfit</i> (1965 film) American educational film

Misfit is a lost 1965 American faith-based educational film directed by Bob O'Donnell. It stars Steven Jones, Warren Day, and Sandra Peabody. It follows a high school drop out (Jones), a drug addict (Peabody), and a "religious dropout" (Day) who rekindles his religion and helps the titular "misfit" find himself. Produced by Empire Studios, the film was distributed through churches, schools, penal institutions, and military bases before a worldwide release by Youth Films.

Warren Day is a former American actor best known for his role as Curtis in Andrew Marton's comedy film Birds Do It (1966). He additionally guest starred on the NBC television series Flipper (1965).

WITV was a television station that broadcast on channel 17 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. Owned by the Gerico Investment Company, it was the third television station on the air in the Miami–Fort Lauderdale area and the fourth in South Florida, operating from December 1953 to May 1958. It was doomed by troubles that plagued ultra high frequency (UHF) television in the days before the All-Channel Receiver Act and particularly the arrival of two additional VHF TV stations to Miami in 1956 and 1957. The WITV transmitter facility was purchased by the Dade County School Board, eventually resulting in the reactivation of channel 17 as Miami-based WLRN-TV in 1962.

WPST-TV was a television station that broadcast on channel 10 in Miami, Florida, United States, for four years, from 1957 to 1961. Launched as the third commercially licensed very high frequency (VHF) station in Miami and the market's second American Broadcasting Company (ABC) affiliate after WITV (channel 17), it was owned by Public Service Television, Inc., the broadcasting subsidiary of Miami-based National Airlines (NAL), and managed by NAL founder/CEO George T. Baker. It was the first television station in the United States to have its broadcast license revoked by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Thrower, Stephen. "LUKE MOBERLY: FROM THE SWAMPS". byNWR. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
↑ Kelley, Jack. "'Shakedown Cruise' Over , Empire Studios Eye Expansion". Miami Herald . Retrieved February 1, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
1 2 Freund, Bob. "Show Business". Fort Lauderdale News . Retrieved February 1, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Freund, Bob. "Luke Moberly Directs First Feature". Fort Lauderdale News . Retrieved January 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
↑ Szulkin 2000, p. 197.
↑ Freund, Bob. "Luke Moberly Producing Own Film At Empire Studios". Fort Lauderdale News . Retrieved February 1, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
1 2 Mangan, Pat. "Davie Setting for Mystery Film". Miami Herald . Retrieved February 1, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
↑ Sanchez, Diane. "Business As Usual At SHS". Fort Lauderdale News . Retrieved February 1, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
↑ Burns, Ben. "Clint Cullen: Saddle Tramp". Miami Herald . Retrieved February 1, 2021– via Newspapers.com.