He would eventually marry Hollywood super star Clara Bow, but when Rex Bell came to Lone Pine to film his third starring role for Fox, he was supposed to be 'Girl-Shy." The Girl-Shy Cowboy was the final title of the film he and a crew and cast of forty-five filmed in Lone Pine from June 20th to July 8th according to an issue of the Mt. Whitney Observer published in Lone Pine at the time.

The paper gives a sense of the close relationship between the movie companies and the town even in those days. The people welcomed the filmmakers, the merchants were pleased to see them arrive, and even local folks got into the pictures. Finally, after release, the films would be screened at the Town Hall Theater where the present day Statham Hall is located and everyone could come and see the familiar faces of the locals flickering on the screen.

Rex Bell was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 16, 1903. According to the Observer reporter, Bell had originally played juvenile roles in Tom Mix and Buck Jones silent films and was chosen to replace Tom Mix for Fox. He was selected from a number of candidates when Mix began to talk about retirement. After he made three westerns he went on to be a supporting player in nine comedy, musical and drama roles between 1929 and 1930. It was in one of these, True to the Navy (1930), that he worked with Clara Bow.

With advent of sound, Bell achieved a certain amount of fame as a star of B westerns, returning to Lone Pine in 1936 in West of Nevada. Another picture of his, Law and Lead (1936), contains Lone Pine footage, but at this time we assume it was second unit of stock footage from some other film. He would return once more to Lone Pine in a small role with Richard Dix in the film Tombstone, a Town Too Tough to Die (1942). Occasionally after that Rex Bell appeared in films, his last being a small role in The Misfits (1961) with Marylin Monroe and Clark Gable.

Like Arnold Swarzenegger after him, Rex Bell was attracted to politics and rose to become Nevada's Lieutenant Governor in the years between 1954-1962. While remaining close to Clara Bow as her career wound down, he built a ranch for her where she went to live in semi-seclusion to raise their two sons. Her mental health began to suffer there and she finally returned to Hollywood where she would spend her final days in seclusion. No stranger to Lone Pine herself, Clara Bow visited Clarence Badger, her director on three of her most successful Paramount films, at his ranch in Lone Pine Canyon many times.

Rex Bell was here first in 1928 before marrying Clara Bow. The film he came to make had the working title of The Cyclone Lover, the name being changed in postproduction to The Girl-Shy Cowboy. The Observer called it a "new type of western story." It was all to be filmed on location in Lone Pine except the first few scenes, which were to be made at a rodeo in Texas.

The paper summarizes the story in the following way. "A class of girls from a wealthy eastern school go to a western ranch to study geology. They have a camp on the outskirts of the ranch, and Bell, Meeker and Stewart, three cowpunchers, are hired to establish the camp. The sheriff, hearing of a band of desperados in the hills, warns the girls to be careful of their jewelry, so the three punchers are also hired as guards. All three immediately fall in love with Miss O'Leary (the female star) and many amusing incidents follow.

"Meeker was formerly a member of the gang, though now going straight, and through him the crooks expect to get away with the girls valuable jewelry. The whole story centers on the strong character of Bell and the weak character of Meeker."

The female star is Patsy O'Leary and the villain is Buddy Roosevelt. George Meeker, who was one of the sons in Four Sons plays the ex member of the gang and Donald Stewart picks up the comedy part similar to the role he played in Beau Geste. R. Lee was the director.

The next issue of the paper carried the news that the company had left the previous Sunday after several weeks of work. "After completing several scenes in the afternoon, the company of forty people went to the Southern Pacific depot in the evening where a special car awaited them. Their lengthy stay here was greatly appreciated by the local merchants for this has been only the second company to film a picture here this year. Last year nine companies made pictures here."

The story notes some involvement of locals in the production. Russ Spainhower is given credit for being the local liaison for the company while they were filming here. "The company took most of their shots on the Russel (sic) Spainhower Ranch at Diaz Lake, gradually working toward the Alabamas and the Sierras (sic) as the story progressed."

Apparently some of the cast got sick during the filming because the reporter notes that two locals got to double for members of the film who were unable to participate. Miss Dorothy Nielsen, local grammar school teacher, and Miss Evelyn Wiltfang are mentioned specifically as appearing in the film.

There was also a banquet and a dance held on July 1 to entertain the filmmakers while they were in town working. The host and hostess were Neil and Paula Neely of Big Pine and the event was held at the Palisade Rancho in the evening. "A number of Big Pine folks were also invited guests," the paper reported. The writer continued, "All reported a most enjoyable evening."

This story makes us wish the film survived today. Maybe someone will uncover a copy in their grandmother's attic one day.

Note: The Mt. Whitney Observer has been preserved at the County Library in Independence and most issues survive on microfilm. Simply go in and ask Nancy Masters for help and it is a wonderful and instructive way to spend a winter afternoon. The more Lone Pine has changed, the more it has stayed the same. You might even thank your local supervisor for supporting the program to preserve these newspapers.

Chris Langley can be reached at 760-937-1189 or at lonepinemovies@aol.com.