Sylvester Stallone made his acting debut in a Western called Horses, a movie that will never be released. The success of Stallone’s Rocky movies paralleled his own acting career in many ways, including his struggle to break through and how sudden fame impacted his life. Prior to the original Rocky, Stallone had appeared in films like Death Race 2000 and The 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 the Stallone action movie classic Cobra, and directed his pal in Reach Me and The Extractors: Escape Plan. Herzfeld has directed several documentaries about Stallone’s work too, including The Making of ‘Rocky vs. Drago’, following the creation of Stallone’s Rocky IV director’s cut. Herzfeld also co-starred and directed Stallone in the tiny budget Western called Horses, about a cowboy (Stallone) and a Native American (Herzfeld) who rise from the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ 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 ᴅᴇᴀᴅ to track them down and kill once again. According to Stallone on his Instagram, he and Herzfeld pooled together $1100 to make Horses, and the film was completely silent since they couldn’t afford to record sound. Reports about when the film was sH๏τ vary, but it appears to have been filmed between 1969 and 1971. What is known is that while plenty of footage was sH๏τ, Horses was never completed.

Snippets of the Western can be seen in the Netflix documentary Sly, and while it’s never explained why Horses wasn’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 if Horses was a full-length project or a short film, either.

It’s not that uncommon for famous filmmakers to have early, self-funded work they’d rather lock away in a vault; Quentin Tarantino’s My Best Friend’s Birthday, for instance, was never finished after he became disillusioned with its quality. The way Stallone refers to Horses as a “terrible epic” hints that he feels the film is best left unseen by the mᴀsses. 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.” Making Horses indicates it’s a genre he’s interested in, but it appears Stallone wasn’t even loosely attached to a Western during his career heyday. Several of his movies have Western themes and motifs, such as Copland. This saw his small-town sheriff having to deal with corrupt cops, leading to an explosive final shootout.

Rambo: Last Blood features plenty of Western elements too; a large chunk is set on the Rambo family ranch, Stallone’s тιтle 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 that the 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 make Horses available in what incomplete state it’s in, just to let fans see his long-lost debut.

Source: Sylvester Stallone/Instagram