Tom Tyler and Murnau: “Tabu”

Did you know that Tom Tyler almost came close to starring in a film directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau? An early documentation of this appeared in Hollywood Filmograph July 27, 1929, as part of the column titled “We Pictorially Present to You: A few personalities and some of the things they are doing.” There is a nice photo of Tom along with a caption (see below for the original clipping):

Some background research (which included speaking to another knowledgable Tom Tyler fan) revealed that Tom Tyler was indeed the original choice to portray the lead male in “Tabu: A Story of the South Seas” (1931) but then Murnau decided to go the purist route and hire all natives (with the exception of actress Anne Chevalier) for this critically acclaimed – and Oscar winning – silent film with a synchronized score. “Tabu” was in fact Murnau's final film so one cannot blame him for wanting to make his untimely exit from this world one of perfection. Still, I can easily imagine Tom as Matahi in a role like that, wearing a simple loincloth, portraying a Polynesian youth. Had he the opportunity to actually star in “Tabu”, there is no telling where Tom's career could have gotten him – but my guess is, most likely as an A-list star. For those of you interested in seeing “Tabu” in whole, it is available at Youtube.

Tom Tyler: Not the “ideal” Tarzan

One role that Tom Tyler was considered for his career, but did not quite make it, was as Tarzan. A number of actors have portrayed the Edgar Rice Burroughs character created back in 1912 onscreen (Tarzan made his debut in the pulp magazine, All-Story Magazine), which include Elmo Lincoln,  Herman Brix, and Johnny Weissmuller. One MGM film director by the name of W. S. Van Dyke thought about including Tom in the roster of stars who portrayed the famous jungle man, but changed his mind in favor of another popular actor at the time.

According to “The Tom Tyler Story” by Mike Chapman, Van Dyke was looking for the right actor to play Tarzan in the upcoming 1932 film “Tarzan the Ape Man”. Tom Tyler apparently tested for the role and was declined, due to his “not being muscular enough for the role” (p. 83). Van Dyke wanted Brix as Tarzan but apparently the actor was recovering from an on-set injury while filming “Touchdown!”(1931). Olympic swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller was selected instead, and made “Tarzan the Ape Man” a smash hit that year for MGM. Due to the film's popularity, Weissmuller appeared as Tarzan eleven more times on the silver screen.

Perhaps it is because both Brix and Weissmuller look similar facially, and have the sandy hair in addition to the tall, athletic physiques (both Brix and Weissmuller were 6'3”) that make them look suitable as Tarzan. To be fair, it might be worth comparing the role of Tarzan as a Tom Tyler possibility to that of the lead male star in Murnau's “Tabu” (1931). As with “Tabu”, Tom was also passed up in favor of Murnau's desire to go the purist route, employing Tahiti-born actors for this film. The main question is this: If Tom Tyler was originally selected to play a South Pacific Islander – and he was – but not Tarzan, then why?

In "Valley of the Sun"

On the surface, the reason of “not being muscular enough for the role” does not sound logical, at least by Hollywood standards, considering the fact Tom Tyler won the American Amateur Heavyweight Weightlifting Championship in 1928. That was only a few years before casting for “Tarzan the Ape Man” began. In photographs of Tom from that time period, he may have looked like an ideal Tarzan, but on film, it is possible that he did not look like an ape man of the jungle. That is not to say Brix, Weismuller, plus the other Tarzan actors looked like ape men; if anything, these two particular Tarzan actors of that time period were tall, muscular, attractive men. Tom Tyler probably could have pulled off the lead male role in “Tabu” had he been hired by Murnau at the time – he did after all make a great Native American in “Wagon Tracks West” (1943) and “Valley of the Sun” (1942). Had Tom been in “Tabu” he most likely would have had to wear a loincloth. So again – why not Tarzan?

In "Wagon Tracks West"

It is entirely possible that Tom, in looking at his film appearances between 1931 and 1932, which include three film serials (one which happened to be “Jungle Mystery” (1932)), plus twelve feature-length films, looked too “metrosexual” for a role like Tarzan. Granted, that term did not exist back then,   even though early marketing key words to describe Tom included “Adonis” - not just physically but facially. Unfortunately Tom Tyler never had the opportunity to portray the Grecian Adonis onscreen – or any other young male Greek figure from mythology even though he would have been the perfect choice, given the opportunity. So instead of Tarzan for Tom Tyler, a couple of Native American roles  are the next best thing we have on film to appreciate him by.

Betty Grable with Tom Tyler – and remakes of “Galloping Thru”

The name Betty Grable hardly needs any introduction to those familiar with Hollywood’s Golden Age. While her popularity was at its height during the 1940’s and 1950’s, prior to those two decades her film appearances were confined to B-movies. One of these low-budget movies Betty was originally slated to appear in was “Galloping Thru” – with Tom Tyler as her leading man, as stated by the author Michael R. Pitts in his book "Astor Pictures: A Filmography and History of the Reissue King, 1933-1965”. On the surface this does not sound so far-fetched; Tom himself was the first choice to play the lead role in F. W. Murnau’s 1931 epic film “Tabu: A Story of the South Seas”.  That never happened, and as fate would have it, Betty Grable would never have the chance to play opposite Tom although her looks, charm and personality were certainly a match for his. There was a reason Betty was called “The Pin-Up Girl” in the 1940’s, that familiar pose of her showing off her legs, wearing a swimsuit that became a ubiquitous image during World War 2. Matched with a weightlifting champion by the name of Tom Tyler, such a pairing might have opened the door to more movies for both stars, possibly even A-list movies, at least sooner for Betty.

After Betty died in 1973 at the age of 56, a number of movie contracts both signed and unsigned survived and were eventually put up for auction. One of the unsigned contracts was for Trem Carr Pictures, which produced the Tom Tyler Monogram movies of the early 1930’s. One of these movies was “Galloping Thru”, but the contract stipulated that she was to use her first stage name of Francis Dean. Betty Grable never signed the contract, perhaps in the hope her next role might be in an A-list movie. That however did not happen until 1940 when she replaced actress Alice Faye in “Down Argentine Way”, finally establishing herself as an A-list actress with Twentieth Century Fox studio, becoming their biggest – and highest paid – star by 1947. While Betty Grable did not have the opportunity to play opposite Tom Tyler, Betty Mack did. The second Betty worked with Tom before, playing his leading lady in “God’s Country and the Man”, “Partners of the Trail”, and “The Man from Death Valley”, all released in 1931. Astor Pictures re-released "Galloping Thru" in 1939, eight years after its initial release by Monogram Pictures.

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Movie remakes in Hollywood is hardly a new trend; the practice dates back to silent film years. Tom Tyler’s earliest movie remake of the sound era is “Terror of the Plains” (1934) – remade from “West of Cheyenne” (1931), his first feature-length sound movie. The second remake was “Coyote Trails” (1935), from “Ridin’ Thru” (1934), minus the element of the dude ranch in the plot. The Monogram movie “Galloping Thru” has its share of remakes too, but has a double lineage, depending upon the plot elements being counted, as well as the documenting sources. The history of remakes of “Galloping Thru” as listed here come from the book "Becoming John Wayne: The Early Westerns of a Screen Icon, 1930-1939” By Larry Powell, Jonathan H. Amsbary, and from IMDB. The John Wayne book has “Galloping Thru” being remade three times; IMDB, two times. What makes the two lineages really interesting is this: there are a total of five different writers involved with these remakes, creating minor variations in the story without disturbing the main story elements which qualify as a remake.

“Becoming John Wayne” remake lineage of “Galloping Thru”:

Galloping Thru 1931:
Director: Lloyd Nosler
Writers: Wellyn Totman (screenplay and story)
Stars: Tom Tyler

The Dawn Rider 1935:
Writer: Lloyd Nosler
Stars: John Wayne

Western Trails 1938:
Writers: Norton S. Parker and George Waggner
Stars: Bob Baker

Dawn Rider 2012:
Writer: Joseph Nasser
Stars: Christian Slater
…………………………………………………………………….

IMDB remake lineage of “Galloping Thru”:

A Son of the Plains 1931:
Writer: Robert N Bradbury
Stars: Bob Custer

Galloping Thru 1931:
Director: Lloyd Nosler
Writers: Wellyn Totman (screenplay and story)
Stars: Tom Tyler

Blue Steel 1934:
Writer: Robert N Bradbury
Stars: John Wayne

Note how IMDB places “Galloping Thru” second in the history of its remakes – after “A Son of the Plains”, written by Robert N. Bradbury. Bradbury also directed “A Son of the Plains”, “Blue Steel”, and “The Dawn Rider”. Lloyd Nosler, who directed “Galloping Thru”, also wrote the story for “The Dawn Rider”. It sounds like both Nosler and Bradbury had a hand in establishing a solid enough basic western plot that would be repeated up to the present day. It is gratifying to see a Tom Tyler B-film leading a series of remakes like this, even if the behind-the-scenes names are responsible for the “heavy lifting”. "Galloping Thru" remains a lost film.