Tom Tyler and Producers Releasing Corporation: Frontier Marshal

Daily Variety, May 26, 1941

One of the more obscure parts of Tom Tyler’s career in film was how he almost wound up freelancing for Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC), the smallest film production company of the 1940’s in Hollywood. Producers Releasing Corporation was founded in 1939 by Ben Judell, with producer Sigmund Neufeld and director Sam Newfield, his brother. Film producer George R. Batcheller, Jr. and executive in charge of production Leon Fromkess also became part of PRC in producing low-budget films. It was a standard practice to keep each PRC film budget below $100,000.00, sometimes well below $50,000.00. PRC produced a total of 179 feature-length westerns, melodramas and horror films.

According to Daily Variety, May 26, 1941, Tom Tyler was originally signed on to star in the new "Frontier Marshal" series created by PRC with Lee Powell as co-star. A total of six westerns were scheduled for this new series. Motion Picture Herald, July 19, 1941 also announced that Tom Tyler would be appearing in this exciting new series. The vehicle for Tom's newest project was written by Johnston McCulley with the rights purchased by Neufeld. Yet this was not to be, for at some point in 1941, Tom was somehow able to get out of his contract with Producers Releasing Corporation for the "Frontier Marshal" western series and join Republic Pictures as one of the Three Mesquiteers, replacing Bob Livingston. As a result, Lee Powell eventually took over what would have been Tom's new role with Producers Releasing Corporation in "Frontier Marshal". Perhaps this career move was advised by Tom’s agent, if it was, it was certainly the better move for him financially as well as establish him in the role as Stony Brook with the famous western trio.

Producers Releasing Corporation continued with their plans to release the “Frontier Marshal” film series, adding Art Davis and Bill "Cowboy Rambler" Boyd - not to be confused with the Bill Boyd who played the beloved Hopalong Cassidy in westerns from the 1930's to 1950's – to the cast. "Raiders of the West" (1942) was the first “Frontier Marshal” western. Tom’s old friend Oliver Drake wrote the original story and screenplay. This was followed by: "Rolling Down the Great Divide", "Tumbleweed Trail", “Prairie Pals”, and "Along the Sundown Trail", all released in 1942. By September 1942, Producers Releasing Corporation released the news that its "Frontier Marshal" six-film series was going to be replaced with a new series, "The Texas Rangers". This new series would star Art Davis, Tex O'Brien, and Al "Fuzzy" St. John. Five of the six “Frontier Marshal” westerns were made before Producer Releasing Corporation switched over to their Texas Rangers series. At this time, Producer Releasing Corporation also created the "Billy the Kid" western film series with Buster Crabbe as the star, and the "Lone Rider" series, with George Houston as star.

Daily Variety, June 25, 1941

While it would have been fascinating to watch Tom appear in B-westerns produced by Producer Releasing Corporation in the “Frontier Marshal” series, he clearly got the better deal when he signed on to Republic Pictures to appear in thirteen Three Mesquiteers westerns, which is not a bad trade-off, considering that his first completed film with Republic was the now-famous "Adventures of Captain Marvel" (1941) serial. 

Meeting with fans: Tom Tyler and the Wallace Brothers

Traveling with the Wallace Brothers Circus back in 1937 certainly afforded Tom Tyler to meet not only his many fans but also do charity work, often spending time with them as well as inviting them to see him perform under the big top. In one notable article from Beaver Dam Daily Citizen dated July 20, 1937, when the Wallace Brothers toured Wisconsin, Tom was able to meet with the disabled children of Beaver Dam through the courtesy of Mrs. James Healy, who was the president of the Dodge County Children’s Protective Association at the time. Experiencing happiness and cheer certainly must have been the highest point of these children’s lives, especially when it meant seeing their idol in person. Known for his extensive charity work for disabled and orphaned children, Tom knew how to connect with youngsters, providing encouragement to them when they needed it the most. As with so many stops along the tour, Tom made sure his new friends were able to attend his matinee performance with the Wallace Brothers and experience the thrill of their lives. Four years later, there would be another association between the town of Beaver Dam and Tom Tyler, one that would change movie history forever.

The actor Fred MacMurray, who is often considered to be the man whose looks inspired the Fawcett Publications Captain Marvel superhero created by C. C. Beck and Bill Parker, lived in Beaver Dam during the early years of his life. Fred’s father was a music teacher who got a job in the city of Madison, which meant moving the family from Kankakee, Illinois. By 1937, Fred was a major movie star and well on his way to becoming one of the highest paid actors of the 1930’s. By 1941, the very superhero Fred inspired was made into a film serial by Republic Pictures, “Adventures of Captain Marvel”, with Tom Tyler cast as Captain Marvel. Considered to be the first superhero film ever made, and one of the best serials at that, Tom certainly had the looks to bring the comic book superhero to life on the silver screen.

With Tom’s newly made friends in Beaver Dam, their delight in seeing him portray the famous superhero whose looks were created after one of their town’s own must have held a special place in their hearts. But then, Tom Tyler knew how to create magic for his fans. Shazam!

Reading silent films: “Trail of the Horse Thieves” 1929 starring Tom Tyler

“Trail of the Horse Thieves” is the fifth installment of the Tom Tyler lost silent film reconstruction series and now available for reading. This exciting story involves a remote valley of ranchers out west, a loan shark, and quicksand.

Please read the Terms of Use before reading the actual story.

Most importantly, enjoy my translation, and hopefully this will be an incentive to rediscover “Trail of the Horse Thieves”.

Click here to read my translation!

Review on “The Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection” at Classic Movie Hub

Kickstarter backer Laura Grieve has written an outstanding review of “The Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection” released on Undercrank Productions which has been published under the Western Roundup section at Classic Movie Hub. Laura attended the Lone Pine Film Festival in October 2024 when Tom Tyler’s niece Sandra Slepski was interviewed by fellow western fan Henry C. Parke. You can read the Blu-ray review here at Classic Movie Hub.

Be sure to check out Laura’s personal blog, "Laura's Miscellaneous Musings" which can be viewed here. 

If you decide to purchase a copy of the “Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection” on Blu-ray or DVD, please leave a rating and review for it at Amazon. Tom and I are looking forward to hearing what you have to say about this top-notch silent film restoration.

Introducing a new generation of Tom Tyler fans

There is a young adult book published back in 2016 which mentions our hero Tom Tyler. "The Outlaws of Cascade Falls", written by Gary VanRiper and illustrated by Carol VanRiper, published by Adirondack Kids Press, Ltd, Camden, New York. This 67-page book is one in a series of The Adirondack Kids #16, with the story about a boy named Justin with his friends Nick, Charles and Jackie who pretend to be cowboys. In chapter two of this engaging book, Nick mentions Tom Tyler the movie star as he was from his early silent film years, along with Buddy, who was played by child actor Frankie Darro, and Beans the dog. Nick continues to explain to Justin and friends who Tom was, along with Buddy and Beans, and how Nick's grandfather showed him a silent film of Tom, most likely on DVD. The silent film in question could very well be "The Texas Tornado" from 1928 since that remains the only FBO release on the market, available from Sinister Cinema.

"The Outlaws of Cascade Falls" as a story is modeled after a standard Tom Tyler western plot: a discovered safe hidden in the woods by the Cascade Trail in the Adirondacks, a pet pal named Dax, a cat, and of course horses for the group of friends to ride along the Cascade Trail. They come up against some winged outlaws, along with other exciting mini-adventures along the way. There is even a chapter titled “What Would Tom Tyler Do?” when the group of friends come up against a sticky situation. The book is engaging enough for a young reader or adult who is interested in the story, since there are very few works of fiction which mention Tom Tyler in the story. At the end of the book there is a small section dedicated to exactly what type of birds the winged outlaws were, one of them being a raven, along with a brief description and photo of the Adirondack waterfalls, plus a section devoted to Tom Tyler himself, including photos of him along with one of the cover of “Tom Tyler Tales: The Adirondack Cowboy” from 2003, which commemorated the birth of Tom as Vincent Markowski back in Port Henry, New York in 1903.

Tom Tyler after all is the Adirondack Cowboy, and "The Outlaws of Cascade Falls" can be read for free at Internet Archive if you have an account with the platform

Read "The Outlaws of Cascade Falls" here:

archive.org/details/outlawsofcascade0000vanr

Tom Tyler films available on Blu-ray

Blu-ray releases of Tom Tyler’s starring roles are somewhat limited, although in the last few years more have become available, primarily through The Serial Squadron and Undercrank Productions. Below is a list of what is available for those who believe in purchasing and collecting physical media and just want to add a little something special to their Tom Tyler film viewing:

“The Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection” – The Man from Nevada, Law of the Plains – Undercrank Productions 

“Phantom of the Air” – VCI Entertainment 

“Fast Bullets” – The Serial Squadron 

“Adventures of Captain Marvel” – Kino Lorber 

Supporting roles Tom has in movies available on Blu-ray:

“Stagecoach” – Criterion Collection 

“Gone with the Wind” – Warner Home Video 

“The Grapes of Wrath” – 20th Century Studios 

“The Mummy’s Hand” (on “The Mummy: Complete Legacy Collection” – Universal Pictures Home Entertainment 

“Buck Privates” – Universal Pictures Home Entertainment 

“The Talk of the Town” – Sony 

“They Were Expendable” – Warner Archive Collection 

“San Antonio” (Available on December 16, 2025) – Warner Archive Collection 

“Red River” – Criterion Collection 

“Blood on the Moon” – Warner Archive Collection 

“She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” – Warner Archive Collection 

“Samson and Delilah” – Paramount 

New book on Tom Tyler now available for purchase

Longtime Tom Tyler fan G. Michael Dobbs has written and published his book on Tom in September of 2025! It is titled “The Films and Life of Tom Tyler: Cowboy, Monster, Hero”. The book is 354 pages long and packed with updated information regarding Tom’s career, including a mention on the two silent films recently restored for the “Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection” available on the Undercrank Productions label, "The Man from Nevada" and "Law of the Plains", both from 1929. Michael has many years of experience as a journalist and editor, which means that this new book on Tom Tyler is sure to be an engaging read.

You can purchase a copy of “The Films and Life of Tom Tyler: Cowboy, Monster, Hero” at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.