Texas Ranger Tom Tyler: A review of “Fast Bullets” 1936 on Blu-ray

Blu-rays of low budget westerns from the 1930’s are a rarity, although the recent release of “Fast Bullets” (1936) from The Serial Squadron is a milestone for a couple of reasons. One, it remains the very first Blu-ray release for a Tom Tyler starring western from that decade, and two, it marks one hundred years since Tom made his first appearance in a silent film: “Three Weeks” from 1924, an MGM romantic drama based on the Elinor Glyn novel of the same name.

It is hard to believe that 2024 marks the one-hundred-year anniversary of Tom Tyler’s career, considering his start was in silent film, and remained so up until 1930 when the last of the silent film theatres were transitioning to synchronized sound. Even more rare was the handful of western stars making silent films being successful in signing contracts with production studios while the majority saw their film careers end with the advent of synchronized sound. Luckily, “Fast Bullets” is one of Tom’s low-budget westerns which has plenty of action, rugged western scenery, and fist fighting.

“Fast Bullets” opens with Tom as a Texas Ranger, interrogating a member of a gang headed by Al Bridge who is considered responsible for the murder of two other Rangers. With the permission from his superior, played by William Gould, Tom and his colleague Robert Walker leave on a mission to Red Rock Canyon near the Mexican border to avenge the deaths of their fellow officers. Their job is to round up the criminal gang headed by Al Bridge, a regular heavy in Tom’s westerns from the 1930’s. Spying and chasing two of the gang members on horseback, Tom finally catches them, and with the help of Walker, brings them in. Yet one of the men, Rex Lease, escapes, to which Tom soon discovers is making breakfast over an open campfire. Tom initially calls Lease a kid, even though there is a slight age difference between the two men in real life, Rex being older than Tom by seven months. As they eat bacon sandwiches, Tom speaks with him about turning his life around and engage in honest living. With the help of his new friend, Tom is introduced to Al Bridge, who also happens to be the owner of the El Camino Cantena. When Bridge sees a demonstration of Tom’s prowess with a gun, he addresses Lease, saying “Your pal certainly carries fast bullets”, from which the film title is derived.

Tom discovers why Lease and his sister, played by Margaret Nearing confide everything in each other, no matter what the situation might be. She is a working girl, often dancing at the cantina to the tune of playing fiddles to entertain the male customers. Her admiring audience never seems to lose sight of her gams, her blond hair perfectly coiffed. Once Tom takes sight of Nearing, he becomes interested in her on a personal level. Trapping Bridge and his henchmen, a clever ambush is created by the Texas Rangers using mannequin dummies to catch the criminals off guard and arrest them.

Comparable to the Canadian Mounties, the Texas Rangers are a formidable group of tough, rugged men who always manage to achieve their mission. As Tom, Lease and Nearing sit around a campfire listening to the fiddle music playing at twilight, Lease is proud to be a new member of the Texas Rangers, working beside Tom, who is now married to Nearing.

Directed by Henri Samuels and written by Jay J. Bryan and Carl Krusada, “Fast Bullets” was filmed at the Walker Ranch nestled in Placerita Canyon in Santa Clarita, California. Tom Tyler is every inch the fighter against Charles Whitaker and Charles King, henchmen for Bridge, and it is always fun to see Tom take on guys who are physically bigger than he is. Of note is the shirt Tom wears, the side zippers instead of an open front button-down western shirt more commonly worn during his silent film years.

The Serial Squadron includes a colorized version of “Fast Bullets” as well as the original black and white on the Blu-Ray, giving Tom blue eyes instead of his brown eyes, perhaps as a form of poetic license. The scan for this film print was painstakingly cleaned up to a crisp, sharp picture with few vertical lines during the first few minutes of the western. There are a total of four extras on the Blu-ray, one which is a cartoon preceding “Fast Bullets”: a Looney Tunes black and white cartoon from 1930 featuring the character Bosko; a detailed history of “The Captain Marvel Chronology” which features the history of the superhero through the Tom Tyler serial, up to modern day; the first chapter of the Gene Autry serial “The Phantom Empire” co-starring Frankie Darro, Tom Tyler’s co-star during his silent film years; and a live action-stop motion animation Charley Bowers short, “The Metal Eating Bird” which is a bit of a novelty.

Overall, “Fast Bullets” remains one of Tom Tyler’s best oaters, the Blu-ray is worth purchasing through The Serial Squadron website if only for its uniqueness in being the only release to date of one of Tom’s B-westerns. For Tom Tyler fans, it is a must have, and should encourage the further release of his starring westerns fully restored in Blu-ray format, which is long overdue.

“Fast Bullets” 1936 now available on Blu-ray physical media

Still from "Fast Bullets" 1936

Back in December it was announced that the 1936 Tom Tyler western "Fast Bullets" from 1936 was going to be released on Blu-ray by The Serial Squadron. While the beautifully restored copy is available in streaming format through the Squadron Online Library, the Blu-ray physical media is now available. 

To order a copy of the physical media, go to The Serial Squadron website and scroll down a bit where it says “New Titles Available Now”. “Fast Bullets” will appear at the left along with ordering information. 

An enormous thank you to The Serial Squadron for making “Fast Bullets” the first Tom Tyler starring western available on Blu-ray!

Happy New Year 2024!

How time has flown since 2015 when Aventuras de Tom Tyler actively became involved in the search for Tom’s lost silent films and lost Monogram Pictures films. While 2023 has not seen any rediscovered lost films, progress has been made with the original website, and blog, as well as social media accounts with Twitter and Facebook. One thing which needs to be mentioned about 2024 is this: all of Tom Tyler’s silent films from 1928 enter public domain. Of the six silent films Tom made in 1928, the good news is, three of them plus a fragment have survived:

Phantom of the Range (1928)
The Texas Tornado (1928)
Terror Mountain (1928)
The Avenging Rider (1928) (fragment)

A note on “The Texas Tornado”: a complete version is stored at BFI.

If any readers of this blog own a complete print of “The Avenging Rider” or any other lost silent films/Monogram Pictures Tom Tyler has appeared in, please contact Aventuras de Tom Tyler – we would love to speak with you! The time has come for these silent films to be restored.

Collectibles: Tom Tyler and Cuentos Cinematograficos film booklets

The Cowboy Cop

One of the more elusive Tom Tyler Spanish film booklet collectibles are those published under the youth-targeted audience Cuentos Cinematograficos title, under the Biblioteca Films brand based in Barcelona, Spain. There are a total of four known booklets, three of them based on Tom’s silent films made for FBO, with the fourth being an interesting work of fiction, most likely as a marketing tactic to the public as a way of encouraging silent film patrons to view the latest cinematic exhibition.

At one point, a number of these silent film booklets were compiled and bound into a book, as with the one titled Cuentos del Cine. Interestingly enough, not all of the film books are under the Cuentos Cinematograficos title: some of the bound booklets were published under Biblioteca Infantil Cinematografica. Measuring 4 ¾” x 6 ¾” in size, the book has a brown fabric cover with Cuentos del Cine on the binding. Covers from the individual film booklets are left intact. Each cover for Cuentos Cinematograficos bears an illustration from a silent film scene in the colors red, brown, gray, black and white, with a mast across the top of each cover containing an illustration of Tom and his young pal Frankie Darro, with the words Tom Tyler, Chispita (a reference to Frankie), Vivales (a reference to Franki’s pet dog Napoleon). The three Tom Tyler silent films which appear under Cuentos Cinematograficos are: “La Fortuna del Bandido/The Masquerade Bandit”, “El Cowboy Policia/The Cowboy Cop”, and “Valor Salvaje/Cyclone of the Range”. It is worth noting that “El Cowboy Policia” was the first publication for Cuentos Cinematograficos, suggesting that Tom Tyler’s popularity would help get the new brand off the ground.

The Masquerade Bandit

Individually sold during their circulation time, these film booklets are derivatives from silent films starring the famous French actor Georges Biscot, Tom Mix, Tom Tyler, Jackie Coogan, Rin Tin Tin, Billy Sullivan, and many others. Like other issues of Cuentos Cinematograficos, instead of film stills being reproduced in the film booklets, sketches of the stills are used to illustrate the story.

Cyclone of the Range

A special edition booklet, “Una Aventura de Tom Tyler” is included, which appears to be a work of fiction, which of course includes Tom’s pal Frankie Darro from his silent film days. Unlike the regular covers designed for Cuentos Cinematograficos, this one shows a full-length shot of Tom Tyler on the cover, with some decoration in the publication name and story title. The singular noteworthy full-page sketch which is added to the story depicts Tom seated and being tied up by a group of men wearing white sheets over their heads with two holes cut out for the eyes, ghost-style. Such a story must have been an exciting treat for young fans of Tom Tyler, and like so many other ultra-rare Tom Tyler silent film collectibles, are sought after by serious collectors.

Upcoming special project for “The Cherokee Kid”

Coming up in 2024, our fourth installment of the lost Tom Tyler silent film reconstruction series, "The Cherokee Kid" (1927) with Sharon Lynn has been selected. As usual, the basis for this reconstruction will be the film's derivative published by Biblioteca Films. Existing copies of stills, promotional materials, and movie cards will be included in this project.

Once "The Cherokee Kid" is translated, it will be posted here on the Aventuras de Tom Tyler Blog plus social media pages.

Tom Tyler “Fast Bullets” (1936) to be released on Blu-ray!

I am very happy to announce that Tom Tyler’s starring western “Fast Bullets” from 1936 is finally being released on Blu-ray! This will be available from The Serial Squadron and can be ordered here at the price of only $6.99. This action-packed western also casts Rex Lease, Margaret Nearing, Al Bridge, George Chesebro, and Charles Whitaker. Filmed at the Walker Ranch in Santa Clarita, California, the film’s landscape evokes the Old West as it is meant to be remembered.

It is worth noting that this is the first of Tom’s B-westerns to see a Blu-ray release so hopefully this will set a precedent to have the rest of his B-westerns on Blu-ray, whether it be The Serial Squadron or another distributor. Many many thanks to Eric Stedman for his continuously dedicated and hard work not only on this film restoration but also for the many film serials he has worked on and made available to the public over the years.

Further updates can be found here as well as Mr. Stedman’s Facebook group The Serial Squadron.

“Jungle Mystery” petition is officially closed

Many thanks to everyone who signed the following petition:

Petition to Universal Pictures to release “Jungle Mystery” on DVD

This petition is now officially closed as of November 7, 2023. However, I would like to mention there is the possibility the former Holy Grail of Lost Serials will be released on DVD in the future, most likely by VCI Entertainment.

So, how do you find out if “Jungle Mystery” is released on DVD?

You can check out the official VCI Entertainment site where brand-new releases are mentioned. Also check out any notifications on the Aventuras de Tom Tyler website , Facebook page, Twitter page , or right on this blog for a notification.

In the meantime, all Tom Tyler and serial fans, sit tight, and if you want to see any movie posters, stills, or other information on "Jungle Mystery", click on this link to the Aventuras de Tom Tyler site's film page and enjoy!