Human interest in Tom Tyler's Trem Carr movies Part 1: “Single Handed Saunders” and “A Rider of the Plains”

A unique feature of the early talkies that Tom Tyler made for Trem Carr (1931 to 1932) is human interest in the stories. Issues such as mortality (not just human, but animal as well), relationships, life-or-death decisions, and saving face permeate surviving (available on DVD) Trem Carr films like “Single Handed Saunders” (1931) and “A Rider of the Plains” (1931). Having had plenty of previous experience in his later silent films such as “A Man from Nevada” (1929) where the film's star made a statement regarding human interest material, it seems only natural to continue that thread over into Tom's first talkies, while maintaining the same element of light entertainment in the western genre targeted toward American youth; true family-oriented films.

In “Single Handed Sanders” there is a judge in a western town who provides credit for the homesteaders but not cattle owners, which result in his being shot by a small group of the latter. The incident occurs right in the center of town where its citizens are going about their business, and one of the unfortunate victims happens to be a dog named Sparerib – a pet owned by a man named Snowflake (Fred Toones), who works for Matt (Tom Tyler), the town's blacksmith. Matt's brother Phillip is due to return to town after having graduated college as an attorney and gets caught up in the homesteaders cause, while Matt sides with the underdog: the cattlemen. A simple man, uneducated but knowing how and when to do the right thing, Matt has no qualms in trying to right the wrongs he sees being committed before him against those he cares about the most, including a lovely girl named Alice Parker (Margaret Morris).

The visible devastation Snowflake expresses over losing Sparerib is only the first innocent loss of animal life in this movie; during the later part where Matt is in high-speed pursuit on horseback, his steed has an accident while attempting to gallop over a ditch and breaks its leg. While the viewer is spared from watching the animal actually being shot, Matt draws his gun from his belt and puts the suffering horse out of its misery. The temporary feeling of loss that Matt expresses is quite plain, though, as tries to put the incident behind him while continuing on his journey. To balance these tragic events, a more touching scene worth pointing out is where Matt has to repair a broken wagon wheel for a little boy named Bill. Bill is not much older than toddler age, an adorable moppet with a bowl-style haircut and big smile as he patiently waits for Matt to repair the wheel. Matt treats the boy as if it was a little brother, in all kindness and gentleness,

ready to help whenever in need.

This feeling is evident when Matt is holding his brother Philip, victim of a gunshot, and despite their differences, “have always been pals”, in Matt's own words, showing that there were no hard feelings between the two brothers. Like the other hour-length films Tom Tyler made in the first half of his career, the script is well written (the story was written by Adele Buffington) and conveyed a wide enough range of human interest in the plot to stimulate discussion on a family level or even for a Bible class.

In “A Rider of the Plains” Blackie Saunders (Tom Tyler) and his young pal Sandy (Andy Shuford) return to the town of Indian Springs where Blackie meets up with a former gang-companion who went straight and became a parson, Jim (Ted Adams). Blackie most definitely considers Sandy to be a pal while at the same time tries to teach the boy some discipline and self-restraint, especially when it comes to Sandy's tendency to talk too much at the wrong time, which more often than not gets him into trouble. Parson Jim wants to give the boy a chance at having a somewhat structured life, and talks to Blackie in private, encouraging him to take the boy to Sunday school and get him on the right path, instead of being a best buddy to a reputed outlaw. Blackie is not one to be preached to however, and eventually decides what is best for Sandy, that is, for the boy to be open-minded about a different life than the one he is used to.

Sandy has difficulty in getting along with his new peers in Sunday school and reverts back to his old ways, getting into a fistfight with some other boys on churchgrounds, and is finally exhorted by some other churchgoers to be removed from Blackie's influence and placed under the eye of the parson. Once Blackie finds Sandy at the parson's house, a dramatic exchange between Blackie and the parson almost ends up in highly consequential actions for Blackie, yet he finally comes to his senses. Perhaps Blackie is fearful of losing Sandy as a friend, unsure of how he could carry on without the boy. The emotional exchange between Blackie and Sandy is bittersweet and powerful; the boy losing the only friend he can truly trust, trying not to cry, as Blackie gives Sandy a kiss on his cheek before leaving him. The entire scene is reminiscent of Tom's character Luke Plummer in “Stagecoach” (1939) where he relies solely upon facial expressions without going over the top.

Miraculously, Sandy is reunited with Blackie under auspicious circumstances, the couple happy once again and invite a new family member: Betty (Lilian Bond) the shopkeeper, who Blackie fell in love with. Unlike “Single Handed Saunders”, “A Rider of the Plains” has a happy ending, and as usual, makes for great after-film family discussion.

As with his other B-westerns, Tom Tyler portrays the usual hero in these two films and for an evening's worth of viewing, a Trem Carr film and a Reliable film back-to-back make for a good combination. Stay tuned for part 2 of “Human interest in Tom Tyler's Trem Carr movies.”