Meet Flashlight, Tom's trusty steed in his FBO silent films

While information on Tom Tyler's horses in his B-western talkies have been moderately written about, his first horse co-star has not been given much attention on the Internet until now, thanks to more available resources like Newspapers.com and Lantern Media History. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Flashlight, Tom's horse during his FBO years, 1925 to 1929.

Flashlight, sometimes shortened to just Flash, is mentioned by name in a newspaper item for “Wild to Go”, Tom's sixth starring feature for FBO. Flash is originally described as a “fine horse” but further press notices describe the chestnut horse with a white blaze down his nose and white stockings on his hind legs as being intelligent, wonderful, beautiful, and spirited. With the combined good looks and personality, Flashlight could only be the perfect equine companion for Tom. In one article in The Des Moines Register dated July 18, 1926 Tom is quoted as describing his horse as being “so intelligent, loyal and dependable that he needs no pedigree”, even though Flashlight was born in Clare, Ireland.

“The Pride of Pawnee” (1929) was Flashlight's last film with Tom Tyler, which no doubt ended a long intimate relationship between the cowboy hero and horse, both moving as one, performing tireless, endless stunts to entertain and awe audiences. If you are interested in seeing Flashlight live in action, I recommend purchasing a copy of “The Texas Tornado” (1928) on DVD.

Tom Tyler with Flashlight in "The Texas Tornado", 1928.