The Texas Tornado 1928

Presently the only FBO Tom Tyler silent film to exist on DVD, “The TexasTornado” is a perfect example of the B-western genre that Tom made for that studio during the silent film era. The DVD which is presently available for consumer purchase is available from Sinister Cinema, made from a 16mm print which originates in either Belgium or the Netherlands (identified as such due to the letter which the sheriff hands to Tom prior to the latter's arrest in the story line). While this print of “The Texas Tornado” is missing about ten minutes down from the original 55 minutes long, the missing piece does not detract too much from the story although it does contain a fight scene which takes place on top of an oil derrick on the Briscoe ranch. After the fight, Tom descends to the ground through use of a guy-line attached to the top of the derrick, a heroic move in the film, although it is difficult to place this scene; it possibly came before Nora Lane (Ellen Briscoe) discovers the oil well workmen have disappeared, quitting the job unexpectedly.

The amount of action that takes place in this film is exciting enough: Tom avoiding a high-speed pursuit on horseback by the ranch landowner named Latimer (who is anxious for the lease to expire so that he can kick out the Briscoe family and keep the oil on the property for himself; the numerous fistfights Tom is engaged in throughout the film, a climactic scene where he rescues Frankie Darro from a gondola between two mountains across a deep ravine, crossing the strong cable, hand over hand with the small boy's arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders. Released in 1928, “The Texas Tornado” also marks the some year Tom set a number of weightlifting records, and his muscle power in the movie shows it, too. The tender moments throughout the film, usually shared by Tom with Nora Lane and Frankie Darro (character Buddy) balance the amount of action taking place in this silent film, Tom eventually developing a crush on Miss Briscoe, while becoming pals with Buddy – in the story, Tom is really the boy's wealthy uncle who helped finance the Briscoe ranch plus the oil drilling.

Frankie Darro was a top child actor and clearly had spunk as well as onscreen chemistry with Tom, proving as adept in dealing with Latimer's gang as Tom himself. After Latimer abducts Buddy and tries to get Tom framed for the crime, ends up being the butt of Buddy's funny faces made at him, breaking bottles over Latimer's head while his henchmen laugh at him. Tom Tyler himself is very much a “big kid” in “The Texas Tornado”, a common characteristic of his hero portrayals in the silent films he made for FBO. What makes this silent film so special is not just the studio label, but a glimpse of Tom Tyler's successful career as a leading man in silent B-westerns. This is the same actor who portrayed Captain Marvel and The Phantom, a man known for portraying heroes, embodying innocence in his characters which makes movies like “The Texas Tornado” perfect family fare.