Tom Tyler at Mostly Lost 2013

One of the most important events in the nitrate community is the annual Mostly Lost one held at Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation in Culpeper, Virginia. Open to the public, the audience of film enthusiasts attempt to identify the exhibited films. It just so happens that back in 2013 at Mostly Lost, a snippet of a Tom Tyler film was shown. Titled “Tom Tames Outlaw”. This film was distributed by Excel Movie Products, a Chicago, IL based company that distributed both 16mm and 8mm films for home use. The company also manufactured film projectors for home use, to encourage people to buy them specifically designed for use with the films available in their catalogs. “Tom Tames Outlaw” was probably an 8mm of “War of the Range” (1933), probably during the 1940's or 1950's. Of course this is not the only one which has been repackaged for home use; Atlas Films was another company that frequently released movies on 8mm for home use, such as “Cowboy Justice”, another Tom Tyler film which was “A Rider of the Plains” (1931).

Screencaps of “Tom Tames Outlaw” can be viewed here.