British titles of Tom Tyler films

"The Avenging Rider" 1928. From Perthshire Advertiser,
December 11, 1929

It seems logical that the vast majority of films made in Hollywood during the silent film period would be released under their original titles in other English-speaking nations like the United Kingdom. Curiously enough, not all of Tom Tyler’s silent films had a uniquely British title change, but it seems at least half did, at least compared to the handful of 1930’s westerns and two from the 1940’s which he made. In at least two cases, Tom’s silent films were released under two different titles in England, “Wild to Go” (1926) and “The Cowboy Cop” (1926). For those unfamiliar with the plot or synopsis of many of Tom’s silent films or have not read the ones written by me on the Aventuras de Tom Tyler website, some British silent film titles may seem outright baffling. For example: “The Mystery Bracelet” from 1925 – which is the most important object in “The Cowboy Musketeer”, released the same year. The plot involves an heirloom bracelet containing a map bearing the location of a gold mine on the property worn by actress Frances Dare which soon becomes the target of the ranch’s foreman, Tom London. A second example with more detail is the blog article “Lost in translation: How ‘Tyrant of Red Gulch’ became ‘The Sorcerer’ across the pond”  With thanks to The British Newspaper Archive for the titles below.

Let's Go Gallagher (1925) - Odds on Gallagher

The Cowboy Musketeer (1925) - The Mystery Bracelet

"The Cowboy Musketeer" (1925). From West Middlesex Gazette, March 26, 1927

The Arizona Streak (1926) – The Fatal Card

Wild to Go (1926) - A Gamble in Hearts, also released as The Pals Again

The Masquerade Bandit (1926) - The Tables Turned 

The Cowboy Cop (1926) - Broke to the Wide, also released as The Money Grabbers

Tom and His Pals (1926) – Movie Struck

Lightning Lariats (1927) – A Throne for a Saddle

The Cherokee Kid (1927) – The Stranger

Terror Mountain (1928) - Tom's Vacation 

The Avenging Rider (1928) - Partners

Tyrant of Red Gulch (1928) – The Sorcerer

Trail of the Horse Thieves (1928) - Double Lives

Gun Law (1929) – A Swift Lover

A Rider of the Plains (1931) - The Greater Love 

Single Handed Saunders (1932) - Wyoming

Honor of the Mounted (1932) - Beyond the Border

Trigger Tom (1935) – Dangerous Mission

Fast Bullets (1936) – Law and Order

Ridin’ On (1936) – Unseen Enemy

Cherokee Strip (1940) – Fighting Marshal

Sing Me a Song of Texas (1945) – Fortune Hunter 

"Wild to Go" (1926). From The Bioscope, November 18, 1926

Filming “San Antonio”: Hopefully Tom Tyler got the afternoon off

Sometimes the most interesting production notes of a particular movie can be found within the marketing tool known as the pressbook. In the case of the 1945 Warner Brothers western “San Antonio” starring Errol Flynn and Alexis Smith, there is one such article regarding the filming of the scene where Tom Tyler gets shot by Flynn. Tom of course had the opportunity to execute his famous long, drawn out walk before finally collapsing onto the wooden platform surrounding the building across the street. In this western, Tom has a supporting role as Lafe McWilliams, a henchman for cattle rustler Paul Kelly who is hot on the trail of cattleman Flynn, who is attempting to lay low until he can locate Stuart and turn him in to the authorities.

On the second page of the pressbook the article titled “Special Effects Department Busy on ‘San Antonio’ Set”, detailed information is given to the rip roaring shoot out scene between Tyler and Flynn, which originates as an exchange between the two men in the dance hall. According to the article, director David Butler, who, like Tom, had a career dating back to the silent film era, the scene was lined up by Butler, and with the aid of the special effects man Fred Ponedel, set off the powder and smoke, which produced the resulting effects when Flynn shoots a blank at Tom.

Ever eager and ready to learn every aspect of what his role requires, Tom stood by and observed everything. What is interesting about the entire scene is that the set was built to resemble the 1870 to 1880 years of San Antonio. When the set was built, it was done from photographs supplied by San Antonio Mayor Maury Maverick. Once completed, the set occupied an entire sound stage. 

Finally ready to complete his last scene of filming in “San Antonio” which took place in the morning, Tom remarked to present crew members that hopefully the scene would be done filming by lunchtime so he could have the afternoon off. Knowing just how efficiently Tom Tyler could execute a scene according to direction, chances are he took the hit from Flynn before dying off according to the script so that he could enjoy his afternoon off from work. 

Yes, that is the director of "San Antonio" with Tom Tyler on an ESCO arcade card from 1929!