Tom Tyler in shadows and light

Many famous directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles used shadows and different lighting techniques to add depth in a scene of a feature film. This allows the viewer to see the movie as a realistic, three-dimensional image, complete with the layers of light and shading. Also known as Chiaroscuro Lighting in Hollywood, probably the best example in a film Tom Tyler appeared in is “Blood on the Moon” (1948) where he plays a supporting role. As with other film noirs from the 1940’s, low-key lighting is used to achieve the dramatic, somber mood of the story. There are other examples of such lighting taking place in a number of Tom’s westerns, including ones where he has starring roles. Continue reading below to find out which of these movies have scenes with the distinct contrast of lighting and shadows.

Rider of the Plains 1931

A precursor to Tom Tyler’s roles as an outlaw in “Powdersmoke Range” (1935) and “Stagecoach” (1939), “Rider of the Plains” places him in a similar character although one who is on the verge of becoming reformed. Like the other Trem Carr B-westerns Tom appeared in, there is a strong element of human interest in this film. Rare for a low-budget western, the characters are surprisingly well developed. There is also a distinct onscreen chemistry between Tom and child actor Andy Shuford, who plays Tom’s impetuous young pal.

To enhance Tom’s role of Blackie Saunders, he is wears a black shirt with white trim plus a black cowboy hat. Most scenes in “A Rider of the Plains” are filmed either at dusk, at night or dawn. Even indoors scenes at night show the bare minimum of light upon the faces of the actors in an attempt to stimulate the dark personality of Blackie when the local church pastor Jim Wallace (Ted Adams) and former member of Blackie’s gang comes up against him in order to give Sandy (Shuford), Tom’s partner, a chance at a better life. It is when Jim starts explaining the reasons to Blackie when the latter starts to growl “Stop preaching to me!” several times when shadows are cast over his face, as if he were possessed (in Poland, this movie was released under the title “Szatanski Cowboy”, or “The Satanic Cowboy”). Blackie even attempts to strangle Jim to death, with his big, strong hands wrapped firmly around his neck as the clergyman is pushed backward onto a table, surrounded by darkness in the room. Still talking to Blackie as if to discourage him from doing evil, Jim is back on his feet, and with the darkness fading away from the background, the shadows from Blackie’s face gone, only a severe expression remaining in his face. His steely eyes dart about like those of a serpent, as he continues to face the camera. Such a dramatic scene would not be repeated until 1939 when Tom Tyler turned in a critically acclaimed performance in “Stagecoach” (1939). Archie Stout’s cinematography is above-average here, with direction from John P. McCarthy.

Terror of the Plains 1934

Somewhat similar in plot to “West of Cheyenne” (1931) which marks Tom Tyler’s first feature-length synchronized sound film, “Terror of the Plains” contains one scene which distinctly plays off light against shadows. 

Tom Lansing leads a relatively happy life as a cowpuncher for an outfit when he receives a letter from his father who is being held in a jail up in Cheyenne. His father (Ralph Lewis) is being framed for a murder he did not commit, and with this news in hand, Tom acts quickly. He explains to his boss at work that he must leave to take care of an important matter, not disclosing what it is, while at the same time, his pal Banty (Frank Rice) gives the boss a number of complaints, primarily health issues. Leaving on horseback, Tom and Banty travel to their destination.

The next scene cuts to Tom speaking with his father who is in jail. Well lit from both inside the cell as well as outside, his father explains what happened and what Tom must do in order to exonerate him. With his father’s faith in him, Tom will have to meet face to face with Butcher Wells (William Gould), the real murderer, who is hiding out in Twin Rocks Canyon. As if to break the fourth wall, Tom is facing the camera, speaking his dialogue, before bidding his father farewell. Here the light seems to fade away as Tom walks down the hallway of the jail, his face grim and obscured every second step of the way by the dark shadows. For Tom Lansing, this walk through darkness is only a precursor of what he come up against once he reaches the canyon where he must find the man who framed his father. J. Henry Kruse photographs this scene artfully in this western directed by Harry S. Webb.

Stagecoach 1939

Considered one of the best western movies ever made and directed by John Ford, what makes “Stagecoach” so unique for Tom Tyler is that even though his role is of a supporting nature, his performance has been critically acclaimed over the decades if only for the reason that while his dialogue is minimal, he executes his performance as if it were a silent film, not a synchronized sound movie. Bert Glennon is the cinematographer for “Stagecoach”, and with John Wayne in his first leading man role as the Ringo Kid, he joins seven other passengers upon a stagecoach headed to Lordsburg across the rugged southwest, often passing through Indian territory.

Ringo has some unfinished business with Luke Plummer (Tom Tyler) which he intends to put to rest once and for all. When the stage reaches Lordsburg and Luke receives word from a family member, he is sitting at a table playing poker with a group of men in a saloon, with one of the establishment’s dancers at his side. Stacks of poker chips are on the table in front of him, as he holds four cards in his left hand. Luke’s eyes shift from side to side before he stands up, his face and upper body darkened by a shadow, before he casts his four playing cards upon the table: two aces, and two eights, a series known as “Dead Man’s Hand”, so called because that was the same hand held by Wild Bill Hickock when he was shot dead on August 2, 1876. Luke knows the jig is up, and his nervousness is obvious from when he leaves the poker game to when he swaggers up to the bar for a shot of whisky. Looking every inch the lean, mean fighting machine that he is onscreen, Tom Tyler literally dominates the saloon scene until he leaves, forced to leave his rifle behind, when he and two other Plummer men enter the night streets to do battle with Ringo, eventually shot by his enemy in the darkness of late night. 

Blood on the Moon 1948

Long considered a movie of the western-noir subgenre, Robert Mitchum has the starring role in “Blood on the Moon” with Robert Wise as the director. Tom Tyler appears in a supporting role as Frank Reardon, one of John Lufton’s (Tom Tully) men who happens to be a cattle owner. Lufton is engaged in a conflict with a group of homesteaders. Jim Garry (Mitchum) is asked to help an old friend by the name of Tate Riling (Robert Preston) to take part in a business scheme to influence Lufton to sell his herd of cattle to them. Tate double crosses his friend, and from there things go downhill.

Tate’s plan unravels when Jim finds out what is really taking place, and in a saloon late one night, the two men start brawling on the floor in a grueling fistfight. What takes place next is perhaps one of the most significant and memorable scenes in the movie. Reardon is hiding just behind the door to the saloon, waiting to walk in and deliver a final blow to Jim in the form of a bullet. Minimal lighting is present, and with Jim exhausted from the fight, lies on top of Tate upon the floor. Reardon finally enters the saloon, walking at a slow, even pace. His physical frame is obscured by total darkness on one step, until he is in font of Jim and stands over him, ready to plug him. Here Tom Tyler is truly intimidating in appearance, with the camera angled upwards at him as he walks, coming closer to the two beaten men on the floor, before the camera levels again to show Tom getting shot by Walter Brennan.

It is worth noting that the cinematographer for “Blood on the Moon” is Nick Musuraca, who also worked on many of Tom Tyler’s silent films for FBO. For the brief few minutes Tom Tyler has on film in all, it is this scene which builds up the suspense at a point in the movie which determines the winner between the cattle owner and the homesteaders.

Happy Father’s Day 2020 from Tom Tyler

"The Desert Pirate" 1927

It may sound unusual for Tom Tyler to be considered a father figure, having never had any children of his own in real life, but onscreen, he played the role on more than one occasion with his young co-stars from the silent film era to early talkies.  Whether his co-stars were Frankie Darro, Andy Shuford, Bobby Nelson, or Wesley Giraud, Tom was someone these boys looked up to onscreen, or even admired and respected in real life, as in Frankie Darro’s case. Tom was very good with children in silent films which drew children from all over the United States and the world to the Saturday matinee to enjoy his latest adventure on the silver screen. Even in silent films where there are multiple children – including babies! –  like “Idaho Red” and “The Man from Nevada”, Tom is there, talking to the youngsters, playing with them, protecting them, rescuing them from bandits. In other words, doing all the things a father does with his children. Let’s not forget when Tom delivers a baby in “Clancy of the Mounted” - the baby of his brother’s wife.

"A Rider of the Plains" 1931

In silent films like “The Desert Pirate”, Tom becomes a surrogate father to Frankie Darro, after shooting the boy’s father who is in fact a major criminal. In the movie “A Rider of the Plains” Tom is literally parenting his pal and riding partner Andy Shuford, who has wayward tendencies but with the help of a pastor friend, helps get him on the straight and narrow with a loving but firm hand. Screen portrayals of fatherly figures aside, in real life, Tom was uncle to a number of nephews his siblings had. In “The Tom Tyler Story” by Mike Chapman, there is a photo of Tom holding his sister Katherine’s newborn baby, Raymond, smiling at the tiny guy. After all, little Raymond could have been his own child. Happy Father’s Day to all dads out there.

Tom Tyler and His Pals: The Sound Era

Tom with Andy Shuford in "A Rider of the Plains"

By the early 1930’s when Tom Tyler transitioned to making sound movies, the “Tom and His Pals” marketing motto since his silent film years underwent a transition, too. For one thing, Tom’s riding partner was an adult male, sometimes in the form of Ben Corbett, Billy Franey or even George “Gabby” Hayes. One western even had an African-American as Tom’s pal – Fred “Snowflake” Toones, in “Single Handed Saunders” (1932), a rarity in itself. There remained a few exceptions to this, primarily in an attempt to recapture the magic of Tom and his pals previously seen in the silent films made for FBO. To that end, two movies produced by Trem Carr introduced a young pal to Tom’s character: “A Rider of the Plains” (1931) and “Two Fisted Justice” (1931). In 1933, Monarch Productions followed suit with “War of the Range”. Each one of these movies had a different child actor in the role of Tom’s pal, and one unique feature of these boys is, unlike Frankie Darro, these kids all had blonde hair. Following is a brief profile of the three child actors who played Tom Tyler’s pal for an hour’s length of action and adventure.

Andy Shuford

Born as William Andrew Shuford on December 16, 1919 in Helena, Arkansas, Andy was best known for his roles in “Law of the North” (1932) and “A Rider of the Plains” (1931). Andy’s first film appearance was in a Little Rascals short, “Ten Years Old” in 1927. Prior to working with Tom Tyler, he was an established child star in his own right, appearing in “The Big Trail” (1930) and “The Great Meadow” (1931). Andy played Tom’s partner Silent Sandy in “A Rider of the Plains” (1931) – so named due to his tendency to talk too much when he was not supposed to. Consequently, his mouth tended to get him into trouble. Tom remained firm with him at all times in bringing him up, for he plays a parental role to Sandy in this movie and is not just a “big pal” to the boy. Andy’s last movie appearance was in “The Mayor of Hell” (1933), which starred James Cagney. When he joined the United States Army Air Corps during World War 2, Andy left his film career behind, becoming a highly decorated pilot and achieving the rank of colonel. Andy Shuford died on May 19, 1995 at the age of 77 in Monteagle, Tennessee.

Bobby Nelson

Robert John Nelson was born on January 17, 1922 in Sana Monica, California. Acting came naturally to Bobby, the son of a silent film star and director, Jack Nelson. Bobby’s first film role came in 1926 at the age of four in the silent film “Beyond the Rockies”. His onscreen personality and charm soon led to further roles in movies, such as “Tarzan the Mighty” (1928), “Oliver Twist” (1933), and the Gene Autry film serial, “The Phantom Empire” (1935). As Danny in “Two Fisted Justice”, nine-year-old Bobby played an orphan who lost his guardians to an Indian attack, taken in by Kentucky Carson (Tom Tyler). Witnessing a murder, Danny risks losing his beloved dog Sagebrush. Very reminiscent of the silent films Tom Tyler made with Frankie Darro, who was sometimes characterized as being an orphan, Bobby’s performance was worthy of a juvenile Oscar, had the award existed in 1931 (it was introduced in 1934). But this was not Bobby’s only appearance with Tom Tyler; he also had a role as Ezra Podge in Chapter 4 of “Battling with Buffalo Bill”, also released in 1931. Bobby’s last film role was in “The Boothill Brigade” (1937), and five years later in 1942, joined the Army during World War 2. His military career lasted four years before he was discharged in 1946. As an adult, he was a public accountant. Sadly, Bobby died at the young age of 52 on December 5, 1974 in Los Angeles.

Wesley Giraud

Wesley Giraud was Tom’s last young pal Jimmy Carlysle, appearing in “War of the Range” (1933). Sporting blond hair and freckles, Wesley was born on July 1, 1918 in New York City. His first film appearance was in “One Man Law” (1932) starring Buck Jones. He also appeared in movies like “No Greater Glory” (1934) which also starred Frankie Darro, “The Plainsman” (1936), and “Boys Town” (1938). As Jimmy Carlysle, the younger brother of Grace Carlysle (Caryl Lincoln), Wesley was a natural as Tom’s young pal: the type of boy who loved the outdoors with his rugged personality, faithful pal to the very end, when Tom helps the boy on the mend after he is shot. The last movie Wesley made was “Gallant Sons” (1940). After his film career, Wesley worked in the furniture business, then as a mailman. In 1971, Wesley survived a stroke, rehabilitating while watching movies he appeared in on television. He died at the age of 74 on May 5, 1993 in San Diego, California.


Honorary mention: the adorable moppet named Bill in “Single Handed Saunders” who brings his broken wagon to Tom the Blacksmith to fix. Bill appears to have either light brown or possibly red hair. Unfortunately this young actor’s name is not credited nor mentioned anywhere on IMDB or elsewhere. If anyone knows his name, please send it to me so I can add it. Thank you!

April 21, 2020 - We have a name for this little boy! Noel Newhard, age 3 in the screencap below. His father Guy Newhard was a film actor and camera man who had a minor role as a cowboy in "Single Handed Saunders". Many thanks to JimmieFan at Nitrateville for helping to identify this young man! Read more about Noel and his father in the article given to me by JimmieFan here.