Reading silent films: “Trail of the Horse Thieves” 1929 starring Tom Tyler

“Trail of the Horse Thieves” is the fifth installment of the Tom Tyler lost silent film reconstruction series and now available for reading. This exciting story involves a remote valley of ranchers out west, a loan shark, and quicksand.

Please read the Terms of Use before reading the actual story.

Most importantly, enjoy my translation, and hopefully this will be an incentive to rediscover “Trail of the Horse Thieves”.

Click here to read my translation!

Introducing a new generation of Tom Tyler fans

There is a young adult book published back in 2016 which mentions our hero Tom Tyler. "The Outlaws of Cascade Falls", written by Gary VanRiper and illustrated by Carol VanRiper, published by Adirondack Kids Press, Ltd, Camden, New York. This 67-page book is one in a series of The Adirondack Kids #16, with the story about a boy named Justin with his friends Nick, Charles and Jackie who pretend to be cowboys. In chapter two of this engaging book, Nick mentions Tom Tyler the movie star as he was from his early silent film years, along with Buddy, who was played by child actor Frankie Darro, and Beans the dog. Nick continues to explain to Justin and friends who Tom was, along with Buddy and Beans, and how Nick's grandfather showed him a silent film of Tom, most likely on DVD. The silent film in question could very well be "The Texas Tornado" from 1928 since that remains the only FBO release on the market, available from Sinister Cinema.

"The Outlaws of Cascade Falls" as a story is modeled after a standard Tom Tyler western plot: a discovered safe hidden in the woods by the Cascade Trail in the Adirondacks, a pet pal named Dax, a cat, and of course horses for the group of friends to ride along the Cascade Trail. They come up against some winged outlaws, along with other exciting mini-adventures along the way. There is even a chapter titled “What Would Tom Tyler Do?” when the group of friends come up against a sticky situation. The book is engaging enough for a young reader or adult who is interested in the story, since there are very few works of fiction which mention Tom Tyler in the story. At the end of the book there is a small section dedicated to exactly what type of birds the winged outlaws were, one of them being a raven, along with a brief description and photo of the Adirondack waterfalls, plus a section devoted to Tom Tyler himself, including photos of him along with one of the cover of “Tom Tyler Tales: The Adirondack Cowboy” from 2003, which commemorated the birth of Tom as Vincent Markowski back in Port Henry, New York in 1903.

Tom Tyler after all is the Adirondack Cowboy, and "The Outlaws of Cascade Falls" can be read for free at Internet Archive if you have an account with the platform

Read "The Outlaws of Cascade Falls" here:

archive.org/details/outlawsofcascade0000vanr

Filmed on location at Buttercup Dunes: “Let’s Go Gallagher” (1925)

2025 marks the 100th anniversary of Tom Tyler’s debut starring role in “Let’s Go Gallagher” for FBO. Filmed at Buttercup Dunes in Imperial County, California, it must have been very exciting for Tom to learn he was going to be filming on location for his first major role in silent film. It’s just one of the perks in having an acting career, to be able to travel and film on location, even in a big state like California. No doubt Tom Tyler found the California desert to be exotic and enchanting at the same time, having been brought up in the Adirondacks of upstate New York and then Hamtramck, Michigan. As with any crew and cast which films on location for the first time, they plan well in advance, taking into consideration the climate and land prior to filming. What is even more exciting is that “Let’s Go Gallagher” was the first of many silent westerns pairing Tom Tyler with famed child actor Frankie Darro. For his leading lady, Tom had Barbara Starr, with Alfred Hewston, Olin Francis, and Sam Peterson in the cast. It is worth noting that Barbara Starr was married to Gaylord Lloyd, brother of famous silent film comedian Harold Lloyd, at the time she filmed “Let’s Go Gallagher” with Tom Tyler.

Located in the southeast part of California right on the Mexican border, Imperial County has a strong agriculture, Mexican cultural influence, and desert which makes the region perfect for films which require western or exotic locations. Imperial County is also home to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Imperial National Wildlife Refuge. “The Big Trail” (1930) directed by Raoul Walsh, “Beau Geste” (1939) directed by William A. Wellman, and “The Son of the Sheik” (1926) directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Rudolph Valentino, are just a few movies filmed at Buttercup Dunes. 

Situated on the southern edge of the Imperial Dunes also known as the Algodones Dunes, Buttercup Dunes is home to a number of fascinating historical locations, such as the Obregon Historical Market in the ghost town of Ogilby, Valley of the Names in Winterhaven, Glamis Dunes, and Sunset Hill. The dunes at Buttercup Dunes stretch for five miles in length and rise at a height of 300 feet. Of course, the winds are always shifting these sands which can cause varying heights among the dunes, which is normal across any sand dunes in California.

Since the 1960’s, dune buggies have become a popular pastime at the Imperial Dunes. Today, the Buttercup Sand Dunes is home to a ranger station and campground, located right off Route 8 in southernmost California.

Comedy behind the scenes while filming “Trail of the Horse Thieves”

One of the basic ingredients of a Tom Tyler silent film made during the FBO years is comedy. Intended to hold the youthful audience’s attention, this can be seen in “The Texas Tornado” (1928), which to date is the only silent film made for FBO that remains available on DVD from Sinister Cinema. Onscreen antics between Tom, his pal Frankie Darro, and often the family he finds himself defending against bandits, the comedy ranges from physical humor to a title card  intended to make the audience laugh, or even a caustic expression between Tom and his leading lady. It can be difficult to evaluate what amount of levity took place during the filming of one of these silent films, particularly the ones which have not survived. After all, Tom Tyler’s silent film westerns were meant to be fun to watch, with natural banter taking place among his pals.  However, an article from Evening Courier, Camden, NJ, November 16, 1929 for one lost silent film, “Trail of the Horse Thieves” (1929), provides some insight on what kind of fun took place while Tom and the rest of the cast engaged in between camera shots.

Supporting actor and villain in “Trail of the Horse Thieves” Bill Nestell (often billed as Bill Nestel during his silent film years) had a natural love for music and singing. This resulted in one entertaining scene taking place while cameraman Nick Musuraca made some adjustments with his equipment to prepare for a closeup between Tom and Bill as the rest of the crew prepared for the next camera take. Bill started to sing an old-time song, possibly dating back to the very early 1900’s, which Tom joined in on. Soon the two men found themselves with enough time to complete two more songs while the studio musician played the accordion. It may seem peculiar that a silent film production would have studio music, but such music is often used in film scenes where a musical scene is taking place – as it apparently did in “Trail of the Horse Thieves”. 

Once the singalong stopped, director Robert DeLacy called for the actors to take their positions. Almost as if the diversion never took place, Tom assumed his physical stance, arms held above his head, while Bill Nestell stood directly in front of him, his gun pointed at Tom, ready to take action. No doubt the director and the rest of the crew were amused at the friendly exchange between the two actors off-camera then suddenly falling into line as the script demands. Such incidents on the silent film set with Tom Tyler show that while he was a serious actor, he never took himself too seriously while waiting in between those camera takes. 

The Youth’s Companion: The Best Motion Pictures, Tom Tyler

Movie recommendations have long been a mainstay in film magazines and newspapers, but in the mid-to late 1920’s, the publication The Youth’s Companion contained a regular column entitled “The Best Motion Pictures”. Published from 1827 to 1929 in Boston, Massachusetts, The Youth’s Companion contained imaginative stories and articles along with illustrations targeted to children. The earliest issues also contained ads located near the back of the magazine, just as many periodicals and magazines did back in the mid-twentieth century. 

“The Best Motion Pictures” mentioned a handful of popular youth-oriented silent films which readers might find interesting enough to view at their local movie house. Not surprisingly, there are at least two issues of The Youth’s Companion which mention Tom Tyler’s silent film “The Cowboy Cop” (1926), which also stars Jean Arthur and Frankie Darro. The issues are dated September 30, 1926, with the illustration of a deer on the cover, the second issue, dated October 14, 1926, which has a bison on the cover.

Following are the columns as they appear listing “The Cowboy Cop”:

The Youth's Companion, September 30, 1926

The Youth's Companion, October 14, 1926

Happy New Year 2024!

How time has flown since 2015 when Aventuras de Tom Tyler actively became involved in the search for Tom’s lost silent films and lost Monogram Pictures films. While 2023 has not seen any rediscovered lost films, progress has been made with the original website, and blog, as well as social media accounts with Twitter and Facebook. One thing which needs to be mentioned about 2024 is this: all of Tom Tyler’s silent films from 1928 enter public domain. Of the six silent films Tom made in 1928, the good news is, three of them plus a fragment have survived:

Phantom of the Range (1928)
The Texas Tornado (1928)
Terror Mountain (1928)
The Avenging Rider (1928) (fragment)

A note on “The Texas Tornado”: a complete version is stored at BFI.

If any readers of this blog own a complete print of “The Avenging Rider” or any other lost silent films/Monogram Pictures Tom Tyler has appeared in, please contact Aventuras de Tom Tyler – we would love to speak with you! The time has come for these silent films to be restored.

Upcoming special project for “The Cherokee Kid”

Coming up in 2024, our fourth installment of the lost Tom Tyler silent film reconstruction series, "The Cherokee Kid" (1927) with Sharon Lynn has been selected. As usual, the basis for this reconstruction will be the film's derivative published by Biblioteca Films. Existing copies of stills, promotional materials, and movie cards will be included in this project.

Once "The Cherokee Kid" is translated, it will be posted here on the Aventuras de Tom Tyler Blog plus social media pages.

Motion Picture News and the miscaption of “Wild to Go”

Even business to business publications, also known as trade publications, can make errors when it comes to making sure that the correct captions are matched to images which appear throughout the publication. Case in point: Motion Picture News May 8, 1926 with the Tom Tyler silent film “Wild to Go” which appears on page 2267. The correct set of stills appear on page 2263 but bears the caption of:

"The Danger Quest" is a current Rayart release. These scenes were taken from the picture.

The “Wild to God” silent film page of Aventuras de Tom Tyler has been updated with this correction.

Filmed on location at Warner Springs: “The Texas Tornado”

A scene from "The Texas Tornado"

As the only Tom Tyler FBO silent film available on DVD, “The Texas Tornado” may surprise viewers in that it was filmed on location in Warner Springs, California. Located in San Diego County, Warner Springs is an unincorporated community that was home to the Luiseño and Cupeño tribes in southern California. Related to the Cahuilla tribe, a now-abandoned Cupeño village sits on 200 acres east of Lake Henshaw on California State Highway 79. The Cupeño lived in the San Jose Valley Mountains by the San Luis Rey River, and had two villages, one at present-day Warner Springs, the second, at Wilakal, at San Ysidro. Founded in 1844 by Juan Jose Warner, this piece of land is situated at an elevation of 3130 feet, with a smattering of mountains referred to as Lost Valley, part of the Peninsular Ranges in the state. Of these mountains, Hot Springs Mountain, famous for its scenic and beautiful hiking trails, has an elevation of 6535 feet high and is the highest peak in San Diego County. Since 1912, Hot Springs Mountain has had a fire lookout tower which has been modified over the decades, a popular destination of hikers in Warner Springs.

Lost Valley is prominent in “The Texas Tornado” in a number of scenes: where a simulated cliff dwelling (not native, as the Cupeño built and lived in adobe homes on the land) is shown as the hideout for Latimer’s henchmen and their holding of Frankie Darro captive, and the climactic rescue of Frankie by Tom when the gondola breaks, dangling from the cable between the mountains. When “The Texas Tornado” was filmed, the crew and cast were enthusiastic about making the movie in such a beautiful setting, with the non-stop action, fights, and suspense that took place. The fights were so rough and injurious to Tom Tyler’s legs due to Latimer and his henchmen wearing roweled spurs on their boots, that the spurs had to be banned from further film productions. The good news is, Tom was in tip-top shape in 1928 when this silent film was made, for he had won the Los Angeles Athletic Union weightlifting championship, which allowed him to climb over that cable with Frankie clinging on to him for dear life. The one spectacular stunt missing from the existing DVD of “The Texas Tornado” is a fight between Tom and Jack Anthony at the top of a burning oil derrick, resulting in Tom’s escaping by use of a guy wire, again with Frankie hanging on for safety.

For those who exhibit interest in visiting film location sets, Warner Springs is a destination for Tom Tyler fans, as Lone Pine Studios is, to experience walking upon the land where Tom made one of his surviving silent films.