“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!
Be sure to check out Laura’s personal blog, "Laura's Miscellaneous Musings" which can be viewed here.
If you decide to purchase a copy of the “Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection” on Blu-ray or DVD, please leave a rating and review for it at Amazon. Tom and I are looking forward to hearing what you have to say about this top-notch silent film restoration.
"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.
Read "The Outlaws of Cascade Falls" here:
archive.org/details/outlawsofcascade0000vanr
Longtime Tom Tyler fan G. Michael Dobbs has written and published his book on Tom in September of 2025! It is titled “The Films and Life of Tom Tyler: Cowboy, Monster, Hero”. The book is 354 pages long and packed with updated information regarding Tom’s career, including a mention on the two silent films recently restored for the “Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection” available on the Undercrank Productions label, "The Man from Nevada" and "Law of the Plains", both from 1929. Michael has many years of experience as a journalist and editor, which means that this new book on Tom Tyler is sure to be an engaging read.
You can purchase a copy of “The Films and Life of Tom Tyler: Cowboy, Monster, Hero” at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Tom Tyler’s silent films made for FBO certainly made an impression upon fans around the world early on. Spain dedicated many forms of kiosk literature in the form of pulp fiction and film booklets on these silent films. Tom, along with Frankie Darro, their horses, and dog named Napoleon, were heavily marketed around the world along with many other silent films produced by FBO. In the United Kingdom, Tom Tyler had plenty of fans of that side of the Atlantic, enough to inspire at least one of them by the name of Hugh Loudon to include his silent films in the book “My Hollywood”. Written and published in 1991 by The Self Publishing Association Ltd. in Upton-upon-Servern in Worcestershire, Hugh cites Tom Tyler’s silent films as being an early influence upon his interest in American films.
One of Hugh's favorite cinemas where he attended the matinee was the Cecil located in Treforest, a village in Pontypridd, southern Wales. According to his memoir, one thing that genuinely fascinated him about Tom Tyler was the way the star mounted his horse, often while the horse started galloping. This is commonly known as the “flying mount”, which requires the rider to have a firm grasp on the horn of the saddle while aiming to land in the saddle without falling off onto the other side. Hugh continues to describe watching Tom’s silent films in the first chapter of his memoir, which took place between 1929 and 1931, a year or two after the film’s initial release in the United States, which was not unusual in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world at the time. The fact that Hugh was able to fondly remember Tom Tyler’s silent films in 1991 is impressive, a precious memory now faded with a generation no longer with us on earth.
Finally, Hugh devotes chapter eight of his memoir to westerns, where he mentions Tom again in the critically acclaimed “Stagecoach” from 1939. The words which describe Tom as one of the Plummer Boys aching to take on the Ringo Kid, played by John Wayne, are written with relish. Hugh even concludes the scene with how Tom walks into the saloon, his long, drawn-out walk, before collapsing dead beside the bar.
Engagingly written, it is easy to see how "My Hollywood" was written by a teacher who eventually went on to become the Director of Education in the historically rich county of Gwent in southeast Wales. Now out of print, the book can be read through Internet Archive.
Coming up in 2026, our fifth installment of the lost Tom Tyler silent film reconstruction series, "Trail of the Horse Thieves" from 1929 with Bee Amann 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 "Trail of the Horse Thieves" is translated, it will be posted here on the Aventuras de Tom Tyler Blog plus social media pages.
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Tom Tyler fan and owner of the western blog Rough Edges James Reasoner has written two glowing reviews on the newly released silent films “Law of the Plains” and “The Man from Nevada” which are on the Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection, released on the Undercrank Productions label in 2025.
You can read the reviews here:
Rough Edges – Law of the Plains
Rough Edges – The Man from Nevada
Finally, if you own a blog or silent film or western themed site and are interested in reviewing the Blu-ray/DVD release of the Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection, please let us know, we are happy to send you a copy of the Blu-ray or DVD as desired. If you do not own a site and still want to write a review, the Amazon product page is always a great place to publish your review.
Enjoy reading these reviews!
And now, for the reviews! Our most recent ones are as follows:
“Ben Model, Keeping Silent Movies Alive and Well”, by Jeremy Carr at Film International.
“A ‘Missionary’ for Movie History Explores ‘The Silent Film Universe’ in an Essential New Book” by Jim Hemphill at IndieWire.
“Physical Media Rules: The Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection (2025)” by Scott Marks at San Diego Reader.
Please remember to leave a review of “The Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection” at Amazon here to encourage more people interested in Tom Tyler, his westerns, westerns in general, or just to help support spread the news of the newly restored “The Man from Nevada” and “Law of the Plains”, both from 1929.
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| Screenshot from "Law of the Plains" |
A more recent review by Phil Hall at the website Cinema Crazed provides the following: “Considering that neither “The Law of the Plains” nor “The Man from Nevada” have been seen in over 90 years, their return is one of the most welcome happenings in this year’s home entertainment releases.” Phil’s review can be read here.
Finally, if you are a Kickstarter backer of the Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection, or purchased a DVD or Blu-ray copy online recently, please leave a review at Amazon here to encourage more people interested in Tom Tyler, his westerns, westerns in general, or just to help support spread the news of the newly restored “The Man from Nevada” and “Law of the Plains”, both from 1929.
After all, it was not that long ago when “The Man from Nevada” was considered to be a lost silent film.
Probably one of the best reviews of the “Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection” released by Undercrank Productions appears on the website PopMatters. Written by Michael Barrett, this is the type of review that briefly explores Tom’s ethnic background which I previously wrote about here back in 2017, in addition to information about Tom’s later career spanning from the late 1930’s until his death in 1953. Michael Barrett certainly did his homework while commenting on the plots of “Law of the Plains” and “The Man from Nevada”, citing historical context within recent memory of revolutions taking place in the former silent film, and Tom’s basic cowboy character in what otherwise seems to be routine westerns in the latter silent film.
Enjoy reading this silent film review of the “Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection” at PopMatters.
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| Scene from "Law of the Plains" 1929 |
The reviews for the “Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection” released by Undercrank Productions and now available on DVD and Blu-ray keep coming in! Comments overall are encouraging so far, especially with the silent film restoration quality of the picture, in addition to silent films made during the end of their era when synchronized sound films were being made, and the larger movie houses were being outfitted to play these new sound films. Small town neighborhood cinemas, however, were still many when it came to playing silent films, and Tom Tyler was a favorite when his silent westerns “The Man from Nevada” and “Law of the Plains”, both from 1929, disappeared from the silver screen.
Jeffrey Kauffman wrote a review at Blu-ray.com with a number of screencaps from “The Man from Nevada” and “Law of the Plains”. Nicholas Sheffo at Fulvue Drive-In website also wrote a review, minus screenshots but worth reading.
Finally, there is a five-star rating and review by M. J. Jensen on the Amazon product page for the “Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection” that is worth reading and sharing.
If you decide to purchase a copy of the “Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection”, please leave a rating and review for it at Amazon. Tom and I are looking forward to hearing what you have to say about this top-notch silent film restoration.
Movie of the Month: The Man from Nevada
Finally, if you would like to review the Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection and be published on the Aventuras de Tom Tyler blog, please drop me a line at aventurasdetomtyler at triggertom.com – we would love to hear your thoughts on this brand-new restoration of two long-forgotten Tom Tyler silent westerns!
"Law of the Plains" (1929) film review
"The Man from Nevada" (1929) film review
Please share these reviews across your social media pages and film forums across the Internet as this will help Tom Tyler get the exposure he deserves!
The day has finally come! The Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection containing two newly 2K restorations of “The Man from Nevada” and “Law of the Plains”, both released in 1929, are finally available for pre-ordering! The Kickstarter for this Tom Tyler project was hugely successful for Tom Tyler fans across the genres of silent film, western, and serial fans, with a good dose of the Universal horror fans who recognize Tom as the frightening, glowing-eyed mummy from “The Mummy’s Hand” (1940). Silent film restoration to the final product of DVD and Blu-ray are a lot of work, but as with everything else that comes with Tom Tyler, he is definitely worth it.
You can pre-order your DVD or Blu-ray copy from any of the links below:
A huge, huge thank you to everyone who supported this silent film project, to all Tom Tyler fans everywhere, to Ben Model, Crystal Kui, and the rest of the players who made this DVD/Blu-ray possible. And many thanks to future generations of Tom Tyler fans who will appreciate his contributions to the film industry.
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.
It goes without saying that 2024 was a very exciting year for Aventuras de Tom Tyler. Not only is this year the ten-year anniversary of the website, but the “Tom Tyler Silent Film Collection” Kickstarter was successful, Tyler fan G. Michael Dobbs is writing a book on Tom’s career, and the hunt continues for Tom’s lost silent films and lost Monogram Pictures films. The lost Monogram titles are: "Partners of the Trail" (1931), "The Man from Death Valley" (1931), "Galloping Thru" (1931), and "Vanishing Men" (1932). To find out which of Tom’s silent films are still lost, please check each individual silent film entry for the 1920’s on the following Aventuras de Tom Tyler page here.
An angel donor is still being sought to have “The Man from New Mexico” (1932) at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York restored. If you know of anyone willing to be an angel donor, please contact me by email aventurasdetomtyler_@_triggertom.com (remove the underscores).
Since 2025 marks the 100th year since Tom Tyler made his silent film starring role debut in “Let’s Go Gallagher” (1925), there is much hope this one will resurface in the new year.
Finally, may all readers of this blog have a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year, let’s make 2025 the best year yet for Tom Tyler!
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.
Pledge $25.00 in U.S. dollars or more to this Kickstarter and you will receive a Blu-ray of these two silent films, shipped to anywhere in the world.
The official commercial release of “The Man from Nevada” and “The Law of the Plains” will be available on both Blu-ray and DVD from Undercrank Productions.
Please contribute to this Kickstarter and Share it across your social media pages, any film forums you are a member of, and tell your friends and family about it. Make this go viral!
Click the following link to view the Kickstarter and make your contribution!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/aventurasdetomtyler/the-tom-tyler-silent-film-collection
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”:
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| The Youth's Companion, September 30, 1926 |
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| The Youth's Companion, October 14, 1926 |
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| The Cowboy Cop |
At one point, a number of these silent film booklets were compiled and bound into a book, as with the one titled Cuentos del Cine. Interestingly enough, not all of the film books are under the Cuentos Cinematograficos title: some of the bound booklets were published under Biblioteca Infantil Cinematografica. Measuring 4 ¾” x 6 ¾” in size, the book has a brown fabric cover with Cuentos del Cine on the binding. Covers from the individual film booklets are left intact. Each cover for Cuentos Cinematograficos bears an illustration from a silent film scene in the colors red, brown, gray, black and white, with a mast across the top of each cover containing an illustration of Tom and his young pal Frankie Darro, with the words Tom Tyler, Chispita (a reference to Frankie), Vivales (a reference to Franki’s pet dog Napoleon). The three Tom Tyler silent films which appear under Cuentos Cinematograficos are: “La Fortuna del Bandido/The Masquerade Bandit”, “El Cowboy Policia/The Cowboy Cop”, and “Valor Salvaje/Cyclone of the Range”. It is worth noting that “El Cowboy Policia” was the first publication for Cuentos Cinematograficos, suggesting that Tom Tyler’s popularity would help get the new brand off the ground.
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| The Masquerade Bandit |
Individually sold during their circulation time, these film booklets are derivatives from silent films starring the famous French actor Georges Biscot, Tom Mix, Tom Tyler, Jackie Coogan, Rin Tin Tin, Billy Sullivan, and many others. Like other issues of Cuentos Cinematograficos, instead of film stills being reproduced in the film booklets, sketches of the stills are used to illustrate the story.
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| Cyclone of the Range |
A special edition booklet, “Una Aventura de Tom Tyler” is included, which appears to be a work of fiction, which of course includes Tom’s pal Frankie Darro from his silent film days. Unlike the regular covers designed for Cuentos Cinematograficos, this one shows a full-length shot of Tom Tyler on the cover, with some decoration in the publication name and story title. The singular noteworthy full-page sketch which is added to the story depicts Tom seated and being tied up by a group of men wearing white sheets over their heads with two holes cut out for the eyes, ghost-style. Such a story must have been an exciting treat for young fans of Tom Tyler, and like so many other ultra-rare Tom Tyler silent film collectibles, are sought after by serious collectors.
