Signing a card for Tom Tyler

Nowadays the signing of a digital card for a famous person is quite easy: the interested fan is provided a link to the card either by email or social media, then navigates to the fields to fill out, such as name, city and state. But did you know that the non-digital card that Tom Tyler received was soon after he filmed “Adventures of Captain Marvel” in 1941?

The exact details of how this all came about are unknown, it could have been a marketing tactic offered through Republic Pictures, although it may have been an idea on behalf of the Odeon’s manager, Jack Smith, who offered the suggestion to Tom’s fans when the famous serial was released. Located on 7 E. Main Street in Shawnee, Oklahoma, the Odeon placed a special advertisement in the Shawnee News-Star dated February 21, 1942 requesting all young cinema patrons who attend the opening night of “Adventures of Captain Marvel” sign a large card measuring 60” x 40” in size. The card itself was most likely sturdy posterboard, white in color, large enough for many children to sign for it to be sent their hero. Once Smith mailed it to Tom Tyler on behalf of Republic Pictures, Tom in return sent a thank you letter to the Odeon. The letter was reproduced in full in the Shawnee News-Star dated March 29, 1942:

The signers of the card must have been pleased as punch to have Tom thank them for such a special gift. The cinema ad bearing the special notification appears below:

 

The History of Film Booking Offices, America, Inc.

Most Tom Tyler fans know that his major break in film as a leading man was with Film Booking Offices America (FBO) in 1925. The history of this film production company dates back to December 15, 1919 when Robertson-Cole Corporation, a British-American film distribution company, eventually reorganized in 1922 as FBO. Robertson-Cole was created by Harry F. Robertson and Rufus S. Cole, two enterprising young men whose vision of having a film distribution company would eventually lead to one of the most successful production companies by the end of the silent film era.

As one of the first moves in getting this new film distribution company off the ground, an office location was pertinent. New York City seemed like the logical city to base the company from, and in March of 1920, the first office building for the Robertson-Cole production company was erected in New York City, a twelve-story building at the north-east corner of Seventh Ave. and 48th St. The building is still there today in its original location, with the unmistakable R-C letters upon a shield, inside a circle, emblazoned on the brick building. The symbol is distinct in that multiple copies of the logo are evenly spaced around the building facing the two streets. The building is now home to retail businesses.

from Exhibitors Herald, Dec. 25, 1920

By July 1920, the west coast office of Robertson-Cole in Los Angeles, California started being built, and was completed in November of that year. December of that year saw the one-year anniversary of the company, and an inspiring Christmas message from the company’s Vice President and General Manager, A. S. Kirkpatrick, on the growth of the film industry, which appeared in the Exhibitor’s Herald December 25, 1920 issue. By 1921, Robertson-Cole operated company exchange offices across the United States and began producing films in addition to distributing them. 

With its new production company and ranch in Hollywood where many a silent film western was made, Robertson-Cole had reason to celebrate and be granted so much attention in the Hollywood trade publications. One of the biggest feature films distributed by Robertson-Cole was “Kismet” from 1920, now considered a lost film. It starred Otis Skinner and Rosemary Theby and transported the audience to the Middle East. Based on the play of the same name by Edward Knowblock, the film was successful largely due to the amount of promotion it received in Boston during its premiere, due to Joseph P. Kennedy’s involvement.

Executives at Robertson-Cole took a firm stand in not operating any cinemas unless they were forced to do so, in order to avoid a monopoly, and concentrate instead on fair competition in Hollywood. This was made clear during the June 1920 Exhibitor’s Convention in Cleveland, a time when some production-distribution companies were moving into the field of actually owning a cinema, such as Paramount. Furthermore, by the time Joseph P. Kennedy became owner of Film Booking Offices of America, Inc. in 1926, the company still maintained this unique policy. Close to home in Boston as always, Kennedy made sure he had an office in the city, located at 87 Milk St. Perhaps most importantly, the type of silent films produced by FBO, in accordance with the company’s exhibitor’s advisory board, produced family-friendly movies as an alternative to the majority of adult-themed movies made by Fox, Universal, or Metro Goldwyn Mayer. With the plethora of FBO films released across the nation and in Europe, children could easily be sent off by their parents on the weekend to the matinee for a nickel admission price, knowing their children were viewing safe, wholesome entertainment. With movies starring actors like Fred Thomson, Tom Tyler, and Tom Mix, among others, they became all the more appealing to American youth. 

Over the next few years, Kennedy remained involved with Robertson-Cole until the company reorganized in late 1922, taking on a new company name, Film Booking Offices of America, Inc. Both Robertson and Cole left the film industry at this point. Kennedy remained a board member of FBO, finally purchasing the company in January 1926.

Motion Picture News dated November 24, 1923 reported a rather unusual move by FBO as a film production company. For the first time in film history, an exhibitors’ advisory board was established by FBO, primarily to grant exhibitors across the nation - and fifty of the most prominent ones in America made up the board - the power to say what kind of movies they wanted to see and have exhibited in their own cinemas. Essentially, FBO did not produce movies until the exhibitors read a copy of the submitted film story upfront and approved of it. Once a story was approved, FBO then proceeded in the making of the film. Thus the purpose of this exhibitors advisory board was twofold: it put FBO as a film production company in direct touch with the public, and it increased profitability for the company. Moreover, exhibitors also played an active role with cinema patrons, most likely by distributing surveys to them upon attending a silent film. With this survey information, the exhibitors on the board would use it to evaluate against the stories sent to them by FBO. Such a highly innovative marketing tactic proved effective, for it was a win-win situation for everyone. 

from Moving Picture World, April 11, 1925

By 1924, FBO still remained heavily interested in the promotion of their movies in Europe and Asia. Company Vice President Joseph I. Schnitzer evaluated reports on the success of FBO films in western European nations, which in turn led to the popularity of many of the company’s silent film stars in Europe, especially Fred Thomson and Tom Tyler. That same year, Film Booking Offices expanded their production company on the corner of Melrose Ave and Gower St. at a cost of $100,000.00. Along with a $5,000.000.00 program, which covered filmmaking equipment and studio care, FBO was well on its way to becoming one of the most important film production studios of the 1920’s which specialized in low-budget photoplays but highly engaging entertainment. In 1929, the company reorganized once again to become RKO, also known as one of the “Big Five” film production companies of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

While the majority of silent films produced by FBO remain lost, a small percentage have survived, existing in film archives in Europe, or on DVD, such as “The Texas Tornado” from 1928 starring Tom Tyler. Even more have been “preserved” in the form of film booklets, such as the Biblioteca Films ones published in Spain during the late 1920’s to early 1930’s. One FBO silent film "A Regular Scout" starring Fred Thomson and written by F. Buckleigh Oxford, was reproduced in story format in the newspaper Daily Clarion-Ledger, Jackson. Mississippi, January 25, 1927, complete with illustrations of scenes from the silent film.

Collectibles: Tom Tyler on Riders of the Silver Screen movie cards

Among the collectible movie card sets manufactured within the last fifty years is Riders of the Silver Screen. Manufactured by Smokey Mountain Knife Works in Sevierville, Tennessee in 1993, each card measures 2 1/2” x 3 ½” in size, the standard baseball card size. A parade of western stars receives several cards dedicated to their most noteworthy films in the Riders of the Silver Screen Series 1 set, The front of each card contains a scene from a popular film, while the back of each card contains an interesting fact or two about the western star, including birth and death dates, place of birth, real name, and blurb about the star’s film career. Each card has a red border with a second border in the form of a film reel with the film itself forming a frame around a movie poster of some type: a film still, lobby card, half-sheet, or one sheet. While a full color palette is used, the Riders of the Silver Screen Series 1 leans to the natural colors of the southwest.

Series 1 of Riders of the Silver Screen contains six movie cards that Tom Tyler appears on and are numbered consecutively. The card numbers and film scenes are as follows:

277 – The Phantom of the West

278 – The Texas Tornado

279 – Santa Fe Bound

280 – War of the Range

281 – Lost Ranch

282 – Gauchos of El Dorado

Smokey Mountain Knife Works has been in operation since 1978 and is best known for selling pocketknives and owning a major knife showplace. The company also manufactures knives decorated with western stars as part of their “Riders of the Silver Screen” series.

Other western stars who appear on Riders of the Silver Screen Series 1 include: Monte Hale, George O’Brien, Rex Allen, and Gene Autry.

Aventuras de Tom Mix and Tom Tyler: Heroes of the Prairie

Having completed three silent film reconstructions here at Aventuras de Tom Tyler - “Red Hot Hoofs” (1926), “When the Law Rides” (1928), and “Tyrant of Red Gulch” (1928) - I felt it was time for a translation project although one of a different kind: from the Spanish comic book Boy, issue number 2 in the series. A copy of this particular comic book was first acquired by me in August 2021.

What makes the Tom Mix and Tom Tyler adventure-seeking team unique is that each story is a complete adventure in its own, with a major comic-book sketch on the cover of Boy, while on the inside of the cover is the story, accompanied by a second comics panel inside the front cover. The comic illustrations for this the translated story of “Dos Colossos en el Aire”, or “Two Western Heroes in the Air” starring these two heroes of the western film genre are posted below.

Please note that this translation is the property of Aventuras de Tom Tyler. If you would like to link to this translation of “Dos Colossos en el Aire” from your website, please contact me first at Aventurasdetomtyler_at_triggertom.com. Thank you! -Mary

TWO WESTERN HEROES IN THE AIR

On a midwestern hacienda during a wedding ceremony, the small group of guests dispersed quickly as gunshots were heard by them in the distance. The only people who remained present were a handful of young men on horseback, galloping while firing their guns at a group of unshakable pursuers, a tribe seeking to avenge a wrong committed against them by a member of the bride’s family.

“Arise!” Tom Mix roared at the young men who came within sight. “Turn around so I can see you. Your pursuers may have rifles, but we have the intent to win this fight!”

Suddenly there was a violent clash between Tom Mix and Tom Tyler with the natives riding Appaloosa horses, the white stallions the two heroes rode on blending in with the ones they fought. Some of the wounded natives fell from their horses to the ground. In the fray of this incident, the courage of the local cowboys who fought alongside Mix and Tyler was stimulated, which in turn allowed them to defeat the natives who put up a good fight.

Finally, the last of the Natives fled, beaten down by the cowboys, heading quickly down the road which led to the Black Hills mountains. At that moment, Tom Tyler and Tom Mix were praised by the local cowboys for their successful fight against the natives, but it was not long before the mood changed to one of anxiety. As both Toms looked around at everyone, they discovered that Miss Margaret, the bride of the wedding, was not present. What happened to her? the two men thought to themselves. Soon they figured out that she was kidnapped by one of the natives.

Tom Mix spoke to the men who were present: “These natives come from a nomadic tribe that lives in the Valley of Souls, where it is very difficult to penetrate, except by air. For some time they have lived in that place, making it difficult to expel them.” He was one of the wedding guests as was Tom Tyler, and was still wearing his standard Hudson’s Bay blanket coast along with his white cowboy hat. Upon hearing Mix speak, an aviator who was also a wedding guest stepped forward. He flew all the way from Los Angeles to South Dakota, landing on the plains near Villa de Oro. Mix looked at Tom Tyler standing by his side.  The aviator said to them:

“I can lower you from my plane into the valley.” 

Both Mix and Tyler nodded. The flight was arranged. Tom Tyler would accompany Mix on the plane with a third man who knew about the situation in the valley and find out if a daring rescue was possible. The man accompanied Mix on horseback, while Tyler rode his horse alongside them, in the direction of where the Waco UIC cabin biplane was parked.

The three men boarded the biplane and the engine snored as the plane took out quickly, emitting the barest line of smoke through the exhaust valve in the air. Only a few moments later it approached the mountains, flying directly over the Valley of Souls.

In the valley was the village where the Natives lived. Finally home, they dismounted their horses and one of them led Margarita to the chief of their tribe. The sudden appearance of the biplane caused fear in the Natives, who looked at it suspiciously, aiming their weapons at it due to the plane dive bombing them. Positioned on the lower wing, one man on each side of the plane, Tom Tyler and Tom Mix swooped down, observing the village. Margarita was temporarily left alone when the Natives fled to a temporary camp after giving their attention to the biplane. She heard Tom Tyler call her name. She looked up at the biplane, which started to gain air height once again after Tyler threw a small rock wrapped with paper on the ground in front of her. Margaret picked up the rock and unwrapped it. On the paper was written a message for her rescue. It read:

“Miss Margarita: We will fly through the valley again, lowering the plane to your height. Raise your arms and we will rescue you.” 

A feeling of gratitude came over her. She smiled up at the Waco UIC cabin biplane which turned around and started to descend once again in the valley, as if to taxi, when Tom Tyler crawled out onto the rear of the biplane near the tail, and as the Natives approached once again, swiftly lifted Margarita off the ground. All risk of panic left her as she guided by Tom Tyler to the rear seat of the plane, while Tom Mix fired shots at the Natives who kidnapped her. As the biplane lifted into the air, the Natives became enraged, but were finally defeated.

Phantom of the Range 1928: Two film releases?

One of Tom Tyler’s silent films from FBO which underwent additional filming for its final release was “Phantom of the Range” (1928). While additional filming may seem common for most feature-length silent films produced by major studios, it was relatively rare for “oaters” made by B-film producers. At one point, “Phantom of the Range” was available on Youtube for viewing, this particular copy having originated from Spain, complete with intertitles in Castilian.

Of note on the original release of “Phantom of the Range” was its viewing length of 46 minutes, according to a review in Variety dated February 8, 1928, barely an hour long like the majority of Tom’s silent films made for FBO. Oliver Drake is credited as being the writer of the screenplay, with James Dugan as director. One main difference in the location of where this silent film was reviewed is given as “the projection room”, probably referring to the one located on the FBO studio lot.

Variety, February 8, 1928

In the second review of this silent film in the May 2, 1928 issue of Variety, however, there are a number of differences, perhaps most surprisingly in the writer’s credit: Frank Howard Clark. This may be the case of the story extension added to lengthen the film to 60 minutes. Variety also reports “Phantom of the Range” as having premiered at Stanley Theatre in New York City.

Variety, May 2, 1928

Having been lucky enough to view “Phantom of the Range” when it was on Youtube, I can only make a guess that the additional footage appeared in the final third of this silent film where the story consists of “filler material”. Hopefully the year 2024 will see a more widely available release of “Phantom of the Range” when it enters public domain.

Tom Tyler and his birth family

In observance of Tom Tyler’s 119th birthday, August 9, 2022, I’d like to share some birth (and death) information about his family and where his birth ranking is among his other four siblings. First, some information about his parents.

Frank Markowski was born on August 15, 1873 in Lithuania; his wife Helen Mantivila was born three days after, on August 18 of the same year. Rare is it for a married couple to share such close birthdates, perhaps even rarer if they share the same exact birthdate. Together, they had five children which they raised upon settling in Port Henry, New York. One interesting thing to note is that Frank and Helen’s first child, Frank Michael, was born in Lithuania prior to the small family immigrating to America.

The five Markowski children were born in the following order:

Frank Michael Tyler (born September 21, 1900; died July 21, 1975)

Tom Tyler (Vincent Markowski) (born August 9, 1903; died May 1, 1954)

Molly Redge (born December 24, 1906; died October 28, 1987)

Joseph John Marko (born November 18, 1907; died May 6, 1972)

Katherine Slepski (born February 17, 1911; died August 1, 1972)

Katherine being the youngest, was also the closest to Tom, eventually becoming his caregiver during the last years of his life due to scleroderma’s effects on his body. Sadly, Tom’s father Frank died in 1935 at the age of 61, before getting a chance to see his second-born son become the first superhero on film, Captain Marvel. Eight years later, his mother Helen died, at the age of 70. The family plot is located at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan.

Filmed on location! The Desert Pirate 1927

One of Tom Tyler’s silent films, “The Desert Pirate” (1927), was filmed on location at Keen Camp in the San Jacinto Mountains. Located east of Los Angeles in Riverside County, the San Jacinto mountain range was named after Saint Hyacinth, a 13^th century Polish Dominican priest. This mountain range extends thirty miles in length, southeast of the San Bernardino Mountain range. The rugged beauty of the San Jacinto mountain range culminate in several noteworthy peaks: San Jacinto Peak, at 10,834 feet high; Jean Peak, at 10,656 feet high, and Miller Peak, at 10,417 feet high. Geologically, the entire mountain range is a fault block of granite compressed between the San Jacinto fault which lies to the west, and the San Andreas fault, which lies to the east.

When the camp was built in 1892 at 5,000 feet in the San Jacinto mountains, John and Mary Keen already had experience in the hospitality business, owning a hotel in Valle Vista, located in San Jacinto Valley of Riverside County, California. Convenient to many South Californians seeking relief from the hot summers, Keen Camp soon became an ideal spot for filmmakers in the 1920’s. The layout of the camp was appropriate enough for filmmaking, cast and crew members: small cabins were often rented, and primitive camping was also accessible. Mary Keen had one building reserved for the kitchen and dining room for campground guests.

By 1911, Keen Camp was sold to Percy and Anita Walker, and by the 1920’s, was run by Anita, and her second husband Robert Elliott, after Percy died in 1912 from a drowning accident. Anita renamed the main building Tahquitz Lodge. The name Tahquitz comes from the deity of the same name in Soboba Indian tribe mythology. By 1922, Tahquitz Lodge included the following amenities: dancing, bowling, billiards, tennis court, horseback riding, hiking, lawn croquet, and musical entertainment at night, all in the style of a western town. Keen Camp even had its own post office. In September 1926, Keen Camp was saved from a major brush fire which originated on a stretch of land between Keen Camp and Idyllwild Camp, which lies directly north of Keen Camp. In 1932, six years after the filming of "The Desert Pirate", a new highway opened with grandeur: Pines-to-Palms Highway, which forms part of California state route 74. This 67-mile long road was designed to work with the layout of the San Jacinto mountains and at the same time provide an easy-to-navigate for cars with its grades and curves.

In addition to “The Desert Pirate”, the following silent films were also filmed in part at Keen Camp: "The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come" (1920) with Jack Pickford, and "The Ghost City" (1923), a Universal serial starring Margaret Morris and Pete Morrison.

Keen Camp no longer exists, its original buildings are long gone, although there is a Keen Camp Summit located to the southeast of the original camp, on the Pines-to-Palms Highway above Garner Valley. Today, Mount San Jacinto is a state park, and the San Jacinto Wilderness is also protected park land for the native flora and fauna.

Sadly, “The Desert Pirate” remains a lost silent film, but should it be rediscovered, viewers would get the privilege of seeing Keen Camp in all its glory nestled in the San Jacinto mountains.