795 thoughts on “Site Index”

1. 1 STEVE [Last post also meant for you] In my boyhood 1950s Tom Tyler was well past his heyday and indeed died in 1954 aged just 50 and the Belfast cinemas never reran the old ‘Tom Tyler’ films and in those movies in which I did see Tom he had little more than walk-on parts, for example Duke’s Stagecoach and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Cow Country starring Edmond O’Brien and Samson and Delilah. I can’t clearly remember him in that one – did he play Samson to Angela Lansbury’s Delilah? I note that in fact many of the flicks that you have selected were not true ‘Tom Tyler’ movies.

   2 However your posters as well as your stills of Tom as a young man suggest that he was of the type that was the ideal screen cowboy hero for those days and the beauty of your site is that even if one has not seen any or all of the movies one can “go along for the ride [no pun intended!] and enjoy the scenery”.

   3 The ‘scenery’ was certainly very pretty here with splendid posters throughout my own favourites being Phantom of the West, Phantom of the Range and Man from New Mexico. I note from the posters that Tom was often teamed with Bob Steele. I was actually quite familiar with Bob as he was one of those B movies cowboys for whom a monthly comic book was published in the 1950s and I avidly read those. Super black and white stills from the Phantom, the Mummy’s Hand and a marvellous coloured one from Gaucho of El Dorado.

   4 Because of my unfamiliarity with many of the movies in the photo play I can’t give a comprehensive ‘review’ of the video but those wonderful old posters and stills alone scream out for a 9.1/10. Indeed you are generally entitled to praise for your continual ability to provide ratings and poster reproductions for such vintage movies. Super effort – but possibly El C might not have the same success if he sought to track down grosses for them.

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2. 1 As I mentioned in my Roy Rogers post he was Belfast’s favourite B movie cowboy in the 1950s. However we did watch Autry movies and regarded him as equivalent to Rogers in status and indeed I think that he ended up far wealthier than most of the B movie cowboys and as well than many of those who made A movies.

   2 Your posters illustrate Smiley Burnette was Autry’s favourite sidekick but in Melody Ranch which was not in your video George Gabby Hayes Roy Rogers’ regular pardner supported Gene and in that one he was billed as George Windy Hayes. Hayes certainly got around because he partnered the Duke 15 times and Randy Scott 6 times. Hayes’ on-screen character usually hero-worshipped the leading stalwart in the movies concerned and my brothers like quoting the line from Hayes in I think the 1944 Tall in the Saddle when upon learning that the Duke has just arrived on the scene Gabby says “Boy has SOMEBODY come to town!”

   3 For me your Autry video was a 9.3/10 treat and the posters that I most admired in the video are those for Blue Montana Skies, Colorado Sunset, The Last Roundup and Sunset in Wyoming. Though many more were nearly as appealing. Stills to be savoured are the closing one of Gene drawing his gun to protect his leading lady and the very dramatic one of Gene comforting his presumably dying horse in Strawberry Roan. This was a well assembled photo play all round. Congrats.

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   1. Hi Bob, thanks for the review, rating and movie info, always appreciated.

      I wish I had you and John helping me out on these b-movie stars. I had to mostly rely on IMDB ratings and they weren’t an accurate guage on the best films for these cowboy heroes. But in the end it’s the posters I wanted to show off and I made sure some of the best were on display.

      Glad you liked the posters and stills. Larry ‘Buster’ Crabbe up next

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      1. If you ever do involve John and me I want credit and insist upon top billing.

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         1. I don’t know Bob….it will be close….it might go down to who has the better agent…you or John with regards to who gets top billing.

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            1. Cogerson & Bob

               There is no question Bob is the brighter star. He also has seniority. I happily yield top billing to him. Featured billing is good enough for me. I just hope no one cancels my contract. Anyone who knows me knows money matters more to me than ego.

         2. Fancy being my agent?

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            1. Hey Bob….WoC is my agent….she might be a little busy to take on another client…lol.

            2. Hey John money over billing seems like a smart business decision…that might be the Randolph Scott in you…lol.

3. Steve

   Loved your video on Tom Tyler, perhaps the most interesting actor of old Hollywood. As your posters make clear, he was into everything from the biggest prestige movies to playing Captain Marvel and Kharis the Mummy. I can’t think of another actor who had such a wide ranging career.
   His first starring roles were at FBO (Film Booking Offices of America) in 1925 where he assumed the screen name of Tom Tyler. The name had been cooked up earlier and they were looking for an actor to fill it. Tyler was a spectacular looking guy when young, with an imposing build. He was champion weightlifter and held the American record at one time. Tyler was FBO’s top moneymaker, teamed with boy actor Frankie Darro. By the way, the CEO of FBO at the time was one Joseph P. Kennedy (yes, the president’s father). I find your 1926 FBO film rather odd to have an IMDB rating as supposedly the only surviving Tyler FBO film is Texas Tornado from 1928.
   Perhaps my info is wrong on that.
   Tyler was a popular B western and serial star through the 1930’s, but when his popularity faded he segued easily into A features as a character actor, which is probably how most here remember him.
   I was thinking as the video counted down the list that Stagecoach better come up as #1, and indeed you did come through.
   I was also happy to see Captain Marvel, and Tyler’s great turn as the Mummy, on your list.
   Tyler was in a lot of top movies which didn’t make your list—–Gone with the Wind, Drums Along the Mohawk, The Grapes of Wrath, Buck Privates, The Talk of the Town, They Were Expendable, Red River, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon–best you didn’t focus on these supporting roles.
   Anyway, a terrific and very interesting video on an intriguing old star.
   *trivia note–Tyler drove one of the chariots in the silent Ben-Hur.

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   1. Thanks John, appreciate all the facts and trivia, glad you liked the video.

      Originally I was going to just feature Tom Tyler’s starring roles and his Three Mesquiteer series but I thought that wouldn’t be fair on the actor since he has had some decent supporting roles in prestige movies plus I wanted to include The Mummy’s Hand. I left a few of the movies you mention out to squeeze in a few more of his westerns.

      Tyler did get around, from chariot racing in Ben-Hur to Kharis the Mummy, shoot outs with John Wayne, the first actor to play The Phantom and Captain Marvel.

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4. Steve
   Gene Autry. Autry said he couldn’t act, ride, nor sing, but he would keep doing whatever he was doing until folks stopped buying tickets. He was wrong about his singing. He had a pleasant, unique timbre which falls easily on my ear. His acting was at best so-so. His riding improved a bit over the years but it is easy to see he was often doubled.
   I guess the ratings for his movies are rather arbitrary. Tumbling Tumbleweeds jump started his career and according to some sources was an amazing success. It cost less than $16,000 to make and grossed about $1 million. That might be the best return on investment ever. So I can’t dispute placing it in the number one sport.
   His serial, The Phantom Empire, is an ultra-bizarre mix of singing cowboys, western bad guys, and sci-fi about a lost civilization with robots and rockets ships and death rays under the surface of Gene’s ranch. When the soldiers of the underground world come to the surface they ride horses and seem more like Romans than the vanguard of an advanced world. This one is so unique it probably should be in the top two. Despite the success of Tumbling Tumbleweeds at the box office, I think I would put The Phantom Empire the top spot among Gene’s films.
   Thanks for this video. By the way, while Champion got high billing in later posters, his name was always distinctly smaller than Gene’s. After all, Autry was the richest guy in Hollywood, and money talks, plus he produced his later films and so had the final say on billing.

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   1. [clears throat] Oooooh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,
      Where the deer and the antelope play,
      Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
      And the skies are not cloudy all daaaaayy. [falls off chair]

      The funny thing about Gene Autry’s movies is he always played ‘Gene Autry’ if you check out his IMDB filmography he doesn’t have a film name, it’s Gene Autry all the time, Sheriff Gene Autry, Marshall Gene Autry, Princess Gene Autry etc etc

      I have The Phantom Empire in my collection but it’s been a while since I last watched it. I can’t remember if he sang in that too. I’m sure youtube has all the chapters available ready for viewing since it’s probably in the public domain.

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5. Steve

   Well, Buck Jones. I am certain he was almost an impossible to get accurate ratings on. My comments–
   1——Jones was one of those old-fashioned cowboys who was more or less the real thing, coming out of the cavalry & wild west shows. He was about as home on a horse as one could get. But he was also a talented actor good at straight drama or dead-pan humor. In the 1920’s he was second-string to Tom Mix at Fox, but still one of the five most popular western stars (with Mix, Hoot Gibson, Ken Maynard, & Tim McCoy). His excellent speaking voice made him top of the cowboy heap in the early thirties. In the first poll of top western actors in 1936 he came in first. He was in the top 25 of all box office stars in 1934 & 1935. He was the 6th highest paid Hollywood actor in 1936. Age & the rise of the singing cowboy craze undercut him some, but he made a strong comeback at Monogram in 1941 in the Rough Rider series teamed with McCoy and Raymond Hatton.
   As your posters imply, he was never purely a western star, and would now and then act in mainstream films. I have read that he was strongly considered for the role of Ben-Hur by MGM. (he would have been billed as Charles Jones)
   Of his silent films, the best known are Just Pals (directed by John Ford) and Lazybones (directed by Frank Borzage). Neither are westerns.
   Of the 1930’s films I have seen, The Sundown Rider in 1932, and The Man Trailer in 1934 would be my favorites.
   The best of his six serials by far is the 1934 The Red Rider.
   For me, the best of his career was the last, the Rough Rider films, of which my favorite is Ghost Town Law.
   But no criticism of your choices is implied. I know it isn’t easy to get any kind of handle on his career today. I just listed my favorites. Bottom line–probably the best of the old-time cowboy stars and overall the most popular western star of the 1930’s.

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   1. Hey John….great stuff on Autry and the serials (in previous comments)….you know your stuff….and the fact that you are sharing this information here is greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to share this informative and interesting information.

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   2. Lots of good info here John though a little late to add some of your favorites to the line up, I had to rely solely on IMDBs rating for Buck Jones and I made a note of this on the channel page. I know you’re a fan of b-westerns and serials but I’m really mostly interested in the poster artwork here and I’ll bet some of these posters were more striking than the A list movies they were supporting.

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