The Man from Texas
Encyclopedia
The Man from Texas is a 1915 Western film
, directed by and starring Tom Mix
.
film is considered a lost
American silent film
. It was shot near Prescott, Arizona
by William Selig Polyscope Company
. Around 1983 this lost Tom Mix film was found at a rummage sale by a retired armed forces veteran in Madison, Wisconsin
. The man had been amongst other duties a projectionist for the camp where he was stationed during World War II
. He knew and had seen all the films offered at the rummage sale except for the Tom Mix title. After purchasing the 35mm reels of film for about ten dollars he soon began to contact collectors and film organizations to acquire information about the film. He soon found out he had a lost film. He offered the film for sale to collectors. Most film collectors collect to film to view them and are not knowledgeable in film restoration. The film went unsold. After offering it for sale on a film periodical named “Classic Images” it was purchased for $1,000 in 1984 by Dr. Oscar Salas of Coral Gables, Florida. Dr. Salas, a lawyer in both Florida and Texas put his son William, a film buff/collector/preservationist, to carefully restore the silent film.
The film print was composed of silver nitrate
, a highly combustible film stock. The print was color tinted in sepia, blue, and other colors. Upon beginning the restoration William noticed that the film was longer than the original 1915 version. The print was 34 minutes and the title read “Aywon Film Corporation”. The original Selig version of “The Man from Texas” was about a 15 minute one reel film. It is well known that William Selig Polyscope films were mostly shot in one day in and around Prescott, Arizona using the same cast of characters. The Selig studio in Prescott was called the Diamond "S" Ranch. This fictitious “ranch” used the “S” for Selig as a trademark and had a diamond shaped border around the initial.
It turned out that this film was a 1920's re-release and was an edited version that included extra scenes from other Selig films. The re-release distributor in the 20's used their company name in the opening credits and title. It read; Tom Mix, "The Man From Texas" Awon Film Corporation. It seems this silent film was elongated to appeal to film distributors in the 20’s. The cast of the Tom Mix William Selig
films were almost always Tom Mix, Sid Jordan
, and Old Blue (Tom's on screen horse until 1919) along with the Selig contracted players. William Salas completed the initial film cleaning and sprocket hole reparation. Then he transferred the nitrate film to video at a local studio using a flatbed Telecine
. The film was then shipped to Hollywood, California. There further restoration was done by Morecraft / Thunderbird Films. The Salas family hired a silent film organist named Robert Israel to record an original pipe organ score for the film. The pipe organ score was recorded in an old silent film theater in Hollywood, California that had a permanent pipe organ built into the building.
After completion of the final restoration and soundtrack was it then transferred by Morecraft Films (AKA Thunderbird Films) to 16mm optical sound, 8mm magnetic sound film, and U-maic video. The professional video version was transferred to VHS and Beta with CVT (Cine Video Tech) professional equipment. The film was released by Film, Sound & Video of Coral Gables, Fla. The "lost film" premiere was held at a DuBois, Pennsylvania
silent era movie theater during the Annual Tom Mix Festival in 1985. The Salas family then donated the original 35mm silver nitrate film print to the American Film Institute
in Washington, D.C.
The Salas family donated in 2001 another lost Tom Mix film, “The Sheriff and the Rustler”, a 1913 one reel film. Both film are registered under the William Salas collection at the American Film Institute and are available for viewing by the Library of Congress
in Washington, D.C.
“The Man from Texas”, the 1920s elongated 34 minute version may not contain any original footage from the original 1915 version. Further research on the original script and story line will be needed to know if there are any similarities to the 1926 re-release. The 1926 version has footage that may be one of the earliest appearances of Hoot Gibson
. Still because of lack of documentation it is not known exactly when any of the footage was shot.
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
, directed by and starring Tom Mix
Tom Mix
Thomas Edwin "Tom" Mix was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. He made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but nine of which were silent features...
.
Cast
- Tom MixTom MixThomas Edwin "Tom" Mix was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. He made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but nine of which were silent features...
- Texas - Ed Brady - (uncredited)
- Goldie Colwell - (uncredited)
- Bessie EytonBessie EytonBessie Eyton was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in some 200 films between 1911 and 1925...
- Moya Dalton (uncredited) - Hoot Gibson - Deputy (uncredited)
- Sid JordanSid JordanSid Jordan was an American film actor. He appeared in 130 films between 1913 and 1944. Sid Jordan was introduced to acting through his close friend Tom Mix, when both men were serving as "Night Marshalls" of Dewey, Oklahoma. Ironically, it was Sid Jordan's father Sid Jordan (12 August 1889 –...
- John Hargrave (uncredited) - Louella Maxam - (uncredited)
History
The film, The Man from Texas, a 1915 Tom MixTom Mix
Thomas Edwin "Tom" Mix was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. He made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but nine of which were silent features...
film is considered a lost
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
American silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
. It was shot near Prescott, Arizona
Prescott, Arizona
Prescott is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, USA. It was designated "Arizona's Christmas City" by Arizona Governor Rose Mofford in the late 1980s....
by William Selig Polyscope Company
Selig Polyscope Company
The Selig Polyscope Company was an American motion picture company founded in 1896 by William Selig in Chicago, Illinois. Selig Polyscope is noted for establishing Southern California's first permanent movie studio, in the historic Edendale district of Los Angeles...
. Around 1983 this lost Tom Mix film was found at a rummage sale by a retired armed forces veteran in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. The man had been amongst other duties a projectionist for the camp where he was stationed during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He knew and had seen all the films offered at the rummage sale except for the Tom Mix title. After purchasing the 35mm reels of film for about ten dollars he soon began to contact collectors and film organizations to acquire information about the film. He soon found out he had a lost film. He offered the film for sale to collectors. Most film collectors collect to film to view them and are not knowledgeable in film restoration. The film went unsold. After offering it for sale on a film periodical named “Classic Images” it was purchased for $1,000 in 1984 by Dr. Oscar Salas of Coral Gables, Florida. Dr. Salas, a lawyer in both Florida and Texas put his son William, a film buff/collector/preservationist, to carefully restore the silent film.
The film print was composed of silver nitrate
Silver nitrate
Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula . This compound is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography. It is far less sensitive to light than the halides...
, a highly combustible film stock. The print was color tinted in sepia, blue, and other colors. Upon beginning the restoration William noticed that the film was longer than the original 1915 version. The print was 34 minutes and the title read “Aywon Film Corporation”. The original Selig version of “The Man from Texas” was about a 15 minute one reel film. It is well known that William Selig Polyscope films were mostly shot in one day in and around Prescott, Arizona using the same cast of characters. The Selig studio in Prescott was called the Diamond "S" Ranch. This fictitious “ranch” used the “S” for Selig as a trademark and had a diamond shaped border around the initial.
It turned out that this film was a 1920's re-release and was an edited version that included extra scenes from other Selig films. The re-release distributor in the 20's used their company name in the opening credits and title. It read; Tom Mix, "The Man From Texas" Awon Film Corporation. It seems this silent film was elongated to appeal to film distributors in the 20’s. The cast of the Tom Mix William Selig
William Selig
William Nicholas Selig was a pioneer of the American motion picture industry.-Biography:Selig was raised in Chicago. He worked as a vaudeville performer and produced a traveling minstrel show in San Francisco while still in his late teens. One of the actors was Bert Williams, who went on to become...
films were almost always Tom Mix, Sid Jordan
Sid Jordan
Sid Jordan was an American film actor. He appeared in 130 films between 1913 and 1944. Sid Jordan was introduced to acting through his close friend Tom Mix, when both men were serving as "Night Marshalls" of Dewey, Oklahoma. Ironically, it was Sid Jordan's father Sid Jordan (12 August 1889 –...
, and Old Blue (Tom's on screen horse until 1919) along with the Selig contracted players. William Salas completed the initial film cleaning and sprocket hole reparation. Then he transferred the nitrate film to video at a local studio using a flatbed Telecine
Telecine
Telecine is transferring motion picture film into video and is performed in a color suite. The term is also used to refer to the equipment used in the post-production process....
. The film was then shipped to Hollywood, California. There further restoration was done by Morecraft / Thunderbird Films. The Salas family hired a silent film organist named Robert Israel to record an original pipe organ score for the film. The pipe organ score was recorded in an old silent film theater in Hollywood, California that had a permanent pipe organ built into the building.
After completion of the final restoration and soundtrack was it then transferred by Morecraft Films (AKA Thunderbird Films) to 16mm optical sound, 8mm magnetic sound film, and U-maic video. The professional video version was transferred to VHS and Beta with CVT (Cine Video Tech) professional equipment. The film was released by Film, Sound & Video of Coral Gables, Fla. The "lost film" premiere was held at a DuBois, Pennsylvania
DuBois, Pennsylvania
DuBois is a city in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, northeast of Pittsburgh. It is the principal city in the DuBois, Pa Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
silent era movie theater during the Annual Tom Mix Festival in 1985. The Salas family then donated the original 35mm silver nitrate film print to the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The Salas family donated in 2001 another lost Tom Mix film, “The Sheriff and the Rustler”, a 1913 one reel film. Both film are registered under the William Salas collection at the American Film Institute and are available for viewing by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
in Washington, D.C.
“The Man from Texas”, the 1920s elongated 34 minute version may not contain any original footage from the original 1915 version. Further research on the original script and story line will be needed to know if there are any similarities to the 1926 re-release. The 1926 version has footage that may be one of the earliest appearances of Hoot Gibson
Hoot Gibson
Hoot Gibson was an American rodeo champion and a pioneer cowboy film actor, director and producer.-Early life and career:...
. Still because of lack of documentation it is not known exactly when any of the footage was shot.