ANOTHER SENIOR MOMENT
When Tom Mix Rode Into Town
by Jim Sponseller

According to the newspapers, a movie about a pair of cowboys who spend their spare time a-kissin' and a-cuddlin' each other is favored to win the "Best Picture" Oscar at this month's Academy Awards. Please excuse me folks. I've got to stop here to make sure my pacemaker doesn't blow a fuse. (Twenty-minute pause.) Okay, I feel a bit more settled down now.

In real life, I guess most people don't give a hoot whether a pair of cowboys is romancing each other or not. That's their own business. But for me, seeing it up on the silver screen would wipe out decades of great memories I still have of the golden days of movie cowboys. Their purpose in life was not only to round up the cattle, but also to capture the despicable desperados by either royally punching them out or winging them with their blazing six-shooter. Yes, occasionally some of the heroes would have an urge to court a member of the opposite sex. But shucks, I never saw even one of them wink at another cowboy.

While growing up in my Ohio hometown, we had three movie houses back in the 1930s and early 40s. Like most theaters of that era, if you wanted to see a movie you've been waiting for, you didn't have a few weeks to think about it. The marquee usually changed three times a week. The best movies played Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays. The "B" movies were scheduled for Wednesdays and Thursdays. Fridays and Saturdays were set aside for the westerns and other films geared to us kids.

The cost of a Saturday matinee ticket, as I recall, was 10 or 15 cents. This not only included a double feature, but usually a short comedy, a cartoon, a serial film and occasionally some live entertainment. Some days they even threw in the Movietone News. Drawings for prizes, such as dishes, were also often tossed into the mix. And it wasn't unusual for us young-uns to sit through two entire performances.

Some of you Seniors may recall the names of these western film stars. How about Buck Jones, Tim Holt, Hoot Gibson, Tim McCoy, Wild Bill Elliott, John Mack Brown, Rex Allen, Tex Ritter, the Lone Ranger and Ken Maynard? The most famous names later on were Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. I was never enamored with Gene or Roy because they were "singing cowboys." It was always hard for me to visualize a real cowboy breaking into song when he should be spending his time dealing with all the sniveling scoundrels.

My hero was Hopalong Cassidy played by William Boyd. He was the idol of millions of children (and even adults) for over 60 years. "Hoppy," as we all called him, battled crime and upheld justice with quick-draw shooting, clear thinking, fists of steel and steadfast character. In none of his 66 motion pictures did he smoke, drink or even kiss a girl.

During those years, we always referred to the movies as "picture shows." There was no worry by parents about sending their kids to the picture show by themselves or with their friends. In Hollywood there was a strict censor board that made sure there were no nasty words or fleshy scenes that might corrupt kids or even the grown-ups. In case the Hollywood censors may have missed something, many states, such as Ohio, had their own board of censors. Their "seal of approval" appeared on the screen before each movie.

Then there was Tom Mix. He acquired the "King of the Cowboys" title starting back in the silent film era of the 1920s. At one time he earned the princely salary of $17,500 a week. Not until he was long gone did we learn that Tom lived lavishly and was married five times. For several years after leaving the movies, he successfully ran the Tom Mix Circus and Wild West Show. But by the late 1930s, the Great Depression finally caught up with the show. It folded and he resorted to traveling with a small vaudeville contingent to appear in theaters. This was likely the period it was announced that he would be on stage at the Southern Theater, the smallest and oldest of the three movie houses in town. However, he didn't ride into town on his famous steed, Tony. Instead, behind the theater was parked his Packard Roadster.

I was sure I could make it into the Southern by arriving a half hour early for the matinee. But not only was the theater sold out, there must have been another disappointed 100 kids waiting outside. I glumly returned to my Dad's nearby drug store for a couple hours before heading back to the Southern. This time the crowd was outside of Betty's Café, an eating place near the theater. "Tom's in there eating his dinner!" an excited schoolmate informed me. Worming my way up to the windows that covered the front of the restaurant, my nose joined dozens of others pressed against the glass.

Sure enough, sitting at one of the tables with a couple of side-kicks was none other than Tom Mix in person. "He's eating a T-bone," yelled one kid. "No he ain't," shouted back another. "Those are pork chops. And there's mashed potatoes and gravy… and green beans… biscuits… and cherry pie and a glass of milk!" "Cowboys don't drink milk," yelled back another voice in the crowd scornfully."

We all watched wide-eyed as our new acquaintance, Tom, waived a few times to the gawking throng while he sawed away on his pork chops. Finally he got up and quickly disappeared out the back door, apparently to return to the theater for the next performance. I didn't make it into that performance either. And never again did I see a real, live movie cowboy.

Tom Mix made 336 pictures and was said to have earned $6 million… and spent most of it. He performed all his own tricks from which he suffered 80 injuries, including 22 knife wounds. Tom lived a life as fast as his dream car, a 1937 two-seat Cord convertible. His demise didn't come at the hands of the bad guys. Instead, he was done in by a suitcase. In 1940 he was driving his Cord near Florence, Arizona, when he ignored a warning that a bridge over a wash was out. His car plunged into what is now named the Tom Mix Wash. A suitcase flew from the car's rear shelf and smashed into his head. He had lived 60 years.

Today, very few cowboy movies are being made. But now one comes along where the cowboys aren't even herding cattle. They're tending to sheep. And instead of trying to win over the town's pretty new schoolmarm, these cowboys are wooing each other. For all us old cowboy movie fans, that can't be a pretty sight.

Jim can be emailed at: sponcom@ameritech.net.