Tom Mix (1880 - 1940) was an American motion picture actor, director, and writer whose career spanned from 1910 to 1935. During this time he appeared in 270 films and established himself as the screen's most popular cowboy star. Mix's flair for showmanship set the standard for later cowboy heroes such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. His horse Tony also became a celebrity who received his own fan mail.
Born in Pennsylvania, Mix served in the United States Army before moving to the Oklahoma Territory in 1902. Three years later, after working as a physical fitness instructor, bartender, and peace officer, he was hired as a full-time cowboy for the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch. Soon after, Mix established himself as the star attraction of the Millers' Wild West Show. In early 1910 Mix agreed to work as an actor and wrangler for the Selig Polyscope Company. Mix alternated between working in films and in Wild West shows until 1913 when he went into the film business full-time. The following year he established his own production unit and became a director and writer as well as an actor. His films for Selig were usually one and two-reel shorts that initially emphasized humor in the tradition of Will Rogers but eventually moved into action-oriented stories that displayed Mix's riding and stunting prowess.
In 1917 Mix left Selig and signed a contract with the Fox Film Corporation. His earliest films for them were two-reel shorts but within a year he switched to features. During his peak period in the 1920s Mix appeared in action-packed westerns filled with fights and chases which often showed him doing his own stunt work. His films were also known for their location work in places such as Arizona's Grand Canyon and Colorado's Royal Gorge. Among the notable directors that he worked with during this time were John Ford, Sidney Franklin, Jack Conway, George Marshall, and Roy William Neill. His leading ladies included Louella Maxam, Colleen Moore, Esther Ralston, Laura La Plante, Billie Dove and Clara Bow. In 1928, after eleven years and 86 films with Fox, Mix moved to FBO Pictures for a series of five films. With the advent of sound, Mix abandoned his film career and returned to working in Wild West shows. He came back to films in 1932 for a series of nine sound features for Universal. In 1935, he appeared in his final film, a 15-chapter serial for Mascot Pictures. Mix died in an automobile accident in Arizona five years later.
On February 8, 1960, Mix was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[1] In 1998, Mix's film Sky High was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.[2]
In 1910, Will A. Dickey, owner of the Circle D Ranch Wild West Show and Indian Congress, signed a deal to provide stock and wranglers for the Selig motion picture company. Dickey had seen Mix perform with the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show and asked him if he would be interested in appearing in films. Mix agreed and soon after joined the Selig unit in Flemington, Missouri. Mix's earliest films were made as part of one of Selig's traveling units. Location work for these films was done in Missouri and Oklahoma while at least one film was made in Chicago. Otis Turner, the director of these films, was impressed with Mix's screen image and wanted to keep him working as a film actor. Mix, however, was not interested in remaining in films and signed with Zack Mulhall's Wild West Show to help organize the Appalachian Exposition in Knoxville, Tennessee, which was scheduled to run in October and November. After this Mix rejoined the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Show.
In the spring of 1911 Mix left the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Show and resumed his career as an actor with the Selig Polyscope Company. Early in 1912 Mix left the film industry and joined Guy Weadick, one of his former 101 Ranch associates, to stage the first Calgary Stampede in Alberta, Canada. After this Mix toured Canada with the Buffalo Ranch Wild West Show. Following the show's closure Mix returned to Dewey, Oklahoma and accepted the position of night marshal. All of Mix's 1912 films are one-reel shorts directed by Otis Turner.
In January 1913 Mix accepted an offer from Selig to return to acting in films as part of a production unit in Prescott, Arizona, until the supervision of actor-director William Duncan. During his time with this unit Duncan persuaded Mix to write some of the scenarios. All of Mix's 1913 films were directed by Duncan and, except where noted, are one-reel shorts. The majority of these films co-starred Myrtle Stedman and Lester Cuneo. The last films that Mix made with Duncan were released in early 1914. By that time Mix had been reassigned work with Colin Campbell, one of Selig's top directors, to appear in films produced in Truckee, California. These films were largely two or three reels in length and attracting more attention than Selig's average releases. Later in 1914 Selig gave Mix his own unit, which allowed him to write, direct and star in films made in Glendale, California.
Mix returned to Arizona in 1915. The Selig Company began to experience a decline in its profits around this time, due in part to World War I cutting off its foreign market. As a result, Selig began trimming its production schedule. All films were directed by Mix and, except where noted, are one-reel shorts. In 1916 Mix moved to Las Vegas, New Mexico, which, at the time, was the last remaining open range in the West. In June 1916 he moved again, this time back to Glendale. With pressure from Selig to reduce costs in his unit, Mix began searching for a new producer. By the end of the year he had signed with the Fox Film Corporation. Mix's final films with Selig were released in early 1917.
All of Mix's Selig films are one-reel shorts except where noted. Most of these films are now lost. Those that are known to survive are listed in the notes section.
Release date | Title | Role | Notes | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Cowboy Millionaire | Unknown role | Directed by Francis Boggs and Otis Turner; print survives | [3] | ||
Briton and Boer | Unknown role | [4] | |||
Up San Juan Hill | Unknown role | [5] | |||
On the Little Big Horn; or, Custer's Last Stand | Unknown role | [6] | |||
An Indian Wife's Devotion | Unknown role | Split-reel with A Million Dollar Mix-up | [7] | ||
Trimming of Paradise Gulch | One of the Paradise Gulch Cowboys | ||||
County Sheriff | |||||
Go West, Young Woman, Go West | Unknown role | ||||
Unknown role | |||||
Unknown role | |||||
Ranch Life in the Great South-West | Unknown role | ||||
[Unknown film] | Unknown role | ||||
Two Boys in Blue | Unknown role | ||||
Back to the Primitive | Unknown role | ||||
Black Hawk, a Seminole Indian | |||||
Captain Kate | The good native | ||||
Saved by the Pony Express | Prints survive | [8] | |||
Life on the Border | Indian chief | ||||
Dad's Girls | Directed by Otis Turner; co-stars Kathlyn Williams and Oliver Stokes | ||||
Told in Colorado | |||||
Why the Sheriff Is a Bachelor | |||||
Western Hearts | Sheriff Long | ||||
< | --Do not link this to the 1914 film of the same title--> | ||||
Co-stars William Duncan, Myrtle Stedman, and Olive Stokes | |||||
Co-stars William Duncan, Myrtle Stedman, and Olive Stokes | |||||
Unknown role | Co-stars Olive Stokes | ||||
Juggling with Fate | Andrews, the marshall / Morgan, the outlaw | Mix as a marshall who also works as a masked bandit | |||
Sheriff | Half-reel | ||||
Slim | |||||
His Father's Deputy | |||||
Religion and Gun Practice | |||||
The Law and the Outlaw | |||||
Taming a Tenderfoot | |||||
Sallie's Sure Shot | |||||
Made a Coward | Pete | ||||
Engineer | |||||
Swift-foot | |||||
Tonto | |||||
How Betty Made Good | |||||
Howlin' Jones | Robledo | ||||
Half-reel | |||||
Saved from the Vigilantes | |||||
Saloon keeper | |||||
Dishwash Dick's Counterfeit | Half-reel | ||||
Half-reel | |||||
Gray | Half-reel | ||||
Two reels; scenario by Mix | |||||
Two reels; scenario by Mix | |||||
Two reels; scenario by Mix | |||||
Cupid in the Cow Camp | |||||
Physical Culture on the Quarter Circle V Bar | Williams | ||||
Buster's Little Game | |||||
Mother Love vs. Gold | |||||
By Unseen Hand | |||||
In Defiance of the Law | [9] | ||||
When the Cook Fell Ill | Chip | ||||
Etienne of the Glad Heart | Peter | ||||
Chip of the Flying U | Chip | ||||
When the West Was Young | Indian chief | ||||
Unknown role | |||||
Directed by Mix | |||||
Two reels; co-stars Lester Cuneo; written and directed by Mix | |||||
Co-stars Leo Maloney; written and directed by Mix | |||||
Co-stars Leo Maloney; directed by Mix | |||||
Jimmy Hayes and Muriel | Co-stars Leo Maloney; directed by Mix | ||||
Why the Sheriff Is a Bachelor | Co-stars Leo Maloney; written and directed by Mix | ||||
Co-stars Leo Maloney and Hoot Gibson; written and directed by Mix | |||||
Ranger | One reel; written and directed by Mix | ||||
Co-stars Leo Maloney; written and directed by Mix | |||||
Co-stars Leo Maloney; written and directed by Mix | |||||
In the Days of the Thundering Herd | [10] [11] | ||||
Co-stars Leo Maloney; directed by Mix | |||||
Saved by a Watch | Tom | Co-stars Leo Maloney; written and directed by Mix | |||
Co-stars Leo Maloney and Hoot Gibson; written and directed by Mix | |||||
Cactus Jake, Heart-Breaker | Bill | Co-stars Leo Maloney; directed by Mix | |||
Stars Leo Maloney; Mix directed but does not appear | |||||
Harold's Bad Man | Unknown role | ||||
Cactus Jim's Shop Girl | Cactus Jim | Prints survive | |||
Unknown role | |||||
Forked Trails | Unknown role | ||||
Roping a Bride | Unknown role | Prints survive | |||
Bill Haywood, Producer | |||||
Slim Higgins | Written by Mix | ||||
Two reels; co-stars Louella Maxam; written by Mix | |||||
Prints survive; written by Mix | |||||
Tom, the stage-coach driver | Co-stars Louella Maxam ; written by Mix | ||||
Sage-Brush Tom | Sage Brush Tom | Prints survive; written by Mix | |||
Ma's Girls | Two reels; co-stars Louella Maxam; written by Mix | ||||
Pete | Co-stars Eugenie Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Getting a Start in Life | Tom | ||||
Mrs. Murphy's Cooks | Co-stars Louella Maxam; written by Mix | ||||
Smiling Tom | [12] | ||||
[13] | |||||
Saved by Her Horse | |||||
Pals in Blue | Tom | ||||
Co-stars Louella Maxam; written by Mix | |||||
With the Aid of the Law | |||||
Foreman of Bar Z Ranch | |||||
Stars Leo Maloney; Mix directed but does not appear | |||||
Stars Leo Maloney; co-stars Louella Maxam; Mix directed but does not appear | |||||
Stars Leo Maloney; Mix directed but does not appear | |||||
Stars Leo Maloney; Mix wrote and directed but does not appear | |||||
Never Again | Unknown role | Co-stars Leo Maloney and Victoria Forde; written by Mix | |||
Weary Goes A-Wooing | Weary | ||||
Tom | Co-stars Leo Maloney and Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Co-stars Leo Maloney and Victoria Forde; prints survive | [14] | ||||
Her Slight Mistake | Bill | ||||
Two reels; co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | |||||
Unknown role | Written by Mix | ||||
Athletic Ambitions | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Unknown role | |||||
Unknown role | |||||
Bad Man Bobbs | Unknown role | ||||
On the Eagle Trail | |||||
Stars Victoria Forde; Mix directed but does not appear | |||||
Tom | Written by Mix | ||||
Making Good | Tom | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | |||
Trilby's Love Disaster | Stars Victoria Forde; Mix wrote and directed but does not appear | ||||
Pete | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Along the Border | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Too Many Chefs | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Mix wrote and directed but does not appear | |||||
Five Thousand Dollar Elopement | Unknown role | ||||
Crooked Trails | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Going West to Make Good | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | |||||
Taking a Chance | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Unknown role | |||||
Some Duel | Tom | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | |||
Legal Advice | Unknown role | Survives: UCLA; written by Mix | |||
Shooting Up the Movies | Two reels; co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Local Color on the A-1 Ranch | Tom | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | |||
Unknown role | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Unknown role | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Roping a Sweetheart | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Tom's Strategy | Unknown role | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | |||
Tom | Prints survive; written by Mix | ||||
Three reels; a remake of Saved by the Pony Express (1911); written by Mix | |||||
Unknown role | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | |||||
Tom | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | |||||
Tom's Sacrifice | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
When Cupid Slipped | Directed by, written by, and starring Victoria Forde; produced by Mix | ||||
Unknown role | Two reels; co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | ||||
Mistakes Will Happen | Unknown role | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written by Mix | |||
Twisted Trails | Three reels; co-stars Bessie Eyton; prints survive | ||||
Starring in Western Stuff | Two reels; fragment survives: UCLA; co-stars Victoria Forde; written and directed by Mix; partial remake of Sage-brush Tom (1915) | ||||
One reel; produced in 1915 but not released until 1917; co-stars Louella Maxam; directed by Mix | [15] | ||||
Tom, a cowpuncher | Co-stars Victoria Forde; written and directed by Mix | ||||
[16] | |||||
Movie Stunts by Tom Mix | Himself | Two reels |
Mix moved from Selig to the Fox Film Corporation in 1917, starting at a salary of $350 per week. His earliest films for the studio were two-reel shorts similar to the ones he made at Selig. Within a year, however he switched to feature films. Mix's popularity soared at Fox and his salary eventually escalated to $17,000 per week.[17]
Initially Mix worked as a writer and director as well as an actor but eventually restricted his work largely to being in front of the cameras. As his Fox films often teamed him with notable directors (such as John Ford, Sidney Franklin, Jack Conway, George Marshall, and Roy William Neill) an extra column now appears to list them. As the survival rate of Mix's Fox films is higher than his Selig films another column is added to display their survival status.
Except where noted all films are five reel features.
Release date | Title | Role | Director(s) | Survival status | Notes | Ref(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hearts and Saddles | and Robert Eddy | Fragment survives | Two reels; story by Mix; co-stars Victoria Forde | ||||
Two reels; story by Mix; co-stars Victoria Forde | |||||||
Six Cylinder Love | Two reels; story by Mix; co-stars Victoria Forde | ||||||
Two reels; story by Mix; co-stars Victoria Forde | |||||||
Durand of the Bad Lands | Starring Dustin Farnum and Natalie Kingston with Mix in a supporting role. | [18] | |||||
Tom and Jerry Mix | Two reels; story by Mix; co-stars Victoria Forde | ||||||
Cupid's Round Up | Co-stars Wanda Hawley. Mix's first starring feature film with Fox | [19] | |||||
Six Shooter Andy | Co-stars Enid Markey | [20] | |||||
Western Blood | Story by Mix; co-stars Victoria Forde | [21] | |||||
Ace High | Survives complete: Lob | [22] | |||||
Who's Your Father? | Two reels | ||||||
Mr. Logan, U.S.A. | [23] | ||||||
Fame and Fortune | [24] | ||||||
Treat 'Em Rough | Co-stars Jane Novak; film on location in Prescott, Arizona | [25] | |||||
Hell-Roarin' Reform | Tim | [26] | |||||
Fighting for Gold | fragment in private collection | [27] | |||||
The Coming of the Law | [28] | ||||||
Co-stars Colleen Moore | [29] [30] | ||||||
Rough Riding Romance | Co-stars Juanita Hansen; parially filmed in San Francisco, California | [31] | |||||
Co-stars Eva Novak | [32] | ||||||
The Feud | / John Smith | Co-stars Eva Novak | [33] | ||||
Co-stars Colleen Moore | [34] | ||||||
Co-stars Eva Novak | [35] | ||||||
Desert Love | Story by Mix; co-stars Victoria Forde | [36] | |||||
Story by Mix; co-stars Eva Novak; film on location in Sonora, California | [37] | ||||||
3 Gold Coins | / Bad Pat Duncan | Mix in a dual role as both the hero and the villain | [38] | ||||
Whistling Dan | Co-stars Pauline Starke; based on a novel by Max Brand | [39] | |||||
Six reels | [40] | ||||||
Prairie Trails | Six reels; a sequel to The Texan | [41] | |||||
Fragment: LC / NFA | [42] | ||||||
Hands Off! | [43] | ||||||
Nine reels; starring Betty Blythe; Mix supervised the film's all-female chariot race sequence | [44] | ||||||
Story by Mix; co-stars Rhea Mitchell | [45] | ||||||
Big Town Round-Up | Co-stars Laura La Plante | [46] | |||||
After Your Own Heart | Story adaptation by Mix | [47] | |||||
Whistling Dan | [48] | ||||||
Story by Mix; co-stars Eva Novak | [49] | ||||||
Trailin' | [50] | ||||||
Sky High | Co-stars Eva Novak and J. Farrell MacDonald; location shooting at the Grand Canyon in Arizona; added to the National Film Registry in 1998 | [51] | |||||
Chasing the Moon | Co-stars Eva Novak | [52] | |||||
Up and Going | Story by Mix; co-stars Eva Novak | [53] | |||||
The Fighting Streak | Survives complete: BFI | Co-stars Patsy Ruth Miller; location shooting in Victorville, California | [54] | ||||
For Big Stakes | Survives complete: NFA | Co-stars Patsy Ruth Miller | [55] | ||||
Just Tony | Survives complete: GEH / MoMA / UCLA / AFI | [56] | |||||
Do and Dare | / Henry Boone | [57] | |||||
Tom Mix in Arabia | Story by Mix; co-stars Barbara Bedford | [58] | |||||
Catch My Smoke | Co-stars Lillian Rich | ||||||
Romance Land | Survives complete: NFA | [59] | |||||
Three Jumps Ahead | Five reels; the first of two Mix films directed by John Ford (here billed as Jack Ford) | [60] | |||||
Stepping Fast | Five reels | [61] | |||||
Soft Boiled | Eight reels; co-stars Billie Dove | [62] | |||||
The Lone Star Ranger | Six reels; co-stars Billie Dove; based on the novel by Zane Grey; also filmed in 1919, 1930, and 1942 with, respectively, William Farnum, George O'Brien, and John Kimbrough in the Mix role | [63] | |||||
Mile-a-Minute Romeo | Six reels | [64] | |||||
North of Hudson Bay | Five reels; Mix's second film with John Ford | [65] | |||||
Eyes of the Forest | [66] | ||||||
Ladies to Board | [67] | ||||||
Survives complete: NFA | Six reels | [68] | |||||
[69] | |||||||
Survives complete: NFA | [70] | ||||||
Oh, You Tony! | [71] | ||||||
Teeth | [72] | ||||||
[73] | |||||||
Dick Turpin | Survives complete: GEH MoMA CSF | [74] | |||||
Riders of the Purple Sage | Six reels; based on the novel by Zane Grey; featuring Warner Oland and Fred Kohler; location shooting in the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California; also filmed in 1918, 1931, 1941, and 1996 with, respectively, William Farnum, George O'Brien, George Montgomery, and Ed Harris in the Mix role | [75] [76] | |||||
The Rainbow Trail | [77] | ||||||
Five reels; co-stars Billie Dove and J. Farrell MacDonald with Ann Pennington in a cameo appearance; Gary Cooper appears as an extra | [78] | ||||||
Six reels; co-stars Alice Calhoun | [79] | ||||||
Five reels; co-stars Clara Bow; based on a novel by Max Brand | [80] | ||||||
The Yankee Señor | Survives incomplete: NFA | Five reels; co-stars Olive Borden; features a fiesta sequence filmed in Technicolor (part of this color footage survives) | |||||
My Own Pal | Survival status unknown | [81] | |||||
Tony Runs Wild | Survives complete: NFA | [82] | |||||
Hard Boiled | Survives complete: NFA | Six reels | [83] | ||||
No Man's Gold | Survives complete: NFA | [84] | |||||
[85] | |||||||
Six reels; co-stars Dorothy Dwan | [86] | ||||||
Six reels; co-stars Carmelita Geraghty; based on the novel by Zane Grey | [87] | ||||||
[88] | |||||||
Outlaws of Red River | Six reels; co-stars Marjorie Daw | [89] | |||||
Survives complete: NFA | Five reels; co-stars Natalie Joyce | [90] | |||||
Tumbling River | [91] | ||||||
Silver Valley | [92] | ||||||
[93] | |||||||
Daredevil's Reward | Six reels | [94] | |||||
[95] | |||||||
Hello Cheyenne | [96] | ||||||
Painted Post | Survives complete: CI | Five reels | [97] |
By 1927, numerous low-budget imitations of Mix's films were flooding the cinema market. This, along with Mix's salary, the high rental fees for his films, and Fox Films' commitment to sound films made the studio decide not to renew his contract. Following his departure from Fox, Mix went on a vaudeville tour with the Keith-Albee-Orpheum circuit. In 1928, Mix signed with the Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) studios to appear in six silent westerns. By the time his first film, The Son of the Golden West, was released FBO had merged with RKO Pictures. Mix's FBO films were not as well received by the public and press as his Fox films. As a result, after making five films for the studio production of the proposed sixth film, The Dude Ranch, was cancelled. Prints of all five of Mix's FBO films survive.
Release date | Title | Role | Director | Survival status | Notes | Ref(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Six reels | [98] | ||||||
King Cowboy | [99] | ||||||
Outlawed | [100] | ||||||
[101] | |||||||
[102] |
Following his departure from FBO Mix returned to the vaudeville circuit, followed by two years with the Sells Floto Circus. In November 1931, Mix received an offer from Carl Laemmle of Universal Studios to star in a series of sound westerns. The resulting nine films (plus a cameo appearance in a tenth) proved to be popular at the box office. In December 1932, however, Mix ended his association with Universal due to injuries and a bout of influenza. All of Mix's Universal films survive (see references for each film).
Release date | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Himself | 75 minutes; Mix, Genevieve Tobin, Boris Karloff, Sidney Fox, Lew Ayres and Gloria Stuart make cameo appearances in a sequence filmed at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in the Ambassador Hotel. | [103] | ||||
Destry Rides Again | Tom Destry | [104] [105] [106] | ||||
Tom Rigby | [107] | |||||
The Texas Bad Man | Tom / Dan Bishop | 60 minutes | [108] | |||
My Pal, the King | Tom Reed | [109] | ||||
Tom Martin | [110] | |||||
Hidden Gold | Tom | 61 minutes | [111] | |||
Terror Trail | Tom Munroe | 57 minutes | [112] | |||
Flaming Guns | Tom Malone | [113] | ||||
Rustlers' Roundup | Tom Lawson | [114] |
Following his departure from Universal, Mix returned to live performances. In 1934, he joined with showman Sam Gill to form the "Tom Mix Wild West and Sam Gill Circus (Combined)". Following Gill's death from a heart attack Mix bought out his late partner's ownership. To help finance this deal Mix signed with film producer Nat Levine's Mascot Pictures to appear in a western serial. Although a major box office hit, the resulting effort was Mix's final film.
Mix appeared as himself in two early sound short films that were part of the "Voice of Hollywood" series. Both were produced by Tiffany-Stahl Productions and released in 1930.
The following film archives have prints of Tom Mix films. The abbreviations are used in the survival status section for the Fox films and in the notes section for all other films.
Main source
Secondary sources