November 20, 2016

While the average western story conjures up names like Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour, such works of fiction need not be confined to the realm of traditional westerns. Case in point: "Bonanza" television episodes "Hoss and the Leprechauns" written by Robert Barron, and "Sam Hill", written by David Dortort. The former title is self-explanatory, but the latter is about a friend of the Cartwrights named Sam Hill who also happens to be a mystic (portrayed by Claude Akins). These stories were not the first of their kind, for the concept of creative westerns existed during the early twentieth century.

For an idea of what earlier creative western stories looks like, here are three different ones made into silent films starring our subject, Tom Tyler:

"Lightning Lariats" - written by F. A. E. Pine and George Worthing Yates

"The Sonora Kid" - written by J. G. Hawks and Percy Heath

"Red Hot Hoofs" - written by George Washington Yates Jr.

"Lightning Lariats" (1927) is about a young king (Frankie Darro) named Alexis who has been exiled from his kingdom of Roxenberg and made his way to the western part of the United States with his governess. They meet Tom Potter (Tom Tyler) who becomes the guardian of Alexis and falls in love with his governess (Dorothy Dunbar) but is also the target of a jealous girl. In this case, we have the exiled foreign leader element (which by chance later recurred in popular sitcoms like "Gilligan's Island") which adds the twist to the western story.

"The Sonora Kid" (1927) welcomes the Old English characters of King Arthur and the Round Table into the western plot. Quite possibly one of the most original stories of its time - a lobby card from that period depicts two knights jousting - the story opens with Tom the cowpuncher reading a book of King Arthur Tales to the ranch dog, Beans. As an employee of Arthur Butterworth's ranch (of course the ranch owner also has a very English-sounding name), Tom soon finds himself wearing a suit of armor and challenging a wealthy millionaire from San Francisco (also in a suit of armor) in a jousting match for the hand of Butterworth's daughter Phyllis (Peggy Montgomery).

"Red Hot Hoofs" (1926) is centered around a boxing ring set out west, with one of the boxers, Tom Buckley (Tom Tyler) surviving three rounds with a heavyweight champion (Al Kaufman) - and wins the thousand dollar offer made him. Tom of course gets to showcase his athletic prowess (at the time he already won two Amateur Athletic Union weightlifting awards) and also finds himself getting involved with a bank robber and of course a girl (Dorothy Dunbar) who he ends up rescuing. Incidentally, the boxing match element recurs in Tom Tyler's 1936 talkie, "Rip Roarin' Buckaroo."

When considering a unique twist in writing a western story, do not be afraid to experiment with different outside elements, no matter how outlandish they may sound at first glance. So long as the plot is clearly defined and the story engaging for the reader, several different elements can be combined to create a unique western story.