Show how I 1 broke into the movies copyright by a C by TOM MIX BROKE into the movies as a safety I 1 man a man hired to stand alongside the camera with a rifle and kill any wild animals working in the scene if they showed signs of a desire to chew up the actors that was with the old selig company in the days when wild animal thrillers were at their height of popularity I 1 won my job because of ray my earlier exper experiences lences as texas ranger rough rider under our beloved teddy and volunteer in the philippine uprisings I 1 also saw in military service in the orient during the boxer rebellion and had been a range rider since my early youth near my birthplace el paso so I 1 was considered a pretty good shot with either pistol or rifle after all 11 these ex perlene and colonel selig hired me my renson reason for trying to got get into the tile movies came about through a n series of events first I 1 hail leased my ranch to a producer who was ank ing westerns We sterns I 1 noticed how the cowboys looked and acted and this robed something akin to resentment sent ment a lot of tenderfeet tender feet practically making fun of the west then I 1 went to see some of these here movies and was all fired certain the cowboys boys stories and directors were all wrong and I 1 made up my mind I 1 was going to california and tell them what was what finances were pretty low As a matter of fact I 1 was nearly broke but I 1 had enough money to ship my saddle horse to san bernardino from son san Ber perdue duell the horse and I 1 hoofed it into hollywood with alth nary a brass band or reception committee to welcome us ug 11 A 4 lip 0 J tom mix As a matter of fact nobody even paid the slightest bit of attention to td us to this day a cow hand can walk through the streets of hollywood and attract less attention than a fat man in golf knickers well then came the job I 1 told you about the gallety man soon after I 1 worked myself into bits and small parts and doubled for the leading men on all the dangerous stunt riding all this time I 1 was still nursing the urge to tell t the he whole world how awful tho the western pictures were were and my opportunity came with a bang when william fox signed me to a long tern contract after much discussion pro and con I 1 finally persuaded mr fox to let me tryone picture of my fourteen karat genuine brand of western to make sure in case anything went wrong I 1 was certain to get the blame mr fox made me write the stories direct them and play the lends leads the results I 1 say with all due modesty were far beyond my own expectations their immediate buce success M convinced many producers that western stories written by eastern tenderfeet tender feet and portrayed by the sanie same breed of actors have the same ring of realism in them so BO my two feelers soon grew up tip into feature length plays although what I 1 have to say any now has no bearing on crashing the movies I 1 think it important to those who may inny be curious I 1 make it a business never to drink smoke or piny cards in any of my pictures I 1 realize that primarily the story of the west Is of supreme interest to thousands of young boys throughout the country and perhaps the world I 1 also realize that boys are prone to imitate in their play many of the things they see in pictures or read about and with no consideration of myself except ns as a probable example I 1 realize that boys set some figures like babe ruth aluth or lundbergh as their ideal of manhood 1 I therefore believe that in some little way I 1 can convince the boyhood of america that eliat neither smoking drinking nor gambling are essential aid aad that physical fitness always wins out over dissipation that la Is why I 1 try to make my characters those of men of high ideals because after all the boys of today are the men of tomorrow service |