Tom Mix Ralston's straight shooters are on the air.
And here comes Tom Mix, America's favorite cowboy.
Huck Tony, come on boy!
Start the morning with hot Ralston, and you surely will agree
That this warm-up build-up breakfast gives you cowboy energy
It's delicious and it's precious, made of golden western wheat
Take a sip from Tom going, there's your mom, hot Ralston, take me, me
This is the 50th anniversary of the Tom Mix Ralston straight shooters
And here he is, as he was heard for many of those years
Curly Bradley, Tom Mix of radio
Howdy straight shooters, this is Tom Mix and I'm glad to be with you again
And to tell you to wind up at one of my strangest cases
The mystery of the vanishing village
Let me go back to when Mike Shaw, Hardy Pulse and I were riding along the trail
And saw those lights of Smithsville
Tom, I don't rightly savvy what's going on here
A whole town popping up out of the nothing where it disappeared
Hey, wait a minute, I don't know much about this
But I just work in the movies and I don't get paid to go into real danger
You sit your horse up here on the ridge, Mike
Get your six guns loosened and your horses like always Tom
Alright, then let's ride
The
Mike and I took a shallow grade down from the road
It was tough going, but Mike and I knew what we were doing
Then we covered a short stretch of level ground
And then we were pulling up even with the first lighted lamppost
Sure is quiet, Tom
No music, no dogs, no voices
Oh, you're right, Mike
In more ways than one, Smithville is a ghost town
Yeah, but the lights are on, Tom, who lit the lights?
Who does light the lights in a ghost town, Mike?
You're making the short hairs on the back of my neck bristle up
Only if you think what somebody wants you to think, Mike
Only if you see what they want you to see
I can see this village of Smithville, Tom
I can see that it's real
I can lean over and touch the wall of this dry goods store
I can pound on it
It's real, I can feel it
Yes, Mike, can you even smell it?
Smell it? Well, I sure, Tom, I can
When I pounded that side and it raised some fresh sawdust
Yes, fresh sawdust
In the beam of that street light, I can see that look on your face
You know something, Tom
No, Mike, not know it for a proven fact
But I now have a reason to suspect
No, I can't say it yet
But I think we're finally on the trail that will wind up this mystery of the vanishing village
Mike and I searched the village of Smithville
But it was as we suspected
Not a living person was there
We had to get back to Hardy Post on the Ridge Road
He was waiting for us, all the same
I was glad we were taking him back to the DM bar where I could keep an eye on him
At the ranch, I took aside one of my older compadres
Fakis, now that you're back from the rodeo circuit
Can I ask you to do a job that isn't exactly part of ranch work?
I reckon I'm ready to settle up for any job you ask me to do, Tom
Hell, I knew I could count on you, Fakis
I want you to go to the hospital where Doc Green is treating Mary Slade
I want you to see that a certain sidewinder doesn't get a chance to strike again
That snake better keep to its hole
Fakis told me you wanted to see me, Doc Green
Oh, Hank Smith, yes, yes, my boy, I wanted to see you
And I want your help
For Mary? Anything, Doc
We've done all we can
There's her mind
Maybe you could say her soul
Maybe the soul isn't the province of a country doctor
But you and I have to reach there
I'm ready, Doc
All right, come along over here
I know she looks pale, but her breathing is regular
I'm going to give her an injection now
Stimulant
Should start working immediately
Speak to her, Hank, bring her back to you
Mary?
Mary, dear
It's Hank
She's responding
Go ahead, Hank
Mary, dearest, can you hear me?
Her eyelids are fluttering
Her eyes are open
Don't be afraid, Mary
It's me, Hank
Do you understand? Hank
She knows you now, Hank
It's funny, she seemed almost frightened of you at first
I know why that was, Doc
She's asleep now
She'll wake in a few hours
Why don't we have to leave her now, Hank?
It's important she rest
Come along outside
Doc, how's that little gal doing?
Fine, Pecos
Hank, you were saying you knew what...
Well, there's that movie director, Harlequin Houdain
Tom and Mike told me about him
He couldn't have told you what a miserable excuse for a human being he is
He's in the sick room where lies the poor unfortunate Mary Slade
Struck down in her youth and beauty by some foul feet
We must photograph her
Cinema verity demands it
Photograph her even at death's door
Oh, he's ready to buy me a Mr. Dane
Why, you dirty...
Hold on, Hank, hold on
Tom sent me over here to take care of things like this
Howdy, Mr. Dane
My name is Pecos Williams
Interest me?
Well, Tom Mix thought you might be interested in me for local color
See, I got a big head and boom
Out of my way
I'm going to see that girl
I even got myself a six shooter
I favor a single action model myself
See, a cockat like this
See, the hammer stays back just like that
Harmless until you pull the trigger here
My mind couldn't mind you
You have that monstrous weapon pointed at me
It's perfect for the harmless
Until I pull this trigger
Don't touch that
I'm getting out of this rural madhouse
Marshal Mitchell here
Good work, Pecos
Hank, there's something I have to know
Something I think Pecos will want to tell Tom
Why do you think Mary was afraid of you at first?
Because, Doc, I look like my father
How's that?
My father, Sam Smith
That's Sam Smith
The man who owns the vanishing village of Smithville
Mike, we're going to have a little chat with Hardy Post
He still hasn't come down for breakfast, has he?
Hasn't budged out of his room since last night, Tom
Sent down an order of a cookie to send his breakfast up on a tray
We'll bring Mr. Post some questions to chew on
Come on
Can't say I care much for that Hollywood publishing man, Tom
Hardy Post and his boss, the so-called Great Dane, never had a very good reputation in Hollywood
Now, here we are
Bring it in
Oh, Bix, Sheriff Shaw
Thought you were my breakfast
Do I look like a fried egg?
To preserve our friendship, Sheriff, I'll not answer that one
Friendship is a mighty important word, Niece Bartsch
You're right, Mike
Now, forget about your stomach for the moment, Hardy
I want to ask you some questions
You take it seriously, don't you, Mix?
Being a marshal in this hick town adobe
You were great in film
All this western gear here around the room
Can you still use this lariat?
Oh, I imagine I can put a loop on what I have my eye on, Hardy
Let me see
I think you get your rope spinning like this
Oh, good
I still know how to put a rope where I want it
You put it on me, I'll take it off
Well, at least the loop isn't around your neck, Hardy
At least not yet
They hang people for murder
I don't know what you're talking about
Yes, you do, Mr. Post
Sheriff, I've seen that look on men's faces before
You know exactly what Tom was talking about
It's as clear as quick water
Listen, Hardy, I know everything
I know how Smithville vanished
I know how it came back
And I know who's behind it
You couldn't
Oh, but I do
You and the Great Dane wanted a hit movie
You'd do just about anything to get the publicity to make a hit
It meant millions of dollars
You too hatched up a scheme to make our whole village disappear from the face of the earth
How could I talk a whole town full of people into getting lost?
You and the Dane needed help
And I reckon Dane could spot a man who would do just about anything for enough money
A man like Sam Smith
That's why his boy Hank couldn't take the greed that has come to possess Sam
When his whole town seemed to be getting smaller
You mean Dane got Sam Smith to tell all the people who rented his stores and houses into going into hiding somewhere?
Yes, Mike
For a supposed publicity stunt
Those people owed Sam a lot
And they hadn't seen through him yet the way his boy had
But Sam still has them hiding out somewhere
Where is it, Hardy?
Line shacks on the Neasley?
Those caves on Thunder Mountain?
Uh-huh, that's it, the caves
You don't know what you're talking about
How could the village, the houses, the buildings come and go like magic?
It was magic, Hollywood magic
The movie crew disassembled that handful of buildings in Smithville
Stored them and put them back when the time came
All clever work
But I could smell the fresh sawdust of new construction when Smithville reappeared
How could you transport all that stuff?
Oh, you shouldn't have asked that one, Hardy
You used the trucking company of Salahed Hill Alpine and the railroad spur managed by Harvey Phillips
And when it got too serious, they threatened to talk
And you lost your head and killed him
No, no!
Oh, yes
Things were getting out of hand
Mary Slade wouldn't wait with the other villagers
She wanted to see Hank Smith
Then Greed-crazed Sam Smith, her future father-in-law, struck her down
Now, that's obvious from the fear she showed when she mistook the son for the father
You're right, Mix
It's all coming apart
Things going wrong
Why couldn't they stick to the script?
Those were my sentiments exactly, Hardy Post
Oh, you opened that door quietly, Dane
Tom, that looks like some kind of foreign gun the great Dane is toting at
Well, you're yes-men now, Dane
Oh, I don't need them for this, Mix
I've relied on fluckeys too much lately
My problem is that I need a whole new cast
I would have started the replacements with Mary if it hadn't been for that interfering Peckus
But all in all, I think I'll enjoy beginning with you instead
I don't think you will
Dane, you've got a lot to learn about the West and real men like Tom Mix
Sure, you got a gun pointed at Tom
But you're a city feller, full of soft living and giving other folks orders
Tom's muscles and nerves are trained to an edge you can't even imagine
When he sees your fingers start to tighten on the trigger
He'll draw his gun from its holster and fire before your brain can even get to picture
Oh, that's nonsense, bluff
No, Dane, bluff won't work, not for you, not for me
This is the showdown, drop that gun
No, I'll shoot
Take it easy, Dane, I just shot the gun out of your hand
Try counting your fingers, I think you'll find them all there
But that sore hand is just the beginning of the thing you've got to do
You've messed in people's lives, you've caused death
You can't tell your fantasy from reality
But I've learned what's real in this world for men like you, Dane
And you, Hardy Post, in a jail cell or your own conscience
In the long haul or the short, men like you, lawbreakers, always lose
Straight shooters always win, it pays to shoot straight
And so ends the mystery of The Vanishing Village
Tom Mix was played by Curly Bradley, featuring Jack Lester as Mike, Lester Mane as Doc, and Jim Harmon as Pecos
with Art Hearn and Richard Gullah, original material written, produced, and directed by Jim Harmon
Production assistant Barbara Gratz, engineer Steve Markham for Frank Brzee Studios
This is the 50th anniversary presentation of the Tom Mix-Ralston Straight Shooters on the Air
Start the morning with Mark Halston, and you surely will agree, that the form of fill that's like this gives you cowboy energy
Thank you for watching!