 Remember, a hallmark card when you carry enough to send the very best. Cards bring you an unusual true story on the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Welcome to the Hallmark Hall of Fame, where we tell you true stories about real people. Tonight we salute one of the most beloved men of this century, Lake Tom Mix. He's been called the greatest cowboy who ever lived. He was among his friends and was the outstanding man of our time. One of them was a man you hear called the King of Hollywood. And indeed, his name, Clark Gable. We are proud to have him join us tonight. This is Clark Gable. Tom Mix was one of the most honored motion picture stars in our entire history. He was a man of tremendous personal stature, who gave high inspiration to the millions who saw him perform, and to those who were privileged to know him. Tom was a matchless friend. I'm glad to say he was mine. Oh, thank you, Clark Gable. I knew Tom Mix, too. And so did the greatest cowboys of today, like Gene Oakley, and Roy Rogers, William Boyd, and Will Rogers, Jr. We'll hear from them all later in the broadcast. But now, here's Frank Goss. 365 days a year, hearts are lightened by hallmark cards. Happy days are made happier, lonely days become no longer lonely. And every day is a brighter day when the mail brings a hallmark card. For hallmark cards are more than just a message of cheer or sympathy or love. They are the right message, thoughtfully expressed in the right design, the right words, and that hallmark on the back shows that you cared enough to send the very best. Lionel Barrymore appears by arrangement with Metro Golden Mayor, producers of the new color picture Nights of the Round Table in CinemaScope, starring Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, and Mel Ferrer. And now, Mr. Barrymore brings you, with portions transcribed, tonight's exciting story on the hallmark hall of fame. This was often cast as a sheriff of Marshall fighting for law and order in the Old West. Well, role fitted him well. For in the early 1900s, Tom Nex actually served as a United States Deputy Marshall in the Southwest. Although he later was to make 370 motion pictures, no film story ever written for him was more exciting or courageous than the one he lived himself, when he was a United States Marshall. And that is a true story, we'll tell you tonight. It began around a campfire in the North-Eastern Oklahoma Territory. What's the matter, old partner? Getting a little cold for you? No, it'll be coming pretty soon. Then we can give up this range riding for the winter. Sooner than anybody expects, I reckon, for tonight. We should travel quiet. We understand you've been selling some cows, Beckett. You took 30 cows over to Vanity yesterday. You sold them, didn't you? Get a Beckett. They gave you $280 for that beef. We want it. You do, huh? He's covered, Cass. Over, Beckett. Shorty. Get the money, Beckett. All right. Don't have much choice, do I? If you could tell me where I can find the sheriff's office around here. Hey, Bert Schuster. Glad to meet you, Deputy. I'm Tom Mix. United States Deputy Marshal. Oh, yeah. They're Shant's brothers, huh? Yeah. I knew it was a little help. You've got to be stopped. Yeah, we'll be stopped. Have a chair, Marshal. Thank you. I wasn't sure about that as you are. We've scoured this whole area. Can't find a trace of them. And this cold weather hasn't helped much either. My men don't like riding a horse when the weather gets below zero. Can I doubt if the Shant's brothers like riding in this weather either? You're new on this. There's something special about these two birds. They sure know how to get out of sight and stay out of sight. I've been trying to think where they'd go. North, south, east, west, any direction. Yeah. Well, my personal opinion is we aren't going to get them around here. I think they made it to Mexico. I thought those mountains were... I wanted to make it hard for anybody to get me. That's right, girl. One of them sudden blizzards come up. But I think you're wrong about the Shant's brothers wanting to hide up there. Just the same. I'd like to go up and have a look around. I'll get an hour. I'll fire to the crest. Oh, maybe not a mile. I'll tear it from here. But no matter if that overhang, it flattens off and shoots right on up to the top. And no horse can travel that. I haven't seen anything like a trail so far. Any use in going all the way? No. I haven't been able to feel them for two hours. For any other part of me, either. Never get cold? Somebody's going ahead of us not too long ago. There's no rust. Now let's keep going. Since I've been up here. It's a cast shot. Not all hold it. Hold it. Let's go, Max. It's a cast shot. It's a cinch. His brother Shorty's inside the shack. We came up here to get him. I want to bring him in alive, Sheriff. Alive or dead, it doesn't make any difference to me. I'm not a United States Marshal like you. I'm just a local deputy and those two buzzards killed a man in my jurisdiction. I want him anywhere. That's a $500 reward. There's that, but there's more. There's half a dozen murders I want to talk to them about. Now us walking across that flat right now to pick them up isn't going to start anything but a lot of gunfire. You know that. I'm willing to trade with them. And I want them alive. Go back, Sheriff. Get as many, many as you can get. Bring them up here. I doubt if the Shant's brothers would start anything if they see their art numbered. Gonna just sit here and wait for us? As long as I can. Huh? I figure I can last all about sunrise without a fire. But if you aren't back by then, I'll have to go in that shack and get warm. I'll get back as fast as I can. Good luck, Max. Yep. We're into the second act of the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Haven't you often envied the type person who will never forgets a date, the kind who not only remembers birthdays, but remembers all the special days in each friend's life. He'll probably wish that you could be as thoughtful and as loved for your thoughtfulness. Well, let me tell you a secret. There is one easy sure way that you can remember all the occasions you want to remember. Get a Hallmark Date Book. Actually, this little memory minder is more than a date book. It's a calendar booklet with space for your notes on every day of the year. It includes a listing of the gifts for each wedding anniversary and the birthstones and flowers for every month. There's a section for your Christmas card list, too. That means you have your friends' addresses with you whenever you need them. For the Hallmark Date Book is small enough to fit inside your purse. Now, this handy attractive book is a gift to you from the fine store where you buy Hallmark cards. Make it a point tomorrow to pick up your Hallmark Date Book for 1954. And now, Lionel Barrymore brings you the second act of our true story of Tom Mix. In Cuba, with his close friend, Teddy Roosevelt, he was an inspiring and determined man, a brave man who believed in justice. But he also knew the meaning of Tom Mix, never knew its meaning more intimately than when he was the United States Deputy Marshal on the trail of the Chance Brothers. I remember the way Tom told it to me years later. Right after dark, one of those sudden storms come up. Temperature dropped way below zero. It snowed all during the night and when the first morning light appeared, I knew that Sheriff Schuster had been lost or he was dead or he was caught in the same blizzard and couldn't get down from the passes. I had to make a move or freeze to death. I began to ease down toward the cabin. Off to one side was a small corral in the shed. Jazz and shorty shots were no good, but they took care of their horses and sooner or later one of them would be coming out to see how the horses had fared the night. That would be my chance to get them apart from each other. My one chance. The posse gets here, we're leaving. Let me tell you something, Mix. They ain't gonna get here. I think we chose this place to hold up. First snowstorm of the year blocks the pass down below. It appears to me like it's going to snow a week. Yeah, you're stuck here, Mix. For the winter. By nightfall he was sitting up in bed cussing me. In shorty two I fixed him a splint and he lay back on the other bunk with his leg stuck out and watched me cook chow. And outside the shack in the gathering darkness, the snow fell steadily deeper and deeper. Look at him, Cass. Ain't he dainty? Hey, Marshal, be sure you put enough pepper in them beans. I don't like them less now. Ah, don't you worry, Cass. Oh, Marshal Tom Mix is supposed to do most anything better than next. Didn't you know he was the national rodeo champion? Why, sure. All them stories they tell about him bringing in the outlaws. The way he treats us, I bet they were just begging to be captured. Oh, he's the daisy the Marshal is. One thing bothers me, though, brother. Well, tell the Marshal, brother. What bothers you? You want your pillow fluffed up? No. What bothers me is this. He can play nurse maid all right and he can cook just like a lady and tell her stories about all them bad men he's took in. The real question comes down to one very simple thing. What's that? We can sleep all winter if we want to. But how long you reckon this Marshal can stay awake? Chance Brothers slept in shifts. One of them all was awake watching me, watching him. In spite of their wounds, they were rested men and dangerous men, waiting for the one chance they could to catch me off guard the moment I'd fall asleep. Well, good morning, Marshal. How's the war against crime and lawlessness coming? Morning, Cass. Still awake, Marshal? I'm still awake, Cass. What time is it? Breakfast time, shorty. Smell that cough. Mmm. Hey, Cass. Yeah? This looks to be a nice winter, Cass. My shoulder knits right it will be. Oh, now don't worry about your shoulder. Marshal here got shot out in three, four wars. Knows all about how things get fixed up. They say in China, he got his scalp blowed clean off. Took 66 stitches to put it back on. Wait up. Where you going, Marshal? I want to see how the horses are. Well, why don't you leave your guns here? We'll take good care of them. Pistol or carbine. How we going to work this? Just wait. How long? Couple of days, what would matter? You going to go to sleep sooner or later? When it does, we kill it. Don't want to try it before then, huh? You know how fast and good he can shoot. No. It's easy. All we got to do is just wait. I was all right for the first two days and nights. The second night, the snow stopped falling, and I thought, I got a chance now. If I can just stay awake. The posse is bound to get through if I can just stay awake. I drank gallons of coffee, but on the third day, it started to get me. I'd sit there in the corner by the stove, and they'd watch me. Sometimes together. Sometimes one of them would sleep while the other lay there. Just lay there, looking at me. I'd pass without a move in that little room. I'd feel my eyes rolling back, and I'd stand up fast and shake my head. Getting sleepy, Marshal? I'll buy another cup of coffee, Marshal. Go on, go on back to sleep. It's nice sleeping, Marshal. It's all right. You just lie back, you close your eyes, and you just let go. You just let go and close your eyes, and everything goes spinning away. Okay, Shorty. Kill him. This rifle is... Drag yourself back into bed, Shorty. Sure. Sure, but it won't be long, Marshal. You can't last forever. Not without sleep. You wouldn't shoot me like this. I'd shoot you anyway. I'd shoot you down the way you shot a half dozen good men down. Sure, I can't last forever. Sure, I need help. But if I can't stay awake, if I can't stand it, I'll kill you both. So help me. I'll kill you both. I need to get sleep. Just five minutes. One minute. I was starting to hear things. I was hearing guns go off. Then I knew what it was. When I was just so tired to get out of the chair, I pointed the carbine at the ceiling and pulled the trigger. Look at him, Shorty. Got himself a new trick for keeping awake. Yeah. Yeah. Come on in, shorty. It's all right. Aren't you forgetting something? Forgetting something? What? Came in this morning, and it's all yours. You sure? Yeah, here's a check. They got a mother who doesn't know anything about them. To do for them. I don't think they've ever done anything for her in their lives. She gets this, wouldn't you? In picture industry, sought out this remarkable man, Tom Mix, he quickly became the idol of millions of youngsters and adults, too. And not only an idol, but a very real flesh and blood symbol of justice and mercy. Now, the inevitable triumph of decency over evil wherever it's found. The number of Tom Mix's friends in Hollywood is legion. And tonight, we are pleased and proud to have four of the greatest western stars in motion pictures here with us to join in our tribute to Tom Mix. Hello, friends. This is Gene Archie. You know, I was proud to call Tom Mix my friend. He influenced and inspired my early life and my career, just as his real life and film adventures influenced most of the young people of his time. Well, this is Roy Rogers. The great cow punch and star Tom Mix was and is an inspiration to all of us. His influence for good upon the young people of his time was phenomenal. Tom was a great man, and I'm proud to say my valued friend. This is Bill Boyd. Well, you might know me as Hop along Cassidy. I knew Tom Mix. To me, he was one of the West great men. Tom was a man who dined with presidents and kings. And a man who rode the range with the roughest, toughest cow punches of his time. Tom was one of the greatest cowboys of all. And one of the finest. This is Will Rogers Jr. You know, my father always said that Tom Mix was one of the top cowboys of all time. Dad and Tom were close friends. It was a fine sight to watch Tom Mix and Will Rogers riding together along the bridal paths of Beverly Hills. And now, ladies and gentlemen, Mrs. Tom Mix. Thank you, Mr. Barrymore, for tonight's splendid hallmark presentation of a gallant story from the true life of my husband. I'm grateful too for this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to Tom's close friends, Clark Gable, Gene Autry, Boy Rogers, William Boyd, and Will Rogers Jr., who have honored Tom here tonight, to the hallmark hall fame, and to all of them, thank you. So drop into the fine store where you buy hallmark cards and let them give you their New Year's gift to you, a hallmark date book for 1954. Now, that's not a pretentious sounding gift, I know, but the truth is that your little hallmark date book can be the means of a much easier, happier, and friendlier New Year for you. You see, it is a booklet of little calendars with enough space at each day for your personal notations. You can write in the birthdays and anniversaries of everyone dear to you. Make notes to remind you of special dates. Never again need you have that sinking feeling, ooh, I forgot, Uncle Harry's birthday, for your hallmark date book is small enough to carry in your purse for constant reference. Two would even suggest appropriate gifts for special days. List the flowers and birthstones for every month, the gift for each wedding anniversary, and your friends' addresses are written conveniently in the front of the book. So you see what I mean when I say you'll find it's easy to be the thoughtful, friendly person you like to be if you have a hallmark date book. And now here again is Lionel Barrymore. You know, that's a very good idea you have, Frank, to let a hallmark date book help us to a friendlier New Year. Because if there's one thing that would be an absolute guarantee of a happy New Year, it's a year when each of us individually tries to be a better friend. Our thanks for the appearance of Clark Gable to MGM, producers of the 3D color musical Kiss Me Kate, starring Catherine Grayson, Howard Keel, and Ann Miller. Remember, you're also invited to the Hallmark Hall of Fame on television every Sunday, starring Miss Sarah Churchill. Until next week then, this is Lionel Barrymore saying good night. Carefully selected to give you expert and friendly service. Remember a hallmark card when you carry enough to send the very best. Our producer director is William Frug. Our script tonight, with portions transcribed, was written by Wilbur James. John Daener was heard as Tom Mix. Also featured in our cast were Vic Perrin, Jack Edwards, Harry Bartell, and Lawrence Dufton. This is Frank Goss saying good night to you until next week at the same time. When we'll present a true story about William Allen White. On January 17th, we'll bring you MacDonald Carey starring in an interesting story about Mark Twain and the following week a true story about Robert Baden Powell on the Hallmark Hall of Fame. This is KMBZ, Kansas City, Missouri.