Howard Farrell

Tom's Strategy is a 1916 silent Western short.

Bill, a cowpuncher, who wants to get married, answers an ad in a matrimonial journal.

Fleeced by a pair of good-time gals, the boys are unable to pay their bar tab and end up cooling their heels in jail. Once released, the two pals decide to join the army, if only to know where their next meal is coming from. They are shipped to a remote frontier outpost, which is already a hotbed of intrigue due to the commanding officer's lust for the wife of one of his officers.

Vicky pays a visit to her uncle's ranch in the west, and tells the cowboys that she could not love a man who is not an athlete. Tom and Sid, two of the cowboys, thereupon practice physical culture.

A couple of rowdy gamblers, a cowboy, and a woman undercover.

Tom Hickson leaves for the Diamond S ranch to become foreman.

Tom Travis, a bad man, comes to New Mexico. He sees Vicky, the sheriff's daughter, playing a part for a motion picture company. The action calls for Vicky to be overcome by the villain and thrown on a horse. Tom, not understanding the action, blazes away at the villain, and the bullet passes through the actor's hat, chasing the horse upon which Vicky is riding. Tom, coming up with Vicky, believes he has saved her. The director and Vicky's father think Tom a great actor. The sheriff, however, discovers that Tom has the reputation of a "bad" man, and orders him to stay away.

Tom's Sacrifice is a silent Western.