Is This a Job That Didn't Pay?

Duke would claim that tom mix promised him an on screen job as a cowboy and then screwed him with the prop job. This is an obvious lie. For one thing, tom mix had a group of actual cowboys that he had with him on the set at any given time to do stunson shit. He was not known for just hiring random people to his crew because he had folks. Working in props teaches him how things look on screen. Because of the skills he builds as a prop man, he's going to be a lot more successful as an actor and eventually a director in the future.