Bob Steele Movies
Bantamweight Western hero Bob Steele began making films as a teenager, co-starring with his brother in a series of "outdoors" short subjects produced and directed by his filmmaker father, Robert N. Bradbury. A star from 1927 onward, Steele gained popularity in several B-Western series of the late silent and early talkie era. Most of his films shared the same plot: Steele's character was forever searching for the murderer of his father (perhaps significantly, many of Steele's starring vehicles were scripted by his real-life dad). In addition to his many starring films, Steele contributed several rate supporting appearances in prestige pictures. Among his better-known non-Western roles included the hot-tempered Curley in Of Mice and Men (1939) and the vicious hoodlum who poisons Elisha Cook Jr. in The Big Sleep (1946). In films until the early '70s, Bob Steele also played the recurring role of Trooper Duffy, the self-styled sole survivor of the Alamo, on the TV sitcom F Troop (1965-1967). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In 4 for Texas, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin star as Zack Thomas and Joe Jarrett, a pair of rival mountebanks who spend most of the film battling over who will control the gambling and wenching in 1870 Galveston. Though they'd as soon cut each other's throats than cooperate, Zack and Joe are forced to unite against a pair of common enemies: crooked banker Harvey Burden (played by Victor Buono, a favorite of director Robert Aldrich) and cold-blooded outlaw/hired-gun Matson (Charles Bronson, virtually the only person in the film who takes his role seriously). The heroes also battle over the affections of well-endowed heroines Elya Carlson (Anita Ekberg) and Maxine Richter (Ursula Andress), both of whom are sharp-witted businesswomen who match Zack and Joe scam for scam. The Three Stooges show up for a moment, in which they repeat their "point to the right" and "State of Texas" routines, and get into a fracas with feisty little old lady Jesslyn Fax. Also making guest appearances are Arthur Godfrey and Teddy Buckner and His All Stars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, (more)
- 1934
In his first of thirty-two B-Westerns for producer A.W. Hackel, bantamweight Bob Steele plays Bob Worth, a cowboy seeking employment at Lita Morton's (Gloria Shea) New Mexico ranch. Lita's brother Bud (Nick Stuart) turns him down flat and instead puts the property up for sale. The buyer, Dyer (Walter McGrail), has Bud assassinated on his way to deposit the first payment and Bob, who merely happens to find the body, is accused of the deed by Lita. Wounded by Dyer, Bob finds shelter with Mexican outlaw Gallindo (Don Alvarado) and concocts a plan to trap the killer. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1935
Filmed simultaneously with the earlier release No Man's Range (1935), this Bob Steele Western featured the diminutive hero as John Clark, a young drifter who comes to the aid of beleaguered U.S. marshal Blyth (Jack Rockwell), who has been shooting it out with a gang of outlaws. Wounded but still alive, Blyth deputizes Clark and assigns him to capture the notorious Kootney Kid gang. The Kid (Earl Dwire) has intercepted a letter proclaiming John the heir to a piece of oil-rich land, and plans to obtain the property himself. John, meanwhile, is arrested for murdering the missing Marshal Blyth but escapes along with sidekick Bootch McCrumb (Buck Connors). The two witness the Kid kill his henchman, Simi (Steve Clark), and with the assistance of the recovered Blyth, they manage to clear John's name and bring the murderer to justice. Directed by the star's father, Robert North Bradbury, this Bob Steele Western was produced by A.W. Hackel for release by Supreme Pictures Corp. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1929
The son of productive western director Robert North Bradbury, Bob Steele became FBO's final western hero. Here, he is a wealthy scion who toughens up in a rough-and-tumble lumber camp when he is forced to defend Phil Dunning (Lafe McKee) and his daughter (Thelma Daniels) from the brutal George Hobbs (Tom Lingham). Steele actually didn't really come into his own until sound but then enjoyed a long career as one of Hollywood's toughest western stars which lasted well into the television era.. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Tom Lingham, (more)
- 1946
One of four western films made for PRC by bantam-weight Bob Steele, Ambush Trail stars Steele as cowpoke Curley Thompson. The villain of the piece intends to bankrupt all the local ranchers and grab up the surrounding property for himself. But with Curley involved, the bad guy and his minions don't have a chance. The screenplay, by D. W. Griffith alumnus Elmer Clifton, is a medley of western cliches, pausing every so often for a first-rate action sequence. Perennial sagebrush sidekick Sid Saylor provides negligible comedy relief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Budd Buster, Edward Cassidy, (more)
- 1944
In their third and final "Trail Blazers" Western together, Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson and Bob Steele witness what appears to be a gang of Indians raiding a stagecoach. Investigating, the three lawmen discover that the attackers are actually white bandits dressed as Indians and that their leader is one Polini (Ian Keith), a gangster smuggling diamonds in the axle grease of the stagecoach wheels. Aided by young Donny Davis (Don Stewart) and pert Ruth Hampton (Myrna Dell), the "Trail Blazers" survive several clashes with death -- including being trapped inside a cave -- before Polini and his cohort, Banker Steve Lynch (Karl Hackett), are apprehended. In only her second Western, blonde heroine Myrna Dell was not exactly in awe of her veteran leading men who, as she later recalled were "old enough to be my grandfather!" Maynard, in fact, had come to the end of his long starring career. Unable to get along with his more athletic co-star Bob Steele, the often cantankerous left the series and only returned to films in rare cameo appearances. His place in the final two "Trail Blazers" Westerns was taken by Chief Thundercloud. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson, (more)
- 1931
In its last production days, Tiffany studios was home for many a "B" western series. One such starred Bob Steele, usually cast as a young cowboy searching for the murderer of his father. In At the Ridge, however, Steele and his sidekick Al St. John are occupied with protecting a herd of horses from murderous rustlers. The leader of the bad guys turns out to be an undercover US marshal, thus preventing Steele and John from ending up laced with lead. The "good bad man" in At the Ridge was played by Al Jennings, a real-life outlaw who reformed after a prison term and went into movies as an actor, producer and director. His life story was somewhat romanticized in 1951's Al Jennings of Oklahoma, which starred Dan Duryea. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on a novel by Robert Penn Warren, this Southern potboiler stars Yvonne DeCarlo as Amantha Starr, the daughter of a wealthy Louisiana plantation owner. When her father unexpectedly dies, Amantha discovers that her father was deep in debt and the family is penniless, and she is forced to drop out of the exclusive girls' school she was attending. What's more, it is discovered that Amantha has a small amount of African-American blood, and under the laws she is to be sold into slavery in New Orleans. Amantha is purchased by Hamish Bond (Clark Gable), a dashing, wealthy, but mysterious landowner. While Amantha is at first terrified by her new situation, in time she grows fond of Hamish and becomes romantically involved with him. However, the outbreak of the Civil War leads to Union forces taking New Orleans; RauRu (Sidney Poitier), Hamish's trusted overseer, joins the Northern forces as the Rebels go down in defeat. RauRu hates Amantha for literally sleeping with the enemy, and Hamish for the corrupt system he represents, but his last remaining threads of loyalty prevent him from taking them prisoner. With his crops destroyed, Hamish must rebuild his empire from the ground up, and, as he joins forces with his former associate Capt. Canavan (Torin Thatcher), he must reveal a shameful secret to Amantha: he once earned his living as a slave trader. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Yvonne De Carlo, (more)
- 1947
Back to his standard Rocky Lane characterization after a brief series of "Red Ryder" westerns, Allan Lane stars in Republic's Bandits of Dark Canyon. In this outing, Lane takes it upon himself to clear ex-convict Ed Archer (Bob Steele) of a trumped-up murder charge. Making things easier is the fact that the "dead" man is actually very much alive, the better to help one of Archer's false friends stage a big gold heist. It's no surprise that Roy Barcroft plays one of the villains: it is a bit surprising to see John Hamilton, best known to fans of the Superman TV series as editor Perry White, participating in the skullduggery. Featured in the cast is veteran western actor Francis Ford, the father of director Philip Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Allan Lane, Bob Steele, (more)
- 1935
Directed by his father, Robert North Bradbury, Bob Steele's third Western for independent producer A.W. Hackel remains one of the most bizarre and evocative B-Westerns of the 1930s. Written by set designer/supporting actor Perry Murdock, The Big Calibre is really a horror movie masquerading as a Western, complete with a mad, disfigured scientist who kills by employing vials of poison gas. Steele's onscreen father (Frank Brownlee) becomes the Mad Doc's first victim and the sheriff's investigation points to town chemist Otto Zenz as the killer. Before he can be arrested, Zenz escapes with Steele in hot pursuit. (Eerily, director Bradbury favored stories about sons hunting down their fathers' killers.) Along the way, the young cowboy stumbles over a mysterious and unsettling pile of dried-up bones, a stage hold-up that isn't quite what it appears to be, and a girl (Peggy Campbell) whose ranch is threatened by a greedy lawyer (Forrest Taylor). The latter's co-conspirator, the hideously deformed assayer Gadski, may or may not be the missing chemist/killer. Despite all that, Steele manages to revenge his father's death in a final, desperate struggle during which the maniacal killer is undone by his own murder weapon. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Peggy Campbell, (more)
- 1941
PRC's "Billy the Kid" series had two different stars over a six-year period. Bob Steele plays the title role in 1941's Billy the Kid in Santa Fe. Framed on a murder charge, Billy heads to guess what New Mexico town. Here he teams with the brother of the murder victim to extract a confession from the real killer. This 66-minute sagebrusher was the sixth of PRC's "Billy the Kid" entries; in late 1941, Bob Steele would be succeeded in the starring role by Buster Crabbe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1940
The second entry PRC's "Billy the Kid" series was 1940's Billy the Kid in Texas. The titular Kid is played by Bob Steele, who this time out becomes sheriff of a Texas town (despite the price on his own head). In this capacity, he is forced to do battle with any number of outlaws, one of whom turns out to be his own brother (Carleton Young). Al "Fuzzy" St. John, comic sidekick to every one of PRC's western heroes, does his usual here. Eventually, the "Billy the Kid" series would serve as a showcase for Buster Crabbe-whose sidekick, of course, was the inescapable Fuzzy St. John. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele
- 1941
Billy the Kid is played by Bob Steele in this PRC sagebrusher, while his "fighting pals" are Al "Fuzzy" St. John and Carleton Young. Billy and his buddies arrive in the town of Paradise, which fails to live up to its name. The villain is a local banker (Edward Peil Sr.), who of course is also the secret mastermind behind all criminal activities. Billy sizes up the situation and settles matters with a combination of fists and shootin' irons. Before emerging on screen as Billy the Kid's Fighting Pals, the film was briefly titled Billy the Kid Trails West, then Trigger Pals. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Phyllis Adair, (more)
- 1940
Sherman Scott is credited as director of Billy the Kid's Gun Justice, but you can't fool us: Scott is none other than the incredibly prolific Sam Newfield. We'd like to tell you what the picture's all about, but not even our most reliable sources can offer us any info. Judging by the rest of PRC's "Billy the Kid" entries, we can safely assume that Billy (Bob Steele) is accused of a murder he didn't commit. We can also rest easy that Billy will bring the genuine killer to heel before the film's 57-minute running time has fully elapsed. One thing we know for sure: Billy the Kid's Gun Justice is the third in PRC's B-western series based very loosely on the exploits of William H. Bonney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1941
Small-but-wiry Bob Steele plays the title role in the PRC western Billy the Kid's Range War. Once again rewriting history, the script contrives to have honest Billy falsely accused of a series of killings. The actual murderers are trying to sabotage an under-construction stagecoach road. Hiring on as a stage driver, Billy not only clears his name but corrals the crooks. He also exposes the brains behind the scheme, who turns out to be a supposedly respectable peacekeeper. Ubiquitous PRC cowboy sidekick Al St. John shows up in his customary role of Fuzzy Q. Jones to offer Billy some much-needed assistance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Joan Barclay, (more)
A murdered entomologist, an inscrutable Asian, and a sinister cowboy with rape on his mind are but a few of the many strange characters inhabiting this unusually well-made, Bob Steele Western. Steele plays Larry O'Day, who, along with sidekick Lucky Smith (Don Barclay), comes to the rescue of Barbara Hartnell (Harley Wood), whose entomologist uncle (Frank Ball) has been found murdered at his laboratory near the border to Mexico. If the murder wasn't enough, poor Barbara is in trouble with a strange neighbor, Obed Young (Karl Hackett), who raves about an ancient curse threatening her hacienda. After a mysterious intruder attempts to strangle Lucky, Larry catches German scientist Dr. von Kurtz (John Peters) stealing specimens from the dead entomologist's lab. Barbara, meanwhile, is arrested for the murder by the sheriff (Horace Murphy) but is freed by Jim Barton (Perry Murdock). The latter, a forbidding-looking cowboy, arranges with Chon Lee (Miki Morita) to have Barbara smuggled across the border as a "picture bride," but she is rescued in the nick of time by Larry, who now has proof of who killed Professor Hartnell. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Harley Wood, (more)
An above-average cast makes up for the lack of production values in this, the second of 32 Bob Steele Westerns produced by A.W. Hackel for the States' Rights market. Steele is Rod Kent, a rancher falling in love with his neighbor, Margie Orkin (Lucile Browne), whom he rescues from an irate bull. Margie, however, is soon in a different kind of danger altogether when her father's evil half-brother, Bill (George Hayes), suddenly appears on the property with blackmail on his mind. When Rod intervenes, his father (Charles K. French) is shot by one of Bill's nasty sons, Holt (James Flavin). Bill's attempt to pin the blame on his half-brother, Joe (William Farnum), fails. Assisted by Margie's kid brother, Budd (Mickey Rentschler), and his faithful pooch, Pardner, Rod rounds up the villains, who are hog-tied and delivered to the Sheriff (Jack Rockwell). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Lucille Browne, (more)
- 1936
Bob Steele was directed by his father Robert N. Bradbury in Brand of the Outlaws. Can it be that Our Hero has turned outlaw himself? It sure seems that way, given the fact that Bob comes to the aid of a gang of rustlers. But fear not: Steele is merely working undercover, in search of (you guessed it) the murderer of his father. Quality-wise Brand of the Outlaws is a big step up from his earlier efforts for A. W. Hackel's Supreme Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In a slight change of pace, low-budget Western star Bob Steele plays a cowboy-turned-race car driver in this otherwise typical Paul Malvern production directed by the star's father Robert North Bradbury. Steele's happy-go-lucky Speed Brent gets involved with escaped prisoner Killer Joe (Ernie Adams), who hires him to drive him to the Mexican border. Knocked unconscious by one of Joe's henchmen, Speed recovers to find Judge Stafford (John Elliott) seriously wounded and the victim of theft. Along with the judge's bearded foreman Chuck Wiggins (George "Gabby" Hayes), Speed vows to track down the gang and later hooks up with Sonia (Marion Byron), a government agent masquerading as a saloon girl. Killer Joe, meanwhile, attempts to escape by car, but is chased down by Speed, who forces him over a cliff to his death. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Marion Byron, (more)
- 1928
Lovely senorita Maria Alvaro (Dorothy Kitchen) is rescued from a gunshot wedding to foppish Senor Valdez (former Charlie Chaplin associate Leo White) practically on the steps to the church by daredevil rider Jim Collins (Bob Steele). The young man simply kidnaps her and holds her until her father (George Bunny) accepts him as a more appropriate son-in-law. The comic Breed of the Sunset was directed by Wallace Fox, a one-time black-face comic and an old hand at these sort of things, and scripted by a young Oliver Drake, whose deft handling of both action and gag humor would be even better utilized in the sound era. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Bunny, Leo White, (more)
- 1952
During the Civil War, Colonel Kern Shafter (played by Ray Milland) and Captain Edward Garnett (played by Hugh Marlowe) become embroiled in a conflict, the cause of which is somewhat cloudy. As a result, Shafter leaves the Eastern Cavlary and moves West, where he is able to re-enlist. Ten years later, Shafter is reassigned to an outpost in the Dakota Territory -- one that is commanded by his old nemesis Garnett. Garnett takes advantage of his authority to assign Shafter to the most dangerous missions, clearly hoping that he will not return from one of them. Things are not made any easier by the fact that both men fall in love with the same woman (played by Helena Carter). The situation comes to a climax during the Battle of Little Big Horn, when both men attempt to put an end to their personal war as hundreds of others are slaughtered around them. Victorious, Shafter manages to survive the massacre and return to claim the woman he loves. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Milland, Helena Carter, (more)
- 1964
Audie Murphy continued to make 1950s-style westerns into the 1960s. In Bullet for a Badman, Logan Keliher (Murphy) is framed for murder by onetime friend Sam Ward (Darren McGavin). Keliher escapes to mete out justice and to reclaim his former wife (Ruta Lee), whom Ward has married. The escapee gradually comes to realize that the true villain of the piece is not his ex-friend but instead his ex-wife. A Bullet for a Badman was shipped out to the lower halves of Universal's drive-in double bills for the 1963-64 season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audie Murphy, Darren McGavin, (more)
- 1928
Would you trust an adventurer named "Captain Careless"? Hero Bob Steele bears this curious moniker, though in his case "Careless" translates to "Reckless". When heroine Mary Mabery is shipwrecked on an island inhabited by cannibals, Steele rushes to her rescue. Though he experiences many a life-threatening scrape, there is little doubt that Bob Steele will survive. After all, he wrote the script. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Perry Murdock, Mairy Mabery, (more)
- 1951
Cattle Drive stars Joel McCrea as boss drover Dana Mathews. It is Mathews' task to make a man out of Chester Graham Jr. (Dean Stockwell), the spoiled-rotten son of railroad executive Chester Graham Sr. (Leon Ames). Accidentally left behind when his dad's train pulls out of a small cow town, Chester Jr. resents being forced to work side by side with Mathews and his drovers, but soon proves to be every bit as virile and capable as his co-workers (shades of Captains Courageous). Reportedly, much of the cattle utilized in Cattle Drive came from Joel McCrea's own ranch. Though the film has no leading lady, a photograph is briefly shown, revealing that Dana Mathews' sweetheart is none other than McCrea's real-life wife Frances Dee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joel McCrea, Dean Stockwell, (more)
