(re)search my Trash

<body> <div align="left"> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" width="800" cellpadding="0" height="100%"> <tr> <td width="100" rowspan="3" background="../stylepix/square.gif" valign="top">  </td> <td width="4" rowspan="3"></td> <td width="592" height="1%" valign="top"> <p align="center"> <a href="../research/resultactorlinks.shtml?Bob Steele">For films starring <b>Bob Steele</b><br>on (re)Search my Trash<br>click here !</a> </td> <td width="4" rowspan="3"></td> <td width="100" rowspan="3" background="../stylepix/squareright.gif" valign="top">  </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="592" valign="top" height="99%">  <p>In the late 1920's/early 1930's, B-movie cowboys were a dime a dozen. Many had only shortlived careers and are by today pretty much forgotten - and most of them deservedly so, because their talents did not always exceed riding a horse and holding a gun.<p>Bob Steele however was an exception to this rule, he was a fine actor who besides the usual heroics could also handle the occasional bad guy-role, his charisma and acting talent secured him leads in B-movies for over 20 years, and his film career as a whole spanned more than 50 years, from child actor (along with his twin brother Bill) to cowboy star with almost every B movie production house there was, to character actor in his later years, when he proved he could even handle comedy ...<p> <p>Bob Steele's acting talent did probably not come without good reason, as he was born Robert Adrian Bradbury into a vaudeville family in Portland, Oregon in 1907. Rumour has it that Bob joined the family act at the early age of 2 years. Rumours also have Bob touring the country with various vaudeville acts during his youth and him being a sports crack at highschool as well as highschool buddies with John Wayne.<p>Most of these stories are probably fabrications by one studio publicist or another, what is true though is that Bob's father Ronald settled down in California in the 1910's and soon showed an interest for moviemaking, first in front of the camera, but soon as a screenwriter and director - during which he changed his name from Ronald to Robert North Bradbury (being credited Robert N.Bradbury the most often) - and over the years he would become a quite accomplished director and maybe the leading (and most underrated) B-Western auteur there was.<p> <p>In 1920, dad Robert hired his twin sons Bob and Bill for the first in a <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?pathe">Pathé</a></i>-prduced series of short films entitled <b><i>The Adventures of Bob and Bill</i></b>, youthful adventures that mostly had wildlife-themes with youthful leads aimed at a young audience, a series that ran until 1922. Brother Bill quit the movie business for good a short time after that (though it is rumoured that he lent several screen cowboys his singing voice in the early talkie days) and in later life became a leading surgeon, specialising in gynecology and obstetrics.<p>Bob on the other hand loved being an actor, and eventually he even quit highschool to pursue a career in the movies.<p>Bob was not yet 20 when he played supporting parts in a few films of his father, among them <b>Daniel Boone Through the Wilderness</b>, <b>Davy Crockett at the Fall of Alamo</b> (both 1926) and <b>Sitting Bull at the Spirit Lake Massacre</b> (1927), all produced by strictly small-frye <i>Sunset Productions</i>. In all of these films he was still credited under his real name, Bob Bradbury jr.<p> <p>In 1927 however, Bob Bradbury jr caught the eye of <i>FBO</i>, for which Bob had already acted in their college comedy <b> The College Boob</b> (1926, Harry Garson) the previous year. <i> FBO</i> - the production house that would eventually become <a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?RKO"><i>RKO</i></a> but back in the 1920's was still merely a subsidiary of British <i>R-C Pictures</i> headed by Joseph Kennedy, father of JFK - back then needed a cowboy actor who could play in a series of  B-Westerns - something Kennedy had realized to be cheap to make but successful with the crowds.<p>Initially, <i> FBO</i> had cowboy actor Fred Thomson in their stable, who made his first film for the company in 1924 and had over the years become very successful. Eventually though, his demands regarding both his salary and production values exceeded Kennedy's visions of a cheap Western, so he was let go in 1927 (upon which he headed to <a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Paramount"> <i>Paramount</i></a> for a short stint before his untimely death from tetanus in 1928). So <i>FBO</i> was left with a free spot of a cowboy hero which Bob was more than able to fill: Though he was rather short for a movie hero (usually sources claim his height to be 5'5" [= 165 cm], but he might have been even shorter than that), but what he lacked in height he made up in charisma, virility and acting talent (something not all cowboy actors necessarily possessed in droves). Plus he could ride a horse, had a background in sports and was wiry enough to do most of his own stunts - things that were almost indispensable for B-Western heroes of the time.<p>At <i>FBO</i>, Bob's name was changed to Bob Steele, and while it's not absolutely certain why it might just be because the company had the publicity for Bob's series of films already working before he was even signed - something not uncommon in Hollywood at the time and certainly not for <i>FBO</i>, Western star Tom Tyler (born Vincent Markowski) allegedly got his name in a quite similar way <i>[<a href="tomtyler(10-06).shtml"><b>Tom Tyler</b> bio - click here</a>]</i> ...<p>(By the way: For a time - 1927 to 1929 -, <i>FBO</i> actually had both Tyler and Steele - the men the company <i>baptized</i> - under contract as cowboy stars. Interestingly their paths would cross again later in life, somewhere completely different.)<p> <p>Bob stayed with <i>FBO</i> for a bit over a dozen of films, with some directed by his father Robert N.Bradbury (<b>The Mojave Kid</b> [1927], <b>Lightning Speed</b> and <b>Headin' for Danger </b>[both 1928]), but the majority done by Wallace Fox, whose first film as director, <b>The Bandit's Son</b> (1927), was actually one of Bob's first films for <i>FBO</i>, but who over the years would become one of Hollywood's most prolific B-movie (and later television) directors, making movies of various genres.<p> <p>In 1929, Bob was released from his contract with <i>FBO</i>, and thus he hooked up with <a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?syndicate pictures"><i>Syndicate Pictures</i></a>, a smalltime B-movie outfit definitely below <i>FBO</i>. In the 1929/30 season, Bob was <a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?syndicate pictures"><i>Syndicate</i></a>'s Western hero in a handful of films, all directed by their then house director J.P.McGowan and all silents (remember, while the first commercial sound film, <b>The Jazz Singer</b> [Alan Crosland], was released in 1927, it took Hollywood and especially the B movie outfits quite a while to make the transition to sound, primarily for budget reasons).<p>   <p><b>Near the Rainbow's End</b> (1930, J.P.McGowan) would be Bob's first talkie, produced by another small-time company, <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?tiffany">Tiffany</a></i>, and here Bob proves that he can not only handle sound films without effort (something all but certain back in the days, as the talkies cost many a fine actor their jobs), he would even sing a tune - years before Gene Autry made the singing cowboy genre popular. (Of course, it is all but certain that Bob actually sang the tune himself, several sources suggest that his song was actually done by his twin brother, Bill, who was known to have a fine singing voice).<p>(By the way: Bob would also sing in <b>Oklahoma Cyclone</b> [1930, John P.McCarthy], <b>The Ridin' Fool</b> [1931, John P.McCarthy] and <b>Near the Trail's End</b> [1931, Wallace Fox] for <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?tiffany">Tiffany</a></i> as well as <b>Trailin' North</b> ]1933, John P.McCarthy] for <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Monogram">Monogram</a></i> and <b>Western Justice</b> [1934, Robert N.Bradbury] for <a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?a w hackel productions"><i>Hackel</i></a>/<i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?supreme">Supreme</a></i>.)<p> <p>The films Bob made for <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?tiffany">Tiffany</a></i> for their 1930/31 season - eight in total - were all produced by Trem Carr and all but two were directed by John P.McCarthy - the exceptions were the above-mentioned films <b>Near the Rainbow's End</b> (1930) by J.P.McGowan and <b>Near the Trail's End</b> (1931) by Wallace Fox.<p>Producer Trem Carr would also handle the next bunch of films Bob did for <i>Sono-Art</i> in 1932, a sixpack of movies that were mostly directed by Bob's father Robert N.Bradbury. And finally, Trem Carr took Bob with him when he started producing a series of Westerns (8 in total) for <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Monogram">Monogram</a></i>'s 1932/33 season - with again many being directed by Robert N.Bradbury. <p>     <p>Artistically, his <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Monogram">Monogram</a></i>-films were the first real highlights in Bob's still young career: These films often exceeded the boundaries of the genre and included elements not usually found in or expected from cheap Westerns: <b><a href="../movies/hiddenvalley(1932).shtml">Hidden Valley</a></b> (1932, Robert N.Bradbury) features not only a lost Indian tribe and bizarre torture rituals but also a prominent role for the <i> Goodyear blimp</i> (!), <b><a href="../movies/fightingchamp(1932).shtml">The Fighting Champ</a></b> (1932, John P.McCarthy) is essentially a boxing melodrama in Western attire, while <b><a href="../movies/texasbuddies(1932).shtml">Texas Buddies</a></b> (1932, Robert N.Bradbury) is about horseracing, in <b><a href="../movies/breedoftheborder(1933).shtml">Breed of the Border</a></b> (1933, Robert N.Bradbury), Bob is a race car driver and consequently the film culminates in a (quite exciting) car chase, and in <b><a href="../movies/gallantfool(1933).shtml">The Gallant Fool</a></b> (1933, Robert N.Bradbury), Bob travels with a circus (and even wears tights in several scenes). <p>   <p>In several of these films, Bob is supported by George Hayes who would later come to fame as bearded sidekick Windy in the <b><i><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Hopalong Cassidy">Hopalong Cassidy</a></i></b> series and as bearded sidekick Gabby in many Roy Rogers Westerns <i>[<a href="royrogers(3-07).shtml"><b>Roy Rogers</b> bio - click here</a>]</i>, but when he did the films with Bob, he was still at the beginning of his career - despite his advanced age (he was born in 1885 and didn't make his first film until 1929).<p> <p>Unfortunately, Bob's contract with <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Monogram">Monogram</a></i> wasn't renewed after just one season, instead producers Trem Carr and Paul Malvern decided to try out another up-and-coming cowboy hero, John Wayne <i>[<a href="johnwayneinthe1930s(12-06).shtml"><b>John Wayne</b> in the 1930's - click here</a>] </i>- and even though on paper the 16 Westerns Wayne made for <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Monogram">Monogram</a></i> from 1933 to 1935 (<a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?John Wayne at Monogram (Lone Star)"><b><i>click here</i></b></a>) seem to be little more than a continuation of the Westerns Bob Steele made for the company (concerning supporting cast and crew, including returning director Robert N.Bradbury), many of <b><i><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?John Wayne at Monogram (Lone Star)">Wayne's Monogram-films</a></i></b> can now be considered as some of the finest examples of B-Western moviemaking (which is not to say the films would have been any worse with Bob Steele in the lead).<p>   <p>His contract with <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Monogram">Monogram</a></i> being history, Bob Steele hooked up with <a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Mascot"><i>Mascot</i></a> <i>[<a href="mascot(9-05).shtml"><b>Mascot</b> history - click here</a>]</i> to make his first and only serial, <b><a href="../movies/mysterysquadron(1933).shtml">The Mystery Squadron</a></b> (1933, Colbert Clark, David Howard) - and given Bob Steele's (relative) popularity as a range hero, it comes as rather a surprise that <b><a href="../movies/mysterysquadron(1933).shtml">The Mystery Squadron</a></b> is not a Western but rather an adventure yarn, disguised - as was usual for <a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Mascot"><i>Mascot</i></a>-serials - as a convoluted mystery with the typically hooded criminal. But of course, it's not the story that counts in serials like this but the action, and  <b><a href="../movies/mysterysquadron(1933).shtml">The Mystery Squadron</a></b> features aplenty, including car- and airplane chases and an abundance of aerial action. Bob Steele is sided by Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams - character actor and occasional cowboy hero - in this one.<p>   <p>In 1934, Bob Steele found a new home with producer A.W.Hackel and <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?supreme">Supreme Pictures</a></i>. In all, Steele stayed with Hackel for four years and made a total of 32 movies for him - all Westerns. The films <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?supreme">Supreme </a> </i>put out were typical B Western fare made on the cheap and without much ambition of making big films, still several of them were pretty solid (which is hardly surprising since many of them were once again directed by Robert N.Bradbury), like <a href="../movies/bigcalibre(1935).shtml"><b>Big Calibre</b></a> (1935, Robert N.Bradbury) - a blend of Western and (pulp-)crime cinema -, <b><a href="../movies/trailofterror(1935).shtml">Trail of Terror</a></b> (1935, Robert N.Bradbury) - in which Bob plays an undercover G-Man out West -, or <b>Tombstone Terror</b> (1935, Robert N.Bradbury) - in which Bob plays not only the hero but also his evil twin.<p>   <p>In 1936, Hackel got lucky when the then newly formed <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?republic">Republic Pictures</a></i> - a merger of <a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Mascot"><i>Mascot</i></a>, <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Monogram">Monogram</a></i>, <i>Liberty</i>, <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Majestic">Majestic</a></i> and the film developing outfit <i>Consolidated Film Laboratories </i> - asked him to produce a string of Westerns under their brand to fill their production schedule ... which (to a degree) took the risk out of film producing for Hackel while at the same time it gave him more money to put into production.<p>However, higher production values did not necessarily mean better films, as for example <b><a href="../movies/paroledtodie(1937).shtml">Paroled to Die</a></b> (1937) - directed by B-Western veteran Sam Newfield like many of Bob's films Hackel produced for <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?republic">Republic</a></i> - is one of Bob's most boring films, not necessarily bad, merely dead boring. (That said, other films of the series are still pretty decent.)<p> <p>During his time with Hackel, Bob Steele only rarely strayed away from the series Westerns he was making, a notable exception being <a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?RKO"><i>RKO</i></a>'s <b>Powdersmoke Range</b> (1935, Wallace Fox), an early adaptation of William Colt MacDonald's <i> <b><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Three Mesquiteers">Three Mesquiteers</a></b></i>. And while Bob did not play any of the three leads - they were played by Harry Carey, Hoot Gibson and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, it is interesting to note that both Bob and his co-star in <b>Powdersmoke Range</b> Tom Tyler <i>[<a href="tomtyler(10-06).shtml"><b>Tom Tyler</b> bio - click here</a>]</i> would star as the leads in <a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Republic"><i>Republic</i></a>'s <i><b><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Three Mesquiteers">Three Mesquiteers</a></b></i>-series only a few years later.<p>   <p>Another film done outside of series-Westerns featured maybe Bob's most memorable performance ever, the role of treacherous and cowardly Curley in Hal Roach's production of the John Steinbeck-adaptation <b><a href="../movies/ofmiceandmen(1939).shtml">Of Mice and Men</a></b> (1939, Lewis Milstone). Bob, totally cast against type, gives a memorable performance in this one, even if the film by and large belonged to Burgess Meredith as George and Lon Chaney jr's breakthrough performance as Lennie <i>[<a href="lonchaneyjr(2-07).shtml"><b>Lon Chaney jr</b> bio - click here</a>]</i>.<p> <p>After his association with A.W.Hackel and <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?republic">Republic</a></i> ended though, Bob Steele's career experienced a temporary setback when he was hired by Bernard B.Ray and Harry S.Webb to do eight B Westerns for the 1939/40 season of their newly formed <i>Metropolitan Pictures</i> - which they founded almost immediately after they crashed with their former company <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?reliable">Reliable</a></i>. All of these films - directed by Bernard B.Ray, Harry S.Webb or Ira Webb (Harry's brother, who only ever directed two films in his life, both starring Steele: <b>El Diablo Rides</b> (1939) and <b>Wild Horse Valley</b> [1940]) - were at best routine Westerns and utterly unremarkable.<p>   <p>From <i>Metropolitan</i> - a company that didn't last all that long, going belly-up in 1940 - Steele moved on to another very young company, <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?PRC">PRC</a> [<a href="prc(8-05).shtml"><b>PRC</b> history - click here</a>]</i>, to star as the title character in their <b><i><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?PRC's Billy the Kid">Billy the Kid</a></i></b>-series. The series, which was exclusively directed by <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?PRC">PRC</a></i>'s house director Sam Newfield, had actually very little to do with the historical Billy the Kid but essentially presented the character as a <b><i><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Robin Hood">Robin Hood</a></i></b>-like outlaw who was wronged by society. As a whole, the films were routine B Westerns, if a notch or two above Bob's films with <i>Metropolitan</i>, and nothing special - if it wasn't for Bob's sidekick Al St.John, whose character <b><i><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Fuzzy">Fuzzy</a></i></b> had become <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?PRC">PRC</a></i>'s house sidekick, doing double duty on the <b><i><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?PRC's Billy the Kid">Billy the Kid</a></i></b>- and the <a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Lone Rider"><b><i>Lone Rider</i></b></a>-series.<p>Al St.John had learned his trade with the <b><i> Keystone Cops</i></b> in the silent era, and in early sound films he played many character roles in a variety of films but mainly Westerns (and several of them actually starring Bob Steele). Eventually, St.John created his <i><b><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Fuzzy">Fuzzy</a></b></i> alter ego in 1937, siding singing cowboy Fred Scott in a string of Westerns for <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?spectrum">Spectrum</a></i> (several of them also directed by Sam Newfield), then Jack Randall in two <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Monogram">Monogram</a></i> productions, <b>Gunsmoke Trail</b> (1939, Sam Newfield) and <b>Oklahoma Terror</b> (1939, Spencer Gordon Bennet), before making him part of a proposed cowboy trio series, <b>Trigger Pals</b> (1939, Sam Newfield), which was produced by <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Grand National">Grand National</a></i> and in which he sided Art Jarrett and Lee Powell, before he took the character with him to <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?PRC">PRC</a>, </i>where he first appeared opposite Bob Steele in <b>Billy the Kid Outlawed</b> (1940, Sam Newfield).<p>What made Al St.John's <i><b><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Fuzzy">Fuzzy</a> </b></i>special among the many sidekicks there were in the 1930's and 40's was that despite St.John being perfectly capable of doing the slapstick the role demanded, he had his character fleshed out and was also able to do quiet scenes that far exceeded the demands for a mere funnyman, and he could also carry the plot to a certain extent. <p> St.John would continure playing his <b><i><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Fuzzy">Fuzzy</a></i></b>-character until the early 1950's, exclusively siding Lash La Rue <i>[<a href="lashlarue(12-08).shtml"><b>Lash La Rue</b> bio - click here</a>]</i> in his later life, long after <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?PRC">PRC</a> </i>had already ceased to exist.<p> <p>Bob Steele however did not stay all that long with the <b><i><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?PRC's Billy the Kid">Billy the Kid</a></i></b>-series, a mere 6 pictures for the 1940/41 season, then he got a better offer from <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?republic">Republic</a></i> <i>[<a href="republic(3-09).shtml"><b>Republic</b> history - click here</a>]</i> to star in their <i><b><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Three Mesquiteers">Three Mesquiteers</a></b></i>-series, taking over the role of Tucson Smith from Duncan Renaldo (whose character was called Rico Rinaldo though), while his <b><i><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?PRC's Billy the Kid">Billy the Kid</a></i></b>-role at <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?PRC">PRC</a></i> went to Buster Crabbe <i>[<a href="bustercrabbe(8-06).shtml"><b>Buster Crabbe</b> bio - click here</a>]</i>.<p>   <p>Bob Steele entered the <b> <i><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Three Mesquiteers">Three Mesquiteers</a></i></b> - by that time the extablished cowboy trio, with a series already 31 entries strong - in 1940 (he did the <b><i><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?PRC's Billy the Kid">Billy the Kid</a></i></b>-films at <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?PRC">PRC</a></i> before his change to <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?republic">Republic</a></i>, but both series were released simulatneously), at first playing second fiddle to Robert Livingston's Stoney Brooks, with Rufe Davis as Lullaby Joslin playing the customary sidekick character. However, after seven films, Livingston left the series - incidently to go to <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?PRC">PRC</a></i> to take over the <a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Lone Rider"><b><i>Lone Rider</i></b></a><b><i> </i></b>role from George Houston, where he was sided by Al St.John's <b> <i><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Fuzzy">Fuzzy</a></i></b>. Tom Tyler <i>[<a href="tomtyler(10-06).shtml"><b>Tom Tyler</b> bio - click here</a>]</i><i> </i>came in to replace Livingston, with the effect that Bob Steele, then the bigger star of the two, moved up to the top spot in the credits. (As mentioned above, both Steele and Tyler were also in an earlier <b><i><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Three Mesquiteers">Three Mesquiteers</a></i></b>-adaptation, <a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?RKO"><i>RKO</i></a>'s <b>Powdersmoke Range</b>, but neither of them played a Mesquiteer.) The Steele-Tyler-Davis combination lasted for another seven films (from 1941 to '42), then Davis was replaced by Jimmie Dodd for the last six films of the series (1942 to '43). And then the Mesquiteers were history ...<p>   <p>In respect with <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?republic">Republic</a></i>'s <i><b><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Three Mesquiteers">Three Mesquiteers</a></b></i> it is interesting to note that the series was never fixed in any one time, so while a film like <b><a href="../movies/westofcimarron(1941).shtml">West of Cimarron</a></b> (1941, Lester Orlebeck) would take place immediately after the US-American Civil War in 1865, <b>Phantom Plainsmen</b> and <b>Valley of Hunted Men</b> (both 1942, John English) are clearly set during World War II, as part of the <b><i><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?American World War II Propaganda">American propaganda efforts</a></i></b> that were at the time taking place pretty much everywhere in Hollywood.<p>   <p>During his time with <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?republic">Republic</a></i>, Steele only rarely did a film outside of the <b><i><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Three Mesquiteers">Three Mesquiteers</a></i></b>-series, one was <b> The Great Train Robbery</b> (1941, Joseph Kane), a Western/mystery about a whole train that went missing with Bob investigating the disappearance, the other was <b><a href="../movies/carsoncitykid(1940).shtml">Carson City Kid</a></b> (1940, Joseph Kane), a Roy Rogers-vehicle <i>[<a href="royrogers(3-07).shtml"><b>Roy Rogers</b> bio - click here</a>]</i>, which is a change of pace for Bob inasmuch as in this one, he plays the bad guy - and wouldn't you know it, he really shines in the role.<p> <p>After his association with <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?republic">Republic</a> </i>came to an end, Bob Steele moved back to <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Monogram">Monogram</a></i> (second generation <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Monogram">Monogram</a></i> that is, after they had <i> unmerged</i> with <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?republic">Republic</a></i> again), where he first played in a charmingly forgettable horror flick, <b><a href="../movies/revengeofthezombies(1943).shtml">Revenge of the Zombies</a></b> (1943, Steve Sekely), playing a shady invetigator co-starring John Carradine <i>[<a href="johncarradine(8-07).shtml"><b>John Carradine</b> bio - click here</a>]</i>, Gale Storm, Robert Lowery, and above everyone else black comic genius Mantan Moreland <i>[<a href="mantanmoreland(4-06).shtml"><b>Mantan Moreland</b> bio - click here</a>]</i>. Then Bob was asked to join another cowboy trio series, the <i><b><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Trail Blazers">Trail Blazers</a></b></i> ...<p> <p>The <i><b><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Trail Blazers">Trail Blazers</a></b></i> were not even conceived as trio Westerns actually, producer/director Robert Emmett Tansey actually created the series as a vehicle for veteran silver screen cowboys Hoot Gibson and Ken Maynard - both of whom were around 50 and past their prime in every sense - to combine their drawing powers at the box office and play undercover investigators out West in the films, to replace the <a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Range busters"><b><i>Range Busters</i></b></a>-series that went out of commission earlier that year. However, somehow the series was not quite as successful as it was supposed to be, so with film four, <b>Death Valley Rangers</b> (1943, Robert Emmett Tansey), Bob Steele, not yet 40, was added to the line-up to add some young blood to the veteran cowboys.<p>The main problem about this arrangement was that Ken Maynard was used to calling the shots, and while he was good friends with Hoot Gibson and accepted him as a partner, he couldn't accept youngster (relatively speaking) Bob Steele to share the limelight with him. He desperately wanted Steele of the series ... but instead, after film number 6 - <b>Arizona Whirlwind</b> (1944, Robert Emmett Tansey) -, Maynard was dropped from the series, with Chief Thundercloud a.k.a. Victor Daniels completing the trio in the final 2 films, <b>Outlaw Trail</b> and <b><a href="../movies/sonorastagecoach(1944).shtml">Sonora Stagecoach</a></b> (both 1944, Robert Emmett Tansey).<p>After eight films however, the <i><b><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Trail Blazers">Trail Blazers</a> </b></i> were history, as trio Westerns by and large had run their course (actually, by the time the <i><b><a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Trail Blazers">Trail Blazers</a></b></i>-series folded, the only other trio Western series still in existence was <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?PRC">PRC</a></i>'s <a href="../research/resultserieslinks.shtml?Texas Rangers"><i><b>Texas Rangers</b></i></a>). Bob Steele and Hoot Gibson did however make three more Westerns with each other, <b>Marked Trails</b> (1944, John P.McCarthy), <b>Trigger Law</b> and <b>The Utah Kid</b> (both 1944, Vernon Keays). Gibson's career after those three was pretty much over (he did appear in a few more films, but not as lead), and Steele was sent packing by <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Monogram">Monogram</a></i> to look for work elsewhere ...<p> <p>Bob Steele next moved to <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Action Pictures">Action Pictures</a></i>/<i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Lippert Pictures">Lippert</a></i> to do two films in colour, <b><a href="../movies/wildfire(1945).shtml">Wildfire</a></b> (1945, Robert Emmett Tansey) - a story about rustlers and a wild horse also starring Eddie Dean - and <b><a href="../movies/northwesttrail(1945).shtml">Northwest Trail</a></b> (1945, Derwin Abrahams) - which takes Bob to Canada as a Mountie in a film based on a story by James Oliver Curwood. The films were of course not shot in glorious Technicolor but the cheaper (and cheaper looking) Cinecolor, but still, with these films, Bob was among the first B-movie cowboys to go colour (if only for two films).<p> <p>From <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Action Pictures">Action Pictures</a></i>, Bob moved back to <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?PRC">PRC</a></i> for a foursome of films that would prove to be his last starring roles - <b>The Navajo Kid</b> (1945, Harry L.Fraser), and <b>Six Gun Man</b>, <b>Ambush Trail</b> and <b>Thunder Town</b> (all 1946, Harry L.Fraser).<p>    <p>But even though the B Western in general was in decline and Bob's time as a range hero was over, he did not have too much trouble finding work over the next years, actually he soon even got parts (if small ones) in A pictures, like Howard Hawks' <b><a href="../movies/bigsleep(1946).shtml">The Big Sleep</a></b> (1946) starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, in which he played gangster Canino, who is gunned down by Bogart in the finale. Another high profile supporting role was in Raoul Walsh's <b> Cheyenne</b> (1947), like <b><a href="../movies/bigsleep(1946).shtml">The Big Sleep</a></b> produced by <a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?Warner Brothers"><i>Warner Brothers</i></a>.<p>Most of Steele's supporting work in the later part of the 1940's though was with <i><a href="../research/resultprodlinks.shtml?republic">Republic</a></i>, like the <b><i>Red Ryder</i></b>-film <b>Sheriff of Redwood Valley</b> (1946, R.G.Springsteen), starring Wild Bill Elliott and post-<b><i>Our Gang</i></b> and pre-<i><b>Barretta</b></i> (and way before the murder of his wife) Robert Blake, the Sunset Carson Western <b> Rio Grande Raiders</b> (1946, Thomas Carr), the Gene Autry Western <b>Twilight on the Rio Grande</b> (1947, Frank McDonald), <b>Exposed</b> (1947, George Blair), a crime drama about a female private eye, or the Rocky Lane Western <b>Bandits of Dark Canyon</b> (1947, Philip Ford). All of these films were reasonably ok in their own right but nothing great.<p>    <p>Like so many other B-cowboys at the tail end of their careers, Bob did some circus work: around 1950 he toured with the <i>Clyde Beatty Circus</i>, and he might actually have done some other circus work as well. Unlike other B-cowboys though, Steele stayed within the film business for another 20 plus years after his starring career was over, doing supporting roles in all kinds of films. His more interesting films in the 1950's included the Humphrey Bogart starrer <b>The Enforcer</b> (1951, Bretaigne Windust), the Gene Autry Western <b>Silver Canyon</b> (1951, John English), the Randolph Scott Western <b>Fort Worth</b> (1951, Edwin L.Marin), the Joel McCrea Western <b>Cattle Drive</b> (1951, Kurt Neumann), the Audie Murphy Westerns <b>Column South</b> (1953, Frederick de Cordova) and <b>Drums Across the River</b> (1954, Nathan Juran), the John Wayne starrer <b>Island in the Sky</b> (1953, William A.Wellman), the horse racing drama <b>The Fighting Chance</b> (1955, William Witney) starring Ben Cooper, Rod Cameron and Julie London, the prison drama <b>The Steel Jungle</b> (1956, Walter Doniger), the Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Western comedy <b>Pardners</b> (1956, Norman Taurog), another Western comedy, <b>Once upon a Horse</b> (1958, Hal Kanter), starring Dan Rowan and Dick Martin of later TV-fame (<b><i>Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In</i></b>), the war drama <b>Pork Chop Hill</b> (1959, Lewis Milestone) starring Gregory Peck, and the sci-fi underwater thriller <b>Atomic Submarine</b> (1959, Spencer Gordon Bennet). In another John Wayne starrer, the classic <b>Rio Bravo </b>(1959, Howard Hawks), which also starred Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson and Angie Dickinson, Bob Steele had a small, uncredited role, while in <b><a href="../movies/giantfromtheunknown(1958).shtml">Giant from the Unknown</a></b> (1958, Richard E.Cunha), his role was quite big, that of a sheriff trying to run down a cattle killer that proves to be a ... giant from the unknown. Too bad the film was nothing more than typical - if enjoyable - drive-in fare.<p>   <p>In the 1950's, Bob would also start doing work for television, mainly supporting work in Western series (naturally) such as <b><i>The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp</i></b> (1955), <b><i>Cheyenne</i></b> (1956), <b><i>Colt .45</i></b> (1957), <b><i>Maverick</i></b> (1957, 1958), <b><i>Have Gun, Will Travel</i></b> (1958), <b><i>Tales of Wells Fargo</i></b> (1958), <b><i>The Californians</i></b> (1958, 1959), <b><i>Rawhide</i></b> (1959, 1960), <b><i>The Deputy</i></b> (1960), <b><i>The Wide Country</i></b> (1962), <b><i>Gunsmoke</i></b> (1963, 1964) ... and eventually this all led up to <b><i>F Troop</i></b>, a popular comedy series about army life in the Old West that ran from 1965 to 1967. In the series Bob Steele had a regular supporting role as Trooper Duffy - a verteran soldier telling grand tales about his own past and American history -, which breathed new life into Bob's career and which allowed him to show his comic side.<p> <p>Besides his television work, Bob continued doing films throughout the 1960's, and his parts include the Audie Murphy Westerns <b>Hell Bent for Leather</b> (1960, George Sherman), <b>Six Black Horses</b> (1962, Harry Keller) - scripted by Burt Kennedy - and <b>Bullet for a Badman</b> (1964, R.G.Springsteen), an uncredited appearance in the John Wayne starrer <b>The Comancheros</b> (1961, Michael Curtiz), the Sam Katzman-quickie <b>The Wild Westerners</b> (1962, Oscar Rudolph), more work with John Wayne in <b>McLintock</b> (1963, Andrew V.McLaglen) - this one also starring, Maureen O'Hara, Wayne's own son Patrick and Stephanie Powers -, <b>4 for Texas</b> (1963, Robert Aldrich), a Western comedy starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ursula Andress, Anita Ekberg and Victor Buono, a small role in the Western <b>Taggart</b> (1964, R.G.Springsteen), an uncredited role in the James Stewart-starrer <b>Shenandoah</b> (1965, Andrew V.McLaglen), and roles in two Alex Gordon produced <i>nostalgia</i> Westerns, <b>Requiem for a Gunfighter</b> (1965, Spencer Gordon Bennet) - co-starring the veterans Rod Cameron, Tim McCoy, Johnny Mack Brown, Lane Chandler and Raymond Hatton - and <b> The Bounty Killer</b> (1965, Spencer Gordon Bennet) - this time he has to share the screen with Dan Duryea, Rod Cameron, Buster Crabbe <i>[<a href="bustercrabbe(8-06).shtml"><b>Buster Crabbe</b> bio - click here</a>]</i>, Fuzzy Knight and Johnny Mack Brown.<p> <p>The regular work on <i><b>F Troop</b></i> interrupted his film career for a while, but after the series had ended, Bob - by now in his 60's - returned to the movies, taking a part in the Clint Eastwood starrer <b>Hang 'Em High</b> (1968, Ted Post) ... as if to show he can still measure up to the new crop of Western actors.<p>Other films Bob Steele was in in the late 1960's/early 70'  were <b>The Great Bank Robbery</b> (1969, Hy Averback), a Wesern comedy starring Zero Mostel, another John Wayne starrer, <b>Rio Lobo</b> (1970, Howard Hawks), for which Bob once again didn't receive an onscreen credit, <b>Something Big</b> (1971, Andrew V.McLaglen), a nostalgic Western starring Dean Martin, and <b>Nightmare Honeymoon</b> (1973, Elliot Silverstein), a rather crude and forgettable horror film starring John Beck.<p>Bob Steele's last (uncredited) screen appearance was <b>Charley Varrick</b> (1973, Don Siegel), a crime drama starring Walter Matthau. After this film, Steele, 66, retired from active moviemaking.<p> <p>In 1988, Bob Steele died from emphysema after spending literally years in ill health. Still by his fans he will be remembered as one of the most virile Western stars, one of the best actors of the 1930's and 40's B-Western cycle, as a memorable supporting player in Westerns from later years and a rather hilarious character from <b><i>F Troop</i></b>. And even though his career might never have reached the same heights as Tom Mix or Ken Maynard much less John Wayne or Clint Eastwood, (B-)Western film history would be poorer without him ... <p>   </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="592" valign="top" height="1%">  <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript"> currentyear = "2007"; </SCRIPT> <SCRIPT language="JavaScript" src="../scripts/endcreditsart.js"></SCRIPT> <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript"> dosworsdonn(); </SCRIPT> </td> </tr> </table> </div> </body>