Brand of the Outlaws

A realistic & violent B western, this has a well-written script with good acting. Realism is provided through lots of dust & chickens cackling, as well as plot elements. Violence is provided through a human branding, several shootings, a gunfight, a knifing, & several fist fights. One of the best aspects of this film is that the hero, played by Bob Steele, is not at the center of all the action, not in control of everything, & not superhuman, as many other B western movie stars appear in their movies. He does get the girl at the end, as expected, but thankfully does not sing (there are no singing cowboys in this movie at all). Also, for those of you who like your westerns straight, there is no comedy relief here, just good old fashioned cowboy action. Outside of the Hopalong Cassidy series, this is one of the better B westerns one could hope to see.

In Brand Of The Outlaws for once the title in this B western is literally true. Among other things that happen to our hero Bob Steele is that he gets branded on his chest by a crooked deputy sheriff with a rustler's branding iron.

Steele is not a sheriff or a marshal or someone working undercover. He's just a nice innocent cowpoke who rides into a certain area and gets mixed up with both the lawbreakers and the law. At the beginning of the film, Steele has the good fortune to save the life of the sheriff played by Ed Cassidy. After that even though Cassidy's crooked deputy Jack Rockwell does him a lot of dirt, Cassidy is Steele's true friend and eventually things are put right.

One thing that drove me nuts was the branding scene. Not a whimper came from Steele when that hot branding iron touched his chest. I mean not even John Wayne is that tough. I'm not sure the Saturday matinée crowd bought that one.

Top western star Bob Steele playing in one of the last films with his father Robert Bradbury starts off by saving the sheriff (Ed Cassidy). Everyone's favorite villain, Charles King who is pervasive in 1930s westerns and leading lawman actor, Jack Rockwell play worthy adversaries to Steele's commanding performance. Intertwined is a great subplot of the main characters vying for the affections of ingenue Margaret Marquis.

I guess today is idiot local citizen day as I watched several old B- westerns that all had that common theme. In other words, the plot all hinged on the locals being dumber than toast! While "Brand of the Outlaws" isn't as bad as some, it does use this overused cliché.

When the film begins, the sheriff is bushwhacked and left for dead. Fortunately, a heroic stranger (Bob Steele) arrives and saves the man's life. However, again and again, the deputy, Holt, keeps accusing the stranger of just about everything! Yet, again and again, Holt was the one who obviously was behind all the cattle rustling and killing. Eventually the sheriff does realize this (it's about time!)--yet not everyone is so fast on the uptake. A mother and daughter who hate and distrust Holt are VERY fast to believe his lies about the stranger--which really makes no sense. So, in light of all these dumbbells, I guess it's up to Bob to save the day!

This is a pretty typical Bob Steele western--with a lot of fist- fighting and lots of mistakes when it comes to folks assuming our hero is a baddie. If you are a Steele fan, it's well worth seeing. Otherwise, you could do a lot better.

Bob Steele is drifting when he comes across sheriff Ed Cassidy, badly wounded after a fight with rustlers. He bandages the wounds and gets him back into town. then heads on out and runs into the outlaws with their cattle and innocently gets a job with them. The deputies come across them and the rustlers scatter, leaving Bob. The lead deputy, Jack Rockwell, is one of the gang. He brands Bob and orders him out of the county -- thinking tha will keep him from identifying his confederates. However, Bob finds himself led by chance deeper into the proceedings....

It's one of Bob's last movies with his father, Robert Bradbury directing (they would do only four more together), and it's nicely written, with a couple of nice fight scenes and some good riding. Charles King, who seems ubiquitous in 1930s B westerns, has a sizable role as the father of ingenue Margaret Marquis, member of the gang and murder victim. Although Bob doesn't display the dramatic athleticism of his roles five years early, it's another solid B western for him.