The Law Rides

During the 1930s, 40s and 50s, Hollywood made a bazillion B-westerns--starring the likes of Roy Rogers, Tim McCoy, Gene Autry, Ken Maynard, Buster Crabbe and many others. Among these stars, one of my own personal favorites is Bob Steele. Steele did not have many of the attributes of the bigger stars of the genre. He wasn't nearly as handsome as most, couldn't sing (or at least I never heard him sing in any of his films) and he was very short to be a hero at only 5'5". However, he WAS very entertaining--very quick with his fists, a dandy rider and a no-nonsense sort of character. While "The Law Rides" is not among is best films, it is very typical of his films.

The film begins with a man discovering gold. He returns home to tell his family and stake a claim but is shot by a scum-bag who wants to steal the gold. Fortunately, the dead man's brother (Steele) sees the baddie riding away and gives chase--ultimately catching him. While this jerk is in jail awaiting trial, some locals abduct him and try to hang him. While Steele's character wouldn't be heart-broken about this, he dons a mask and rescues the guy because he needs to learn where the gold was discovered. But Steele's plan sucks and soon the baddie is aided by his gang and escapes for real. Can our intrepid hero learn where the gold was found, catch the killer AND get the girl by the end of the picture?

For the most part, this film is pretty much the usual formula. It did have two scenes I particularly liked, though. The scene where Bob and his friend were handcuffed and legcuffed together was pretty funny as they were trying to escape (you have to see it to see what I mean). I also LOVED the scene near the end where the lady acts very intelligently. This is no damsel in distress but a very smart and resourceful woman--a major plus to the film. Overall, well worth seeing if you enjoy the genre. Simple, undemanding but entertaining.

As an actor, Bob Steele just got better and better. His scripts, though, didn't get much better than this one.

The title is apparently one of those generic ones and doesn't apply here worth shucks, but the story and the great cast make "The Law Rides" one of the best of anybody's Westerns.

Leading lady Harley Wood is better known as Jill Jackson Miller, song writer, whose biggest hit was "Let There Be Peace in the World." But she was awfully good in this role, and really attractive.

Bad guy Charlie King got to show all his chops, including his extraordinary fighting ability (many times I have watched his films and wondered how he escaped serious injury). He had some wonderfully evil side-kicks, including especially Barney Furey as "Pete."

The hero's side-kick was "Whitey," well played by Buck Connors; Jack Rockwell gave a great performance as the sheriff.

Writer credits go to Al Martin and Forbes Parkhill and "credit" is the apt word. They have created a good story, with nice twists and turns, and they and director Robert N. Bradbury paid attention to details.

There is a print at YouTube that is awfully dark but otherwise in good shape. I highly recommend this excellent Bob Steele B Western.

Another title for this could be, "Snitches get stitches and so do gold diggers". Multi-talented leading lady Harley Wood was a blessing on this earth. Buck Connors was a Texas Ranger and part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Great to see America's favorite sheriff granite-jawed Jack Rockwell and western's favorite villain Charles King. Bob Steele and dad give us another winner with this wonderful movie.