Arizona Gunfighter

This is one of the better Bob Steel films I have watched. Not only is the plot enjoyable but the story is different enough that it doesn't seem like just another version of 272341 other B-westerns!

The film starts with a the typical baddie trying to cheat honest ranchers out of their land. Colt (Steele) and his father refuse to knuckle under--even though this baddie is very well connected and apparently has bribed a lot of officials. So, what does a typical baddie do? Yup--he murders the father--but Colt isn't about to let that go unavenged and kills not only the baddie but his second in command. Afraid that the law won't work on his side, the injured Colt flees and is eventually discovered by the Jack Pine Mountain Gang--a notorious gang of outlaws. However, the leader of the group, Wolf, isn't an ordinary outlaw--he has a certain Robin Hood-like code of his own. He doesn't want to rob banks or steal from folks--just steal cattle from the rich land baron-types that cheated him out of his land. So, he and his gangs (including the newbie, Colt) spend the next two years rustling cattle and creating quite a name for themselves. Afterwords, he decides to quit this life and live an honest man--and he takes Colt with him after his disbands the gang.

Unfortunately, while the leader did a great job making a new life for his friend, Colt, he didn't do such a good job in disbanding the gang. Their new leader, not surprisingly named 'Snake' (who'd have figured that a guy named Snake would be evil?!?!), has decided to steal from EVERYONE and he must be stopped. So can Colt and Wolf bring Snake to justice and disband this group of outlaws once and for all? What do you think?!

I enjoyed this far more than the average Bob Steele film. While I usually like Steele and the fact that he really had a lot of real skills at horsemanship and fighting, many times the scripts and supporting actors the gave him were clearly 3rd-rate. Here, the script and acting are just fine. My only gripe is small--EVERYONE seemed to know what Snake would do except for Colt and Wolf!!! Still, it is unique and enjoyable throughout and is a nice story about redemption.

This Republic western is an interesting work, well-directed by Sam Newfield, starring glacial-eyed Bob Steele with a solid supporting cast, a well-constructed scenario featuring a goodly amount of fresh dialogue and situations, and an obviously more than competent crew which covers its assignments well as apparent from the excellent sound, cinematography and editing, not a presumption within this normally low-budget genre. Steele portrays Colt Ferron, a cowboy who avenges his father's murder by slaying, albeit in self-defense, the two responsible and, as an outlaw, rides with a gang headed by Wolf Whitson (Ted Adams), a type of western Robin Hood who steals back rustled cattle in order to return them to their proper owners, remaining with the riders until Whitson dissolves his group because dissidents, impatient of their less than lucrative criminal activity, have begun to branch out into bank robbery and murder. The relationship between Colt and his mentor Wolf becomes absorbing, especially as both men eventually face juridical punishment for their crimes; the acting throughout is quite good as is fitting from such an assemblage of old hands, particularly from Ernie Adams as a sidekick of Colt and Wolf, and the horsemanship is superb, indeed silk-like from the centaurish Steele aboard Flambow, one of his favourite, and most intelligent, mounts.

After watching several Bob Steele movies in a row, I realize I will never get tired of them. He himself was a good actor who just got better and better as his career went on. He was able to steal a scene without saying a word, and did so in later features where he was just a with, sometimes even without screen credit.

When Bob Steele had a script by the prolific George Plympton, he was even better. Plympton wrote this screenplay, adapted from an unusual story by Harry F. Olmstead.

Directing was OK, but nothing special was needed with this superlative cast and good camera work. As Shakespeare said, "The play's the thing."

Among the many stand-outs in this cast, Ernie Adams again surprised me: He played the kind of almost-comic character he just is not noted for. His main claim to fame, and I'm discovering that claim is false, is the sniveling bad guy. Here he is so watchable, so strong in his characterization, I was just dumbfounded in awe.

Another Adams, Ted, gets here what might have been his own best role. I've not seen him in anything before that I even remember, but, here, his character is strong, likable, even admirable, and he handles it all with superlative ability.

Many of the other players seem to be part of a stock company, a stock company of perfect Western performers who should have made hundreds more movies. Yes, in my opinion they're that good.

The print I saw at YouTube is terrible. Sometimes too dark to be able to tell just what is happening. Sometimes it's dark for night scenes, sometimes perhaps because the print is too many generations old. Still for a movie this good, I could put up with the lousy print, and I hope you do too.

The title role in Arizona Gunfighter is played by Bob Steele who kills a couple of guys who had bushwhacked his father, but then gets badly wounded himself. Rescue comes in the form of an old an philosophical outlaw played by Ted Adams who is tired of the outlaw game and sees in Steele a young version of himself. He breaks up the gang and decides to take Steele to live on his ranch in an obscure part of the territory where he made sure the gang never operated. Adams also gives himself up and goes to prison.

However henchman Lew Meehan figures he's got a lot of good years left in him for the outlaw trade and he reactivates the gang. It's up to Steele and Adams to bring justice to the territory and make sure the gang doesn't ride again.

The plot is a bit silly and elements of that plot are taken from the James Cagney classic G-Men where an old gangster sends Cagney on the straight and narrow to the FBI and henchmen keep the old gang going. Still the film is sincerely done and the players look comfortable out on the range.

Farley (John Merton) starts off the fisticuffs, "As for you Ferron (Bob Steele) keep off this range and that goes for that cattle rustling father of yours." If that's not enough, the notorious Jack Pine Mountain gang is an unstoppable gang of outlaws. This movie got me addicted to Bob Steele movies. Watching again after many years it gets better with age. Ted Adams as Wolf Whitson plays a tremendous role as the outlaw gone good. What better can you ask for then Wampus Baby Star Jean Carmen as the leading lady. Ernie Adams is a most versatile Western actor and does the sidekick role here to perfection. Karl Hackett and Frank Ball round out a great cast with the best henchmen in the business.