Wildfire

This 1945 Cinecolor B-western favorite features the great Bob Steele in a tale of wrangling, rustling & revenge . A magnificent but untamed horse named Wildfire is wrongfully blamed for rustling and horse-wrangling!

This was a rare color film for Bob Steele, with a unique twist on the standard sagebrush movie plot. Steele is very good here in the action scenes and was one of the better Cowboy heroes of the day. It was fun to see the singing cowboy Eddie Dean in the co-starring role as the local Sheriff !

Many of the films from this era are indistinguishable from each other, but the plot, performances and Cinecolor presentation make this a must-see for the Western fan. A notch above the average oater !

In the 1930s and 40s, Hollywood made about 16,290,383 cheap cowboy pictures. Because of this, there is no way anyone could ever see them all! Most are pretty forgettable, though a few manage to be a bit better--and "Wildfire" is one of these. One thing that sets this Bob Steele film apart from most is that it's filmed in Cinecolor--something very unusual considering it comes from tiny Action Pictures. Most films, including those of larger studios, were still coming out in black & white.

When the film begins, two guys have shot a wild horse and are about to kill it once and for all. It seems the locals have been blaming this horse for leading their horses out of the corrals--though it's really the work of rustlers. Happy (Bob Steele) comes upon them and stops them from dispatching the animal. And, with patience and love, he and his friend Alkalai (Sterling Holloway) manage to rehab the horse.

In the meantime, the local baddie (John Miljan) and his gang have been stealing horses right and left--but proving it is another thing. The only one in this crappy town who seems to want to do anything about this is the Sheriff--and soon he deputizes Happy to help him get to the bottom of things. However, the trouble ends up being much deeper--and it turns out that the judge and much of the town is involved. Can Happy, Alkalai and the Sheriff manage to solve the crimes and escape with their lives? While the baddie and his gang is a very standard plot for these films, a few things stand out for the better. The fight scenes are well done and Steele always managed to make it look real. The color is very nice. And, it's nice to see that in this case the sidekick is NOT a dumb boob thrown in for comic relief--Holloway shoots some of the gang and saves his friend's life as well. Overall, entertaining and a film that rises above the norm for this often dull genre.

The leader of the pack, Wildfire is blamed for some horse thievin'. Our heroes Bob Steele, Sterling Holloway with the best cowboy singer of all time, Eddie Dean may have something to say about that. William Farnum is the judge who wants in on the action and beautiful Virginia Maples is in the middle of the action. Some great suspense provided by Fanning (John Miljan) and Holker (Hal Price) who have a lucrative enterprise going on. Some great songs by Dean serenading Maples and an interesting plot of rustling and revenge. Real good action packed movie that Steele fans will be sure to love.

Though the title of this B movie western suggests that the horse in question will be up front and center, that is not actually the case - after the opening ten or so minutes, the horse is almost completely missing for the remainder of the movie! But that fact is not why "Wildfire" is a big disappointment in the end. Lead actor Bob Steele has a character that's somewhat thin - his character isn't given a terrible amount of introduction and detail. But the main problem with the movie is that it is really slow and dull. The movie really needed more of a swift pace and more action. The action that is in the movie isn't that exciting, though I will admit that it was nice to see fist fights where the punches actually sounded realistic for a change. Even if you've enjoyed other '40s B movie westerns in the past, chances are that you'll find "Wildfire" below par.

Bob Steele and Eddie Dean teamed on this B western done in color, but the title role of Wildfire was played by a horse. A most remarkable wild stallion who is being blamed for the loss of stock by several ranchers.

Steele and sidekick Sterling Holloway are horse traders and Dean is the local sheriff. After Holloway is shot by the bad guys, Steele and Dean join forces to apprehend the bad guys and clear the good name of Wildfire.

This is a nice independent production from Screen Gems Features which I believe later merged into Columbia Pictures. Dean who was a singing cowboy gets to warble a couple of nice sagebrush ballads. The color utilized was something not often seen in B pictures from poverty row studios.

Fans of the B western should like this one.