Emboscada

It's incredible what old westerns were like. How they could fit in an entire story in one hour is impressive. As in many old westerns there are the countless nameless riders and horses doing their jobs expertly, not to mention the expert mounting that Bob Steele did with his horse. Bless their hearts for jobs well done. This is not a sleeper of a movie. The pace is fast and the movie is quite entertaining. You are left with a satisfied feeling at the end of the movie. Typically, in a western there is the good against evil scenario. While dealing with that, there is no brutality nor extreme violence, as we are bombarded with everyday in films of today.

Ambush Trail from PRC studio has Bob Steele as a young rancher who might have picked the wrong time and place to settle on a ranch he's just bought. The other ranchers in the valley are being starved out by a gang led by perennial western villain I. Stanford Jolley who won't let wagons with supplies get through. Jolley's planning to acquire the whole valley if he can. Why he wants it stays a mystery unless he's just greedy by nature.

Steele is suspected it in the murder of sheriff Henry Hall, but Deputy and brother to sheriff Kermit Maynard trusts him. One look at Jolley's men and I can understand that.

In fact there's a big old surprise waiting for Jolley at the end of the film. He slipped up big time in his scheme though not for lack of trying.

The plot does get a bit confusing, but Ambush Trail holds up well for Bob Steele fans.

I am fairly confident that Ambush Trail never made it to Bob Steele's career highlight reel. It would be hard to find a B western with less production value than this one. I would estimate that 80% of the film is made up of interior scenes, including a "saloon" that looks like a lunch counter and never has any customers other than Steele, side-kick Saylor and the heavies he punches around.Charlie King adds some heft (no pun intended) to the proceedings although how any conscious on- looker could not realize that is him with a kerchief on his face defies belief. Steele does throw some good punches, Saylor's Charley-horse routine is entertaining and Maynard is competent as the deputy marshal. Lorraine Miller is given little to do which is fortunate as she recites her lines as if she just finished memorizing them and Jolly does not deliver his A game as the boss villain. In sum, a very weak PRC entry.

New ranch owner Curley learns that outlaws have been raiding incoming supply shipments, forcing fellow ranchers out of business. After getting framed for murder, Curley must apprehend the deadly bandits to convince a U. S. marshal he's innocent.

Ambush Trail is a formula b-western given a boost by the presence of the steely-eyed Bob Steele - he's got a likeable personality and a stare that can intimidate a raging Brahma bull. His fighting is high-energy, he's nimble mover and it adds gusto the array of fistfights. The villainy is standard stuff, scheming and scheming. I. Stanford Jolly and Charles King do the villain work really well. Sid Saylor is a good sidekick and he's not stuttering here. Ambush Trail fills its short time really well, entertaining with some decent action and its fast-paced plot. One thing, though, I didn't get the message in the bull horn. How did Steele figure out it was there?

He may have been small (5'5'') but there was no more energetic player among the matinée heroes than Bob Steele. His barroom brawls, a matinée staple, are still an impressive example of a buzz saw in action. Here he rescues local ranchers from an embargo on supplies set up by the local greed merchant. Of course, it takes a lot of hard riding and fisticuffs, just the sort of thing we Front Row kids expected from our heroes.

It's cheapo PRC producing, so the action never leaves the non-scenic LA area, but that's okay because director Fraser makes good use of the scrubby hills. Good to see veteran baddies Charles King and I. Stanford Jolley picking up a payday for what they do best, menace the hero. But get a load of leading lady Lorraine Miller's hair—there's enough there to fill several mattresses—the style of the day, I guess. It's better than average dialog from scripter Clifton. I especially like comic-relief Syd Saylor's charlie-horse explanation of why he can't ride a horse—it's almost like an Abbott & Costello routine.

Anyway, it's a good mix of action and chuckles from the Jimmy Cagney of the matinées, the great Bob Steele.