Well this is kind of an odd Western. Bob Steele, dressed in black and riding a white horse, is nominally the film's good guy hero and arrives on the scene at the request of the Martin family to help do battle against the Halseys. However I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe Poe Powers (Ted Adams) was the top gun here, mentioned in the story as the most feared man in the territory and sort of a Robin Hood to the locals. It was Powers' group that rode to the rescue at the end of the story, and Poe himself who wrapped the film up with the leading lady (Claire Rochelle as Mona Halsey).
But I did learn one thing. In the old West, you had to make do with whatever you had in an emergency. When Bob Burke (Steele) comes upon Steve Reynolds (Jimmy Aubrey) with a gunshot wound, they came up with an on the spot surgery procedure by way of a jack-knife, screwdriver and pliers. And all without a medical degree!
You know, I always get a kick out of this when I see it happen. Steele's character confronts a couple of the Halsey henchmen, and proceeds to shoot their guns out of their hands. Problem is, one of the guys was holding it directly in front of his body, almost in front of his face. So how did Bob Burke's bullet miss hitting the villain? I could never figure that one out. If you ever watch a Lone Ranger episode, watch for the same maneuver, he does it all the time.
For a final oddity, check out Burke's actions during the final shootout against the bad guys. All of a sudden, he rushes two of the baddies from behind and starts fist fighting them! Really? That seemed a little over ambitious for me, even if they wanted to get this one in the can in under an hour. But here's the kicker - for a good part of the time, Burke was trying to locate Tom Martin (Dave O'Brien) who was kidnapped by the Halseys and tied up in their cabin. Burke makes the save, but guess what? - Martin never makes an appearance again!!! What??!!
But I did learn one thing. In the old West, you had to make do with whatever you had in an emergency. When Bob Burke (Steele) comes upon Steve Reynolds (Jimmy Aubrey) with a gunshot wound, they came up with an on the spot surgery procedure by way of a jack-knife, screwdriver and pliers. And all without a medical degree!
You know, I always get a kick out of this when I see it happen. Steele's character confronts a couple of the Halsey henchmen, and proceeds to shoot their guns out of their hands. Problem is, one of the guys was holding it directly in front of his body, almost in front of his face. So how did Bob Burke's bullet miss hitting the villain? I could never figure that one out. If you ever watch a Lone Ranger episode, watch for the same maneuver, he does it all the time.
For a final oddity, check out Burke's actions during the final shootout against the bad guys. All of a sudden, he rushes two of the baddies from behind and starts fist fighting them! Really? That seemed a little over ambitious for me, even if they wanted to get this one in the can in under an hour. But here's the kicker - for a good part of the time, Burke was trying to locate Tom Martin (Dave O'Brien) who was kidnapped by the Halseys and tied up in their cabin. Burke makes the save, but guess what? - Martin never makes an appearance again!!! What??!!