This "Blue Steel" has no connection with the Jamie Lee Curtis vehicle from the late eighties. This one is one of the many Western B-movies which John Wayne made during the mid-thirties. The title, in fact, seems fairly meaningless, and the film is also sometimes referred to as "An Innocent Man", a title which makes more sense in the context of the plot. In most of his Westerns made in this period, Wayne plays characters with the Christian name John, probably a deliberate attempt by the studio to create a distinctive identity for him. Here he plays John Carruthers, an undercover US Marshal who is in a small Western town investigating a string of robberies committed by the "Polka Dot Bandit", so called from the distinctive neckerchief he wears.
While in town, however, Carruthers uncovers a completely different crime. A leading local citizen named Malgrove has discovered that, unknown to anyone else in town, there is a rich vein of gold underneath the area. Malgrove and a gang of bandits have therefore formed a plan to force the local people out of town so that he can purchase their land for a pittance and claim the gold for himself. The bandits have cut off all food supplies, leaving the townspeople with the choice of either fleeing or starving to death. (It is never explained why the town was established in a remote desert location with no local farms or other means of feeding itself). It falls to Carruthers to try and thwart this dastardly plot with the help of the local sheriff. The sheriff, who is unaware that Carruthers is a US Marshal, wrongly believes him to be the Polka Dot Bandit, but (again for unexplained reasons) fails to arrest him.
"Blue Steel" is typical of many of the Westerns made by "Poverty Row" studios during the thirties, and shares many of their flaws- a confusing or irrational plot, some dodgy acting and some badly done action sequences, especially the fist fights. (Most of them seemed to feature at least one punch-up between the hero and his antagonists- perhaps the censors would not have been happy with too much gunplay, which was the more common way of settling disputes in the Old West). It lacks the striking landscape photography which distinguishes another Wayne Western from 1934, "The Trail Beyond". Some of the stunts are well performed- the cast includes the famous stunt man Yakima Canutt, a close friend of Wayne- and there are occasional moments of excitement, but this is really one of those films that is only remembered today because its leading man went on to become a Hollywood icon. 4/10
While in town, however, Carruthers uncovers a completely different crime. A leading local citizen named Malgrove has discovered that, unknown to anyone else in town, there is a rich vein of gold underneath the area. Malgrove and a gang of bandits have therefore formed a plan to force the local people out of town so that he can purchase their land for a pittance and claim the gold for himself. The bandits have cut off all food supplies, leaving the townspeople with the choice of either fleeing or starving to death. (It is never explained why the town was established in a remote desert location with no local farms or other means of feeding itself). It falls to Carruthers to try and thwart this dastardly plot with the help of the local sheriff. The sheriff, who is unaware that Carruthers is a US Marshal, wrongly believes him to be the Polka Dot Bandit, but (again for unexplained reasons) fails to arrest him.
"Blue Steel" is typical of many of the Westerns made by "Poverty Row" studios during the thirties, and shares many of their flaws- a confusing or irrational plot, some dodgy acting and some badly done action sequences, especially the fist fights. (Most of them seemed to feature at least one punch-up between the hero and his antagonists- perhaps the censors would not have been happy with too much gunplay, which was the more common way of settling disputes in the Old West). It lacks the striking landscape photography which distinguishes another Wayne Western from 1934, "The Trail Beyond". Some of the stunts are well performed- the cast includes the famous stunt man Yakima Canutt, a close friend of Wayne- and there are occasional moments of excitement, but this is really one of those films that is only remembered today because its leading man went on to become a Hollywood icon. 4/10