Big Calibre

Bob Steele's father is murdered by William Quinn with a mysterious fuming poison. Quinn also steals $60,000 in cash. Steele and sidekick John Elliott go looking for Quinn and a year later, wind up in Gladstone. There, Quinn (wearing a grotesque disguise) in cooperation with Forest Taylor have just murdered Peggy Campbell's father and stolen the mortgage money. When Bob spots her robbing the mail truck and then falling off her horse, he goes to get her some water, only to discover that she has stolen his horse and he is thrown in jail for robbing the mail and the murder.

It's not one of the better westerns that Steele's father, Robert Bradbury directed him in. Compared to the ones with George Hayes in the company, the line readings are pretty poor; Bob and his leading lady believe each other far too readily under the circumstances, even if it is a one-hour B western, and the action in the movie is limited to the last ten minutes. Although Steele does ride his horse down what looks to be a very steep mountainside at speed, I strongly suspect it was achieved by cameraman William Hyer adjusting the camera tripod and having Steele ride his horse over flat ground.

In fact, the most interesting part of the movie is at a dance just before the action ending, when Si Jenks has a sizable bit, calling dances and mugging, and there is a bit of pie-throwing. In short, this one looks like it was thrown together hastily to fill a hole in the release schedule. While it will probably be satisfactory to fans of Bob Steele, it won't win him any.

This is a real offbeat oater but one with plenty of suspense and action to make it very enjoyable. Steele's dad is killed by the mad chemist William Quinn then he finds what could be the remains of Peggy Campbell's dad, or did he? The suspense is only mounting from here. Another mystery is who's the anonymous benefactor that breaks him out of jail using corrosive gas. John Elliott, Si Jenks and Georgia O'Dell add great comic relief and Frank Ball and Earle Dwire add the great reliable acting. Character actor Forrest Taylor plays it true to form as the scheming banker. Otherwise, the only thing to expect from Big Calibre is the unexpected and that's a good thing.