Main Cast: John Wayne, Eleanor Hunt, George "Gabby" Hayes, Yakima Canutt, Edward Peil Sr.
Release Year: 1934
Country: US
Run Time: 59 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
John Wayne once again goes undercover to catch a wanted outlaw in this average entry in his 1934-1935 Western series for Monogram Pictures. Wayne plays John Carruthers, a U.S. marshal, and his quarry is the Polka Dot Bandit, aka Danti (Yakima Canutt), who has taken off with a 4,000-dollar pay roll. As John soon learns, Danti is in the employ of Malgrove (Edward Peil Sr.), a supposedly upstanding citizen who is secretly trying to starve the good people of Yucca City. Unbeknownst to the townsfolk, a valuable ore runs right through the area and Malgrove is plotting to buy the land on the cheap. Blue Steel was produced at Hollywood's General Service Studios with exteriors filmed at Big Pine, CA. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Review
As he often managed to do, director/screenwriter Robert North Bradbury opens Blue Steel in a highly suspenseful manner, this time by having John Wayne holed up in a secluded hotel whose proprietor is expecting trouble. Assorted interesting guests arrive, including a couple of timid honeymooners, and there are mysterious bumps in the night. But Bradbury once again fails to follow through and the remainder of Blue Steel is the usual lackadaisical Grade-Z Western enlivened somewhat by a couple of good stunts from Yakima Canutt. Bradbury was full of good intentions, not to mention a noteworthy idea or two (his flash-pan method of getting a character from one place to another is always enjoyable), but lacked the economy and general wherewithal to make his Westerns much more than routine budget-fillers. But the Big Pine locations are picturesque. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Blue Steel is a 1934 Western film in which John Wayne plays a U.S. Marshal who is trying to capture the Polka Dot Bandit, who has taken off with $4,000.
It is also a pose made famous by Mathan Puspi formerly known as Red Cheeks. It can be seen freqenting many night club most recently in Miami, South Beach.
