Bob Steele Double Feature: The Law Rides (1936) / Smokey Smith (1936)

A mainstay in cowboy pictures, Bob Steele enjoyed a six decade acting career, occasionally breaking out of the western genre to take on diverse supporting roles - most notably that of Curley in Of Mice and Men (1939).

The Law Rides (1936, B&W): Prospector Jack Lewis strikes it rich at his hidden gold claim, but is shot in the back before he can tell his mother and sister Arline where the new-found fortune is located. Determined to see the killer punished for the cowardly murder, Arline's fiance Bruce Conway (Bob Steele) races after the fleeing outlaw. Seeking justice, Jack's friends organize a lynch mob. Realizing the killer knows the location of the claim, Conway must now rescue him from the vigilantes or risk having the location of the goldmine lost forever. Starring Bob Steele, Charles King, Harley Wood, Buck Connors; Directed by Robert N. Bradbury.

Smokey Smith (1936, B&W): Following the brutal murder of his parents, a young man (Bob Steele) is rescued from certain death in the desert wastelands. Having lost everything, the young man, nicknamed Smokey Smith by the local sheriff, vows to bring a violent end to the killers that took his family from him. Setting out to take his revenge, Smokey has only one clue to the outlaws' identity. Starring Bob Steele, George "Gabby" Hayes, Mary Kornman; Directed by Robert N. Bradbury.

• western