I’ve
seen a lot of Bob Steele movies. An
awful lot. But “Near the Rainbow’s End” remains my
favorite. It’s his first talkie. And like Garbo, he waited quite a while to
take the plunge. Jolson’s "The Jazz Singer” came out in 1927 and by ‘29
it seemed clear that sound represented both
present and future for the movie industry. As it happens, Garbo’s “Anna Christie” emerged in February of
1930. Moviegoers had to wait till June to hear Bob talk. Of course,
his audience wasn’t the same one that panted over Garbo. Probably not as numerous; certainly not as visible and voluble on the world stage. The press, the Hollywood elite, the glittering
world all held their breath to see how Garbo would fare. Could any voice live
up to the glamorous image of the silent screen’s most elegantly doomed orchid ?
Finally she spoke - cymbals clashed, trumpets blared – and she triumphed. Luxury film palaces played “Anna Christie” to
packed houses and critical hosannas. MGM breathed a diamond-studded sigh of
relief.
Bob’s
sound debut was considerably more low-key. Silents had made him a star of sorts
– but on a level far more modest than Garbo’s. Millions were tied up in her career. Bob’s vehicles
were filmed on a shoestring. She was famous around the world. Foreign
distribution of Bob Steele movies was probably sketchy at best. Mighty Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer guided the lady’s
cinematic fortunes. Bob Steele westerns were distributed on an almost catch as
catch can basis. The latest batch was put together by Big Productions Film
Corp., an entity whipped into being in 1929 for the express purpose of churning
out a season’s worth of Bob Steele movies. They certainly weren’t equipped to
distribute the product; for that, they hooked up with the (slightly) more
substantial Syndicate Pictures. But this
was still fly-by-the-seat- of- your-pants film production. Garbo’s every move was fan magazine fodder. It’s doubtful fan mags took much notice of
Bob. At the time she lived behind high
walls on a spacious property complete with Spanish-style house and swimming pool . He rented a modest Los Angeles apartment with
one of his buddies. MGM, critics and
fans rhapsodized over Garbo’s Art. “Anna Christie” came from the pen of Eugene
O’Neill, no less. Steele made brief no-nonsense horse operas. Her movies played fancy first run houses; his pitched camp at neighborhood Saturday matinees
. Yet, Steele had built up an
enthusiastic audience. Mainly kids and cowboy fans. Very few of whom would have lined up for “Anna Christie”.
Both Greta Garbo and Bob Steele were in their
twenties, with their brightest career years potentially ahead of them – provided
they could master the microphone. Nowadays,
retrospective film study is much more catholic in its perspective. It’s
possible to appreciate Greta and Bob.
To love them both. That wasn’t generally
the case in 1930. Garbo films tended to be released sparingly, each trumpeted
as a special event. Bob had five silent western out in 1930 before “Rainbow” 's
June release. Yet, Bob’s sound debut was also something of a triumph. An understated
one, maybe, but still a very solid success. Audiences that had enjoyed him without sound
found no reason to like him any less. Yes, Garbo talked. But so did Bob - quite appealingly, in fact. Unlike Garbo, he also rode, wrangled and brawled. All things his fans craved. Sound was clearly here
to stay – and unlike so many whose careers were scuttled by the new
technology - Bob was staying too.
MORE BOB STEELE TO
COME
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