This
is one of my favorite Steeles, a real charmer. Though when I first saw it I
kind of expected Alaska, the Yukon, frozen wastes of some sort. But the title – and the fact that Bob, at one
point, catches a northbound train, are about the only things here to suggest
this one’s happening even a mile further north than any of his others. No snow
machines were harmed (or even hired) during the making of “Headin’ North”.
For
openers, we zoom in on a wanted poster ($1000) for Jim Curtis – that’s Bob.
This segues into shots of him on horseback outrunning a posse. Something, of
course, we’ve seen in prior Steele outings. And we remain in familiar territory
when Bob, having shed his pursuers, goes undercover by getting himself hired on
at a ranch. The owner’s cocky son (Perry Murdock) picks a fight with him. And the
ensuing brawl’s a good one, since, by this time, Bob and Perry have had lots of
practice. Bob wins – and as sometimes happens in westerns from John Ford down
to the bottom B’s – this turns out to be a bonding experience. The two shake
hands and become fast friends.
Time
for some music. So everyone in the
bunkhouse joins in for a rough and ready version of “Oh, Susanna!”. Everyone but Bob, who hides when he hears
noises outside; he figures the law’s
tracked him down. And as a matter of fact, the snooper turns out to be Marshal
Fred Burns who’s playing Javert to Bob’s Jean Valjean. He’s got reason to think his quarry’s in the
vicinity and starts to grill the bunkhouse brigade. Having twigged to the fact
that Bob’s got a secret, Perry lies to the Marshal to cover up his new buddy’s
presence on the ranch. The Marshal reluctantly goes along with it and leaves. When
Bob and Perry are alone, it’s Bob’s cue to spill his tangled back-story : some scoundrel framed his dad, who went to prison; the ensuing
turmoil killed his mom; (and as we know by now, when somebody messes with his
family , Bob moves pretty quickly into Avenging Angel mode). Anyway, somehow Bob went to jail too - but he’s escaped. So heaven help the culprit that caused it
all. By the way, Bob’s never actually seen this guy – but he has reason to
believe the rogue is “up north” around Gold City.
All
these confidences are spilled by candlelight in the bunkhouse while the rest of
the ranch-hands are sleeping. And it’s another bonding experience for Bob and
Perry. Bob says, now that the Marshal’s sniffing around, he’s got to move on
next morning. Perry – by this time Damon
to Bob’s Pythias - announces he’s coming too. Because (among other reasons) “ it’s deader than Hell around here!”. Strong
language for a 30’s movie, even a pre-coder! Anyway, Perry’s dad’s away (we never do see
him), so Perry invites Bob to spend his last night up at the ranch-house “
‘cause I got a nice soft bed there for
you”. Bob’s up for that and the two
leave arm in arm. Cut to next morning as the pair gallop, possibly northward. You know, I’d like to read that note Perry (presumably)
left his dad.
With
the law still in pursuit, our boys wind up at a tiny train station where they
spot a pair of Cockney (?) vaudevillians
(Smith and Smith) .The comedy team is broke; all they have are tickets on
a northbound train to their next engagement. Which they’re dreading - because they’ve both had a bellyful of the wild, wild west.
“All
I’ve had to eat in the last 18 hours is a piece o’ rhubarb”.
They do give us a fairly amusing demonstration of their
bantering shtick. Bob sees it too and a light bulb goes off in his head. The plan? He and Perry are going to switch clothes with
the two, then stake them to a couple of tickets on a departing southbound train.
Not only will this rescue the Cockneys
from their wild west woes; it will also advance Bob and Perry’s plan. ‘Cause they’ll catch a train in the opposite direction, and assume
the duo’s identities (and professional engagements) up north . There, Bob can
continue his quest incognito. Ballsy! The Marshal’s already nipping at their
heels, peeking in the train station window. But all he sees is a couple of
dudes in loud suits, sporting bad Limey accents and dancing a Leaning tower of
Pisa double soft shoe with their arms around each other’s shoulders (it’s Bob
and Perry, impressively quick studies). John Law’s thrown off the scent again,
moves on, and our boys can catch that northbound train.
Now,
we’re in the rough and tumble saloon cum theatre where the rest of the action
will mostly take place. And by action I don’t mean much in the way of standard
western fighting and shooting. This film only delivers a couple of spurts of
that– the one near the beginning where Bob and his buddy cement their bond –
and another to come near the very end. Bob and Perry have obviously been rehearsing ‘cause they do a couple of comic numbers that
aren’t that terrible (one – delivered in a half-baked Italian dialect seems to
be called “Garibaldi”). And darn it if it doesn’t bring down the house. By the
way, the decidedly un-northern Emilio Fernandez is once again present, though
not quite accounted for (no onscreen billing). This time he’s just one of the
lurkers around the gambling table.
Now
– to give a little more background: the
reason Bob wants to be in this town is that it’s where his former sweetheart,
Mary, now lives. With her dad, apparently. Though hers (like Bob’s and Perry’s) remains unseen. So no
paychecks this time out for Lafe Mckee et al. Seems she continued writing Bob in jail,
telling him she was suspicious that a certain local was the man he’s looking
for. Bob slips away and has a tete a tete with Mary (played by a most endearing
Barbara Luddy). Now I guess she’s heard that Bob broke prison, because she
doesn’t seem that surprised to see him. She does (winningly) express
astonishment about something else, though
“But,
Jim, where did you get those funny
clothes?”
And she’s quite charmed by the fact that he’s now (in a small
way) a vaudeville headliner. It also
seems like demure little Barbara’s been playing an unlikely mix of Miss Marple
and Mata Hari (both roles for which she seems underqualified). She’s pretty
sure now that the dealer at the saloon where Bob’s strutting his stuff is the
villain he’s looking for. The evidence, next to none of which we’re privy to,
seems pretty flimsy. But, hey, they’ve only got sixty minutes to spin this
tale. Mary tells Bob that, in the course of her investigation, she’s allowed
said bounder to “make love” to her. Now this is a 30’s movie, so I can assume
when she says “make love”, she’s talking about nothing more than hand-holding
and a couple of moonlight walks. Besides which, she’s so cheerfully forthcoming
with this information, that it hardly seems to qualify as any kind of
confession. Bob holds her in his arms, but he’s looking at the camera – and his
face is an eloquent mix of distress, outrage, sorrow and guilt – that the girl
he loves has had to sink so low on his behalf. It really is a nice bit of acting. Making
it seem Bob thinks Mary may have had to do a little more than hold hands for
his sake.
Back
to the dive. And it’s show time! An over-baked tart (Jane
Crowley) is belting out “My Gal Sal”, Sophie Tucker style. It’s the kind of old
chestnut guaranteed to bring tears to the eyes of a house full of barflies. And it does. Then some would-be Barrymore who takes
the stage for a dramatic recitation proves no match for the drunk that’s heckling
him. So instead he goes into a dance routine that’s almost defiantly lousy
(though we only see it from the knees up). All this is witnessed (from a box)
by Bob and Mary. Seems she’s always wanted to see the notoriously glamorous
goings on at this place but never had the nerve to do it. As Bob’s guest, she
enjoys every moth-eaten act as if it were the Ziegfeld Follies. Included among
those acts is Naomi, a poor scrawny soul in a harem costume, introduced by the
snake oil salesman of an MC with the words “Watch her wiggle”. Which is pretty
much all she does, in a half-hearted kind of way.
Anyway,
by this time, we’re zeroing in on the seriously under-developed bad guy. His
name, by the way, is Stanton and he’s portrayed with low-key indifference by
Walter Shumway, who looks as if – had
anybody cared to ask him – he could’ve play this part with a lot more spirit.
But nobody asked. Bob, Perry and Mary
have a scheme – which involves turning the lights out and snatching Stanton’s
ill-gotten stash of money (he’s up to another of the same scams that got Bob’s
dad in trouble). When the lights go back on, Bob exposes Stanton’s shenanigans ;
there’s a big fistfight, some shooting that wounds Perry (but not too badly) –
then the law arrives. The saloon crowd’s more than ready to protect Bob from
the Marshal – but Mr. Steele feels (as do we) that’s he’s pretty likely to be exonerated ; after all, by this time, Stanton’s confessed
in front of everyone. So Bob surrenders – and in an effectively muted fade-out
- he, Perry and Mary slowly follow the Marshal up the stairs and out the door –
after which everybody, we assume, will start the not so long trek south.
MORE BOB STEELE TO
COME
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