a5c7b9f00b Following completion of the "Trail Blazers" series, Bob Steele and Hoot Gibson were paired in three other Monogram westerns, with the only connection to the "Trail Blazers" series being Steele and Gibson in the cast and production and distribution by Monogram, with various Monogram people serving as production supervisors i.e., William Strobach on this entry and Victor Hammond on the other two. This one finds Jack Slade (Mauritz Hugo) and Mary Conway,alias Blanche (Veda Ann Borg), being recognized as known and wanted crooks by deputy marshal Harry Stevens (Steve Clark) and, when he orders them out of town, Slade kills him. His son, Bob Stevens (Bob Steele) and friend Parkford (Hoot Gibson) become U.S. Marshals and proceed to rid the town of the cut-throat gang that has been terrorizing the citizens. Bob goes undercover as an outlaw and works his way into the gang, while Hoot poses as a Dude who goes about making fiery speeches on behalf of law and order. The Gibson role here is limited in the action scenes to none, as he and his Monogram stunt double, Ben Corbett, were both getting a bit long in the tooth for such, and the nominal second lead was played by a relative newcomer to the screen, Ralph Lewis (II) as a good guy/bad guy outlaw, who is not the same as the older Ralph Lewis (I) who was making films in the 30's. Rule of thumb here for those who don't know what either one looks like is that any Ralph Lewis credit in the 1930's belongs to (I) and any occurring circa 1943-47 belongs to (II). A crooked couple (who like to tie up loose ends with a knife in the back!) set their sights on a town surrounded by oil-rich farms. Unfortunately for them, the last man they knifed was the uncle of Bob Steele, who infiltrates their gang, with partner Hoot Gibson working from the outside.<br/><br/>It's always fun to see B-western stars team up for double the thrills. However, this time around there just isn't enough action to make it really worthwhile, though one really shouldn't expect much from a 1940's Monogram picture. Top-billed Hoot looks a little long-in-the-tooth here, leaving all the rough-and-tumble stuff (whatever there is) to Steele.<br/><br/>Anyone bothering to tune in pretty much knows what they're getting into and will most likely be modestly entertained. Director J.P. McCarthy gave us some unusual moving camera angles, including from atop a stagecoach, and he gave us quite a moving script, with co-writer Victor Hammond. Cinematography was by Harry Neumann.<br/><br/>While the story might be considered well within the B Western tradition, still it provides twists and turns in the plot, and some unusual moments of emotion, and many memorable characters, played by some of the best Western performers.<br/><br/>Two of the best and busiest B Western stars – and they really were both stars – Bob Steele and Hoot Gibson – led the array of but they were joined by the lovely and talented Veda Ann Borg, whom I had never before seen in a Western.<br/><br/>According to her IMDb bio, she had been seriously injured in an auto accident and had to under large-scale facial reconstruction. Her surgeon was an artist. She was beautiful.<br/><br/>"Marked Trails" came along after her surgery, and watching her in this makes one think she should have had many more and bigger roles.<br/><br/>Her last scene was quite striking, as well as quite a fascinating departure for a B Western, a mature and intriguing moment.<br/><br/>Perhaps there have been many Westerns with more violent action, but there was enough here, including fight scenes with the athletic Steele – who always makes me think he could have been a successful pro boxer – to keep even us Western addicts happy.<br/><br/>"Marked Trails" is available in a not-very-good print at bnwmovies.com and I highly recommend it.
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