The Nevada Buckaroo: Bob Steele goes to jail a lot

If you have an hour to kill and you like watching dusty guys fall off horses, The Nevada Buckaroo is probably worth a look.

It’s perfect for people who miss the era when cowboys wore pants pulled up to their armpits. You’ll probably hate it if you can't stand crackly audio or plots that move like a tired mule.

I noticed right away that Bob Steele has this very intense way of staring at people. He looks like he’s trying to solve a math problem in his head while someone is talking to him.

The movie starts with a stage robbery, which feels like every other western from 1931. But then it gets weirdly specific about paperwork.

Cherokee, the gang leader, forges a petition to the Governor to get the Kid released. I didn't know outlaws were so good at bureaucracy back then.

It’s a bit funny how easily the Governor just believes a random letter. People were way more trusting before the internet, I guess.

The Kid wants to go straight, which is the classic trope. He gets a job guarding a stagecoach, and boom, it gets robbed immediately.

The timing is so bad it’s almost impressive. It’s like the universe specifically wants this guy behind bars.

There is a scene where the Sheriff is talking and his hat is slightly tilted to the left. It drove me crazy for about three minutes.

I kept waiting for him to straighten it. He never did. 🌵

George 'Gabby' Hayes is in this, but he isn't quite the "Gabby" we know yet. He’s younger, and he doesn’t have that full, crazy beard that looks like a bird nested in it.

It’s always strange seeing these legends before they found their "thing." It feels like watching a rough draft of a human being.

The action scenes are actually pretty fast. The horses are really moving, and you can tell the stuntmen weren't worried about their health insurance.

At one point, a guy falls off a horse and it looks like he actually hit the ground hard. No padding, just dirt and regret.

The plot gets a bit tangled in the middle. The Kid helps Cherokee escape, then the Kid ends up back in jail. ⛓️

I started wondering if the jail was the only set they had money for. They spend so much time in that cell.

The bars look like they could be kicked over if someone really tried. But everyone stays put because that’s what the script says to do.

There is a woman in it, Dorothy Dix, who plays Joan. She doesn't have much to do except look worried and wait for men to stop shooting at each other.

Her outfits are very clean compared to the guys. Everyone else is covered in actual 1930s dust, but she looks like she just stepped out of a salon.

The sound quality is pretty rough in certain spots. Sometimes the wind hits the microphone and it sounds like a jet engine taking off in the middle of the desert.

It reminded me a bit of the technical mess in Set Free, though this is slightly more professional.

If you enjoy these old B-westerns, you might also find Mickey's Wild West interesting for the contrast. That one is a bit more playful, whereas this one tries to be a serious drama about a guy with bad luck.

The ending happens very fast. One minute they are arguing, and the next, everything is solved and the credits are rolling.

I think they ran out of film or maybe it was just lunch time. It’s very abrupt.

It isn't a masterpiece, and it doesn't try to be. It’s just a story about a guy who can’t catch a break with the law.

I liked the way the horses looked in the wide shots. There’s something peaceful about these old black and white landscapes before they were covered in houses.

You can see the dirt flying up from the hooves. It feels more real than the shiny stuff they make now.

Overall, it’s a fine way to spend an hour if you don't expect too much logic. Just watch Bob Steele’s eyes; they do more acting than the rest of his body combined. 🤠

I noticed a guy in the background of one shot who looked like he was waiting for his cue. He just stands there frozen for two seconds too long.

Small mistakes like that make me like these old movies more. It feels like people actually made it.

It’s definitely better than some of the stuff from that year, like West of Broadway, which felt way slower to me.

Go in with low expectations and you’ll have a decent time. Just don't expect the Kid to stay out of jail for more than ten minutes at a time.