Wildfire (1945) — Wildfire: The Story of a Horse — Director: Robert Emmett Tansey Studio: Action Pictures, Inc. / Distributed by Screen Guild Productions Starring: Bob Steele (Happy Haye), Sterling Holloway (Alkali Jones), John Miljan (Pete Fanning), Eddie Dean (Sheriff Johnny Deal), Virginia Maples (Judy Gordon), William Farnum (Judge Polson) Release Date: July 18, 1945 Runtime: ~57 minutes (~1 hour, 17 seconds) Format: Color (Cinecolor) | Mono Sound | Western Country: United States Language: English Genres: Western | Adventure | Animal Film --- Summary: A ruthless land agent, Pete Fanning, orchestrates horse rustling and blames it on a magnificent wild stallion named Wildfire. Honest horse trader Happy Haye and his sidekick Alkali Jones arrive in Rawhide Valley and step into the chaos. When Alkali is shot, Happy uncovers the criminal plot. Despite being framed, dismissed by corrupt officials, and ostracized, he teams up with Sheriff Johnny Deal (a singing lawman) and Judge Polson to expose the real thieves. With Wildfire’s loyalty literally saving Alkali’s life, the group sets a daring trap to bring the outlaws to justice and restore peace. --- Background: This was the first release by Screen Guild Productions and marked a rare color (Cinecolor) low-budget Western in an era when most B-westerns were shot in black-and-white. Written by Frances Kavanaugh with a story by W.C. Tuttle, the film pairs Bob Steele with Sterling Holloway (later known as the voice of Winnie the Pooh) in a tale balancing rugged action and heartfelt animal storytelling. --- Trivia: The film’s subtitle in the UK market was Wildfire: The Story of a Horse. Despite the title, Wildfire the horse plays more of a supporting heroic role—human characters drive the plot. It was uncommon for low-budget Westerns to be filmed in color at the time, making this an unexpected visual treat. A sequel, The Return of Wildfire (also known as Black Stallion), followed in 1948 with Richard Arlen. --- Hashtags: #Wildfire #BobSteele #SterlingHolloway #HorseWestern #1940sCinema #Cinecolor #PublicDomainFilm #WesternAdventure #AnimalHero #ClassicWestern #Wildlife #RustlingPlot #LowBudgetGem