My first movie of 2021 is the second in the long-running series of Monogram westerns starring Johnny Mack Brown and Raymond Hatton. In the early films, Hatton continues to portray Marshal Sandy Hopkins, the character he originated in the Rough Riders series, which ended after the death of Buck Jones in 1942. In The Stranger from Pecos, both Nevada (Brown) and Sandy go undercover, albeit in different roles, to put an end to holdups and other crimes besetting the area, and to bring to justice those responsible for the murder of a federal marshal. Hatton gets some good scenes, including during a poker game that he is trying to lose, and Brown’s affability buoys a fairly standard plot. Kirby Grant, as the son of the murdered marshal who is framed for a murderous robbery, and Christine McIntyre, as the daughter of a local restaurant owner who also is pushing for more law and order, are given relatively little to do but provide a little romantic interest. Roy Barcroft is solid as the crooked sheriff, and the rest of the bad guys are OK as well. I’ll be making my way through the rest of the series over time (I already watched the first, The Ghost Rider, in 2020).

  Mildly recommended. Otto judiciously thinks this movie is OK, but not great.

Movie 1 for 2021.