Singing cowboy Tex Ritter comes to the rescue of a stage line menaced by a crooked rival. There’s not much memorable about this little movie, but in addition to Tex, there’s welcome participation by Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys. Mildly recommended.
Monogram Monday: ‘Neath the Arizona Skies (1934)
In this Lone Star production, John Wayne plays the foster father of a half-Indian girl. The girl, whose mother is dead and whose unsavory father is missing, is owed $50,000 on royalties from oil leases, and this wealth draws the attention of various bad guys. Wayne’s character is separated from the girl when a gang …
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Monogram Monday: Shadows over Chinatown (1946)
Two different cases — a missing person inquiry and an unsolved murder — intertwine in this later Sidney Toler Charlie Chan film. The detective, assisted by son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung, making a welcome return to the series) and chauffeur Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland, entertaining as ever), cheats death as he pursues his investigation. Part …
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Monogram Monday: Texas Lawmen (1951)
The Morrow gang, led by Bart Morrow (I. Stanford Jolley) and including his son Steve (Lee Roberts), while fleeing after a stage robbery, kills the sheriff of King City, the one town they had previously left alone. Deputy Tod Merrick (James Ellison) takes the sheriff’s place. Meanwhile, the gang’s activities have led to Texas Ranger …
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Monogram Monday: Blues Busters (1950)
Strange happenings from the world of medicine: A tonsillectomy gives Sach (Huntz Hall) the velvety voice of a crooner, so Slip (Leo Gorcey) and the boys, together with Louie (Bernard Gorcey), try to find a way to capitalize on this fortunate change. Sach is soon the toast of New York, drawing big crowds to nightclubs. …
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Monogram Monday: Oklahoma Justice (1951)
Undercover lawman Johnny Mack Brown investigates a series of well-planned bank robberies. Working with a bank owner and the local sheriff, he stages a fake robbery, during which he even seems to kill a bank clerk as well, in order to set himself up as a bad man. He hopes thus to be able to …
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Monogram Monday: Detective Kitty O’Day (1944)
Secretary Kitty O’Day (Jean Parker) investigates the murder of her businessman boss, hoping to clear herself and her boyfriend from suspicion. Parker is somewhat appealing in the lead role, but sadly the writing was pedestrian, the pacing was plodding, the humor weak, and the mystery insufficiently mysterious. There was a single sequel, but it’s no …
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Monogram Monday: Man from Sonora (1951)
Thieves who have just robbed a stage hold up ex-Ranger Johnny Mack Brown and steal his horse, too. Once he makes it to town, he learns that such attacks have been plaguing the region; the local banker also is facing ruin as a result of the robberies. Though the town is unsafe for strangers, as …
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Monogram Monday: Outlaw Gold (1950)
Johnny Mack Brown and Milburn Morante play two U.S. marshals go undercover to investigate a theft of gold from Mexico. One of the pair, however, is soon forced to reveal his true identity, which makes him a target for the outlaws, as they fear he will discover how they are disposing of the stolen gold. …
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Monogram Monday: Hold That Baby! (1949)
A woman leaves her baby in the laundry that Slip and the boys have set up in the back of Louie’s Sweet Shop, and they soon learn that the child is the missing heir to a fortune. Now it’s up to the gang to protect the infant from both mobsters and conniving relatives. A good …
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