Singing cowboy Jimmy Wakely helps an ex-convict (Lee Phelps) who wishes to go straight. The man’s former gang, which now includes his son, makes things difficult, however. but the situation is complicated by the man’s former gang, which now includes his son. This is a solid little western programmer, though nothing extraordinary. The movie had …
Read the full post →“Monogram Monday: <em>Gun Law Justice</em> (1949)”
A remake of the early Monogram movie The Thirteenth Guest (1932), this 1943 release is perhaps less effective owing to weaker leads but nonetheless is entertaining. The basic plot is quite similar, but there are plenty of changes that eliminate some of the pre-Code elements of the original and increase the comedy. Mildly recommended.
A young woman (Ginger Rogers) comes to a house where, thirteen years before, a wealthy man dropped dead during a family dinner party. Strangely, though the house has sat empty, both telephone and electricity are hooked up. Sudden death soon follows, with echoes of the long-ago dinner. This early Monogram picture is competently done overall, …
Read the full post →“Monogram Monday: <em>The Thirteenth Guest</em> (1932)”
Recently released convicts attempt to kill the marshal (Buck Jones) who sent them to prison, so his pals, fellow marshals Tim McCall (Tim McCoy) and Sandy Hopkins (Raymond Hatton), go undercover to thwart the bad guys’ plans. The easy performances of the likable leads make this another entertaining entry in Monogram’s Rough Riders series. Recommended.
In the first of ten movies pairing Kirby Grant and the dog actor Chinook as a Mountie and his canine assistant, the duo are pursuing bank robbers when a battle involving a split in the gang ends with one crook dead and Grant’s character (here named Bob McDonald, though for most of the series he …
Read the full post →“Monogram Monday: <em>Trail of the Yukon</em> (1949)”
A woman (Judith Allen) who has witnessed a murder stows away aboard a freighter, but she is discovered by the first mate (Milburn Stone). The gruff captain (Harry Carey) warms to the fugitive despite his initial misgivings, and the two ship’s officers look for ways to help her out of her predicament. Mildly recommended.
Mountie Rod Webb (Kirby Grant) and his dog Chinook investigate a series of unexplained disappearances. They are aided by Nancy Craig (Anne Gwynne), the daughter of one of the victims. The Mountie’s suspicions soon turn toward the only productive gold mine in the area, and the film thus involves some underground sequences as well as …
Read the full post →“Monogram Monday: <em>Call of the Klondike</em> (1950)”
Young women traveling alone are disappearing along an isolated stretch of road, but the authorities have been unable to discover what has happened to them. The viewer soon learns, however, that a sinister gas station owner (George Zucco) has something to do with it. The plotters’ plans meet with difficulties, however, after a motorist (Tod …
Read the full post →“Monogram Monday: <em>Voodoo Man</em> (1944)”
Brash but able reporter Larry Doyle (Robert Armstrong) is out of a job and nearly out of money, too. He nevertheless comes to the aid of another unfortunate, Anne Ogilvie (Maxine Doyle), and together they contrive to get lodging and food. Complications and opportunities arise when they become embroiled in a bank robbery and murder. …
Read the full post →“Monogram Monday: <em>The Mystery Man</em>”
U.S. Marshals Nevada Jack McKenzie (Johnny Mack Brown) and Sandy Hopkins (Raymond Hatton) investigate a range war, a not-uncommon plot for a B western. As is usual for the series, both men operate undercover, and largely independently, until opportunity arises for them to cooperate more explicitly. This time around, Nevada claims to be the brother …
