Pleasing, colorful Monogram entry in the space movie genre sees a small group of Earth people heading to the Red Planet, where they are made welcome indeed — but do their hosts have ulterior motives? Good performances and an unexpected resolution to a romantic subplot make this one worth a look. Mildly recommended. Otto judiciously …
Read the full post →“<em>Flight to Mars</em> (Monogram, 1951)”
The Rough Riders — Marshals Buck Roberts (Buck Jones), Tim McCall (Tim McCoy), and Sandy Hopkins (Raymond Hatton) investigate the killing of two marshals, Tim’s friends, who were seeking a crook in the vicinity of a ghost town. The efficient programmer makes decent use of the setting, with tunnels connecting parts of the town and …
Read the full post →“<em>Ghost Town Law</em> (Monogram, 1942)”
The Range Busters series draws to a close with Bullets and Saddles. This time around, the boys — Ray “Crash” Corrigan, Dennis Moore, and Max “Alibi” Terhune (with Elmer) — are called in by Mother Craig (Rose Plumer) to help counter the machinations of the evil Jack Hammond (Glenn Strange, who does well with his …
Read the full post →“<em>Bullets and Saddles</em> (Monogram, 1943)”
An abducted government engraver is being used to create counterfeit bills, and a federal agent is sent west to track down the source of the phony money in this slight but reasonably enjoyable Tim McCoy outing, in which he pretends to be a crook to get an in with the gang holding the engraver. As …
Read the full post →“<em>Phantom Ranger</em> (Monogram, 1938)”
Range detective Steve Mason (Johnny Mack Brown) goes undercover as a wanted murder to infiltrate a gang of rustlers. A fairly standard little B western — efficient and entertaining, but unmemorable. Mildly recommended. Otto judiciously thinks this movie is OK, but not great. Movie 207 for 2021.
In the second of the entertaining series of Rough Riders movies from Monogram starring Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, and Raymond Hatton, Buck poses as a wanted killer, with Tim as the marshal on his trail, while Sandy (Raymond Hatton) works as a cook, all to foil a criminal plan to gain water rights for a …
Read the full post →“<em>The Gunman from Bodie</em> (Monogram, 1941)”
In the 21st entry in the series, Ray Corrigan returns to the Range Busters, but John “Dusty” King has departed, along with David Sharpe; Dennis Moore joins as well, and Max “Alibi” Terhune, with Elmer, remains (the only member of the trio to star in all 24 movies). This time around, the boys are looking …
Read the full post →“<em>Land of Hunted Men</em> (Monogram, 1943)”
The final Range Busters movie with the lineup of John “Dusty” King, David Sharpe, and Max “Alibi” Terhune, and the 20th overall, Haunted Ranch has one of my favorite plot devices — apparent hauntings — but falls rather short of the earlier ghost town movie in the series, Trail of the Silver Spurs. Here, both …
Read the full post →“<em>Haunted Ranch</em> (Monogram, 1943)”
This movie is a bit different from the Johnny Mack Brown movies from Monogram that I’ve been watching. Here he is not U.S. Marshal Nevada Jack McKenzie. Rather, he is a doctor, a man who used to wield his guns but did so in error once and put them aside. He tries to steer clear …
Read the full post →“<em>Flame of the West</em> (Monogram, 1945)”
John Wayne is Singin’ Sandy Saunders, a government agent who is working undercover to investigate in response to ranchers’ complaints about Kincaid (Forrest Taylor), a businessman who controls nearly all the water in the area and is forcing the landowners to pay up or is by denying them the water needed for their livestock. The …
Read the full post →“<em>Riders of Destiny</em> (Lone Star / Monogram, 1933)”
