Tex Palmer Movies

Johnny Mack Brown follows his tried-and-true western formula in Law of the Panhandle. This time, U.S. Marshal Brown backs up Sheriff Tom Stocker (Riley Hill) in an ongoing battle against a marauding outlaw gang. The thieves, led by snarling Henry Faulkner (Myron Healey), hope to scare all the local ranchers off the land that will soon be purchased by the railroad that's coming through the territory. The film's parade of cliches is stemmed by a truly innovative finale. Once more, Johnny Mack Brown leaves the film's romantic angle to the younger Riley Hill, whose vis-a-vis is played by Jane Adams. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Arguably Eddie Dean's best Western -- and certainly the balladeer's most unusual -- The Hawk of Powder River features busy B-Western heroine Jennifer Holt as Vivian, the "Hawk" of the title and the murderous leader of a gang of outlaws. When a local newspaper editor begins a crusade against the Hawk's reign of terror, Vivian has her henchmen murder him. Her uncle (Budd Buster), the owner of the Chambers Ranch, accidentally discovers the gang's hideout, and he, too, is killed. Next in line is Vivian's pretty cousin, Carole (June Carlson), but she is saved in the nick of time by cowboys Eddie Dean and Soapy (Roscoe Ates), who decide to get to the bottom of the fearful goings-on. Eddie sets a trap for Vivian's fiancé, Cochrane (Eddie Parker), and The Hawk of Powder River ends in a shootout during which Vivian is killed. In between the carnage, Dean sings four ballads accompanied by Andy Parker and the Plainsmen. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In the penultimate "Trail Blazers" B-Western, the often difficult Ken Maynard found himself summarily replaced by Chief Thundercloud, a somewhat original casting concept for Monogram, a stolid poverty row company that rarely took chances. Thundercloud joined veteran "Trail Blazers" Hoot Gibson and Bob Steele and yet another newcomer, Rocky Camron (aka Gene Alsace), in pursuing nasty "Honest John" Travers (Cy Kendall), a banker who rules the Johnstown area with an iron fist. "Honest John's" supremacy is threatened by the arrival of beef packing company buyer Carl Beldon (George Eldredge), there to purchase cattle from the very same ranchers Travers is trying to freeze out. When Beldon mysteriously disappears and rancher Bob Thornton is mortally wounded by renegades, U.S. Marshals Gibson, Steele and Thundercloud are assigned to investigate. With the assistance of Thornton's pretty daughter Alice (Jennifer Holt) and Sheriff Rocky Camron), the three "Trail Blazers" manage to get the goods on "Honest John," proving that the banker's henchman, Chuck Walters (Charles King), killed both Thornton and Beldon. In no less than her fifteenth B-Western, leading lady Jennifer Holt, daughter of Jack and sister of Tim, suffered the indignity of having her first name misspelled "Jenifer" in the on-screen credits. She shared the humiliation with legendary Native-American athlete Jim Thorpe, whose name read "Thorp." Monogram was just that kind of company. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Range Law stars Johnny Mack Brown as "Nevada" and Raymond Hatton as "Sandy", the same characters they played in most of their mid-1940s Monogram westerns. This time, Nevada and Sandy, US marshals both, set out to collar some renegades who've been driving out the local ranchers. It's just possible that one of said ranchers is behind this land-grabbing scheme. The motive: the land is rich with silver. The formidable bad-guy lineup includes Jack Ingram, Stanley Price, and Lynton Brent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a rather desperate attempt to duplicate the success of Republic Pictures' Three Mesqueteers B-Western series, Monogram producer Robert Emmett Tansey hired tired veterans Ken Maynard and Hoot Gibson to constitute the "Trail Blazers." Maynard and Gibson (playing themselves) are former lawmen hired to look into the disappearance of horses purchased by Commissioner Brent (I. Stanford Jolley) of the Southwestern Railroad Company. The seller of the herd, Betty Wallace (stunt rider Betty Miles), is unaware that her foreman, Tip (Glenn Strange), is also in the employ of Mel Carson (Ian Keith), a crooked saloon owner with interests in a stagecoach line whose existence is threatened by the railroad. Despite their expanding waistlines, Maynard and Gibson manage to catch the crooks and return the stolen horses, well assisted by young, law-spouting Sheriff Bob Tyler (Bob Baker). The latter, a former Universal star, was added to the cast to provide the necessary romantic sub-plot but the cantankerous Maynard disliked him so much that he was gone by the second instalment of the "Trail Blazers," The Law Rides Again. Maynard himself ended his long starring career after the sixth entry, Arizona Whirlwind (1944), replaced in the final two films by Chief Thundercloud. The initial two "Trail Blazers" films were helmed by Alvin J. Neitz (under the pseudonym of Alan James), and proved the final directorial work of this genre-specialist whose career dated back to the silent era. After the demise of the series, Hoot Gibson and new sidekick Bob Steele filmed another three Westerns for Monogram, often mistakenly referred to as "Trail Blazers" entries. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The Triangle W Ranch is indeed haunted in this Monogram Range Busters series entry, though not by the spirit of the late outlaw Reno Red as the townsfolk are led to believe, but by nasty Rance Austin (Glenn Strange) and his gang on the premises searching for a stolen gold bullion. Enter the Range Busters, one of whom, Dusty (John "Dusty" King), impersonates the heir to half of the ranch. The other half belongs to Helen Weston (Julie Duncan), and together with Dave (Dave Sharpe), Alibi (Max "Alibi" Terhune), and Red (Rex Lease) they finally nail Rance and his men and locate the gold bullion hidden in -- of all things -- a music box that plays "Little Brown Jug." Co-star Dave Sharpe entered the service during the filming of Haunted Ranch and was replaced in the latter part of the Western by Rex Lease. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this western, the courageous Range Busters, round up the rabble-rousing rustlers who've been rendering Rock River really rowdy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Monogram's Tom Keene western series continued its winning streak with 1942's Western Mail. As was customary, Keene is a good guy posing as a bad guy to get the goods on the other bad guys. While operating undercover, Keene befriends Lucky (Fred Kohler Jr.), the gone-astray brother of heroine Julia (Jean Trent). When the chips are down, Lucky proves he's still a right guy by laying down his life for Keene, thereby paving the way for a happy ending for our hero and the lovely Julia. Frank Yaconelli does his usual as Keene's Mexicano comic sidekick. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Thunder River Feud is the latest adventure of "The Range Busters," aka Ray "Crash" Corrigan, John "Dusty" King and Max "Alibi" Terhune. This time, the heroic trio come to the rescue of pretty rancher Maybelle (Jan Wiley), who is stuck in the middle of a deadly range war. Causing all the ruckus is villain Pembroke (Jack H. Holmes), who pits the cattlemen against the homesteaders in hopes of wiping out both factions for his own financial gain. The Range Busters quickly figure out what the bad guy is up to, and from then on in it's "Katy bar the door!" Somewhere along the line, John King gets to sing "What a Wonderful Day". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Johnny Mack Brown essays the title role in Universal's Fighting Bill Forgo. Returning to his home town, Bill Fargo takes over the operation of his late father's newspaper. He quickly gets swept up in political intrigue fomented by political boss Hackett (Kenneth Harlan), who has a cute habit of rubbing out any and all honest candidates for the sheriff's office. When one of Hackett's victims manages to snap a photograph of his assassins, Bill intends to publish the picture and expose the crooks-provided he lives that long. The musical interludes are provided by Eddie Dean, who'd be promoted to cowboy-star status himself in the late1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Range Busters-John "Dusty" King, David Sharpe, Max "Alibi" Terhune-do their bit for the war effort in Texas to Bataan. The plot concerns the theft of a shipment of horses, originally destined for the US Army overseas. But instead of the usual home-grown rustlers, the villains are a gang of Axis spies, overseen by the seemingly innocent Cookie (Escolastico Baucin), a Japanese agent posing as a Filipino. Naturally, the bad guys are no match for our true-blue, 100% All-American heroes. Texas to Bataan represented stuntman David Sharpe's first appearance as a Range Buster, replacing Ray "Crash" Corrigan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Like the first entry in the "Range Busters" series, the 1941-42 season opener Saddle Mountain Roundup was as much a whodunit as a western. This time, the murder victim is irascible rancher Magpie Harper (John Elliot). Arriving too late to save Harper from his fate, heroes Ray "Crash" Corrigan, John "Dusty" King and Max "Alibi" Terhune commit themselves to solving the murder. The identity of the killer is tipped off by the actor's prominence in the screen credits (at this time, he was usually cast in uncredited bit roles). Fairly well directed and acted, Saddle Mountain Roundup is compromised a bit by the surprising shoddy editing of Ray Claire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wrangler's Roost is another of Monogram's "Range Busters" epics, said Busters portrayed herein by Ray "Crash" Corrigan, John "Dusty" King and Max "Alibi" Terhune. The plot is predicated on the legend of "gentleman bandit" Black Bart, long thought dead but now apparently back in business. On behalf of the original Bart, now a respectable citizen living under an alias, the Range Busters go after the impostor, revealing his identity during a climactic poker game. George Cheseboro is at his best as a chronic drunk who is cured by kindly pastor Forrest Taylor (who, of course, is the original Black Bart). Range Buster John King gets to sing two songs on this occasion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide