Once upon a time, there were more westerns on the silver screen than stars in the Montana sky. Audiences couldn't get enough trail tales, whether they were prestige productions from directors like John Ford or the low-budget adventures studios such as Monogram Pictures specialized in. Monogram didn't possess the iconic star power and sweeping visual beauty of its more well-off contemporaries, but what it did have was speed, the ability to supply confirmed western junkies alike with a quick fix on what seemed like every weekend. The Warner Archive posse provided a sample of the studio's bronco-busting legacy with their first Monogram Cowboy Collection, but as genre fans are quick to point out, there's more where that came from. Boasting eight titles that feature matinee heroes Whip Wilson and Rod Cameron, this second volume has more than enough rustler-wrangling, outlaw-smashing horseplay to keep viewers satisfied.

CANYON RAIDERS (1951). Wilson runs afoul of gamblers, gunslingers, and trouble galore as he hunts down a gang of horse thieves. That the bad guys are after steeds instead of the standard steer is about the only original idea Canyon Raiders has going for it. The winking hero, the homesteaders he defends, and the lowdown rustlers in need of a good clobbering are all present, accounted for, and as cliched as you'd imagine. This doesn't diminish the movie's overall charm and harmless fun to any critical degree, but the hits these areas take are noticeable; if the by-the-numbers plot doesn't have you rolling your eyes, the constant condescension Phyllis Coates's female sheriff receives (even from the good guys) will. Some western fans will enjoy Canyon Raiders and its cut-and-dry manner, but others may wish some added oomph had been packed into its saddlebags.

FORT OSAGE (1952). Cavalry Scout's Cameron returns for another color western, playing a guide hoping to arrange peace between native tribes and the settlers who want to cross their land. Fort Osage certainly has its irons in a multitude of fires, but rarely does it feel like too much for veteran genre director Lesley Selander to handle. The stakes are high without seeming padded out by a whole mess of busywork, as Cameron finds himself trying to quell the increasingly violent natives while ensuring that the emigrants hit the trail before winter sets in. It takes our hero way too long to connect the extremely obvious dots and sniff out the real villains, but it's a tense race against time regardless, one that closes out on a gripping note. To outsiders, Fort Osage might not look like anything all that special, though for Monogram fans, the fact that this was filmed in color and included fifteen minutes beyond the studio's normal running time is tantamount to a treat.

THE GUNMAN (1952.) A marshal (Wilson) rallies the good people of a town that's been overrun by outlaws. While The Gunman appears to be standard genre fluff on the surface, there are a couple scenes that hint at a deeper darkness. With even the sheriff in cahoots with the blackmailing baddies, the deck sure is stacked against Wilson and what men he can recruit to his cause, which makes them resort to somewhat desperate measures in the name of serving justice. One surprisingly moody sequence has Wilson's kangaroo court interrogating and threatening to hang a henchman, and the climactic showdown sees our hero blasting away some flunkies without being shot at first. Moments such as these are few in The Gunman, which more or less sticks to the genre formula, but that it still deigns to go to such moral gray areas in the first place warrants giving the film at least one whirl.

MONTANA INCIDENT (1952). Two railroad surveyors (Wilson and Rand Brooks) face opposition when they start mapping out a new route through a valley. It's a shame Montana Incident's most exciting concept is the same one keeping the plot such a repetitive bore. Our main villain is actually a lady -- a very cold-hearted customer played by Peggy Stewart -- who rules over her territory with an iron fist. It's just terrific to see a woman given so much power as an antagonist, but when all the film allows her to do involves issuing orders to have the heroes killed over and over, it makes the story feel redundant and the character herself more closely resemble a cartoon bad guy. Missed opportunities to develop a villain who really stands out amongst the herd aside, Montana Incident is still an all-around lousy adventure, with a stagnant narrative and the most generic action this side of Dodge City.

NIGHT RAIDERS (1952). A lawman (Wilson) gets summoned to help corral some goons searching for lost loot. In having its characters rely so frequently on their wits to escape a tight spot, Night Raiders has an easier go at preserving its story's freshness than many of the other titles in this set. Both Wilson's crew and the varmints they're chasing are constantly jostling to gain the upper hand, each resorting to their own blend of deceitful tricks and old-fashioned gunplay to stay one step ahead. It makes a huge difference to have this kind of dynamic at play instead of getting an hour's worth of ambush after tiring ambush, as it injects the picture's very basic set-up with unprecedented levels of suspense. Night Raiders is a simple flick that works wonderfully, always on the move and rarely letting its viewers have an opportunity to grow weary of all the goings-on.

STAGE TO BLUE RIVER (1951). Wilson ends up playing prairie private eye as he looks into who's trying to ruin the reputation of a stagecoach line. In a slight change of pace from the regular Monogram formula, Stage to Blue River introduces something of a whodunit angle into the proceedings. Behind all of the hold-ups and mayhem the baddies incite is a criminal mastermind, a mystery figure whose identity remains a secret until the very end. With the suspect pool being as shallow as it is, audiences won't have much difficulty cracking this case, but it's still fun seeing Wilson dig up the appropriate dirt while keeping his own cover as a U.S. marshal under wraps. It's business as usual as far as the rest of Stage to Blue River is concerned, but the film boasts enough of an entertaining flair to make it well worth moseying up to.
 
WAGONS WEST (1952). Cameron saddles up for another "Cinecolor" outing as he leads a wagon train out on the road to prosperity. While the dirty brown hues that Wagons West comes bathed in put a damper on all hopes it had of bowling us over with visual majesty, it's still an exciting western excursion in any case. Cameron comes across plenty of drama out on the trail, what with having to juggle attacks from Indians, dissent amongst the emigrants in his charge, gun runners, romance, and a lady who waits until the big battle at the end to give birth. This is an awful lot of story to cram into a single 70-minute picture, but the film makes good use of its time, addressing these subplots frequently enough to give viewers their money's worth without stretching itself thin. The movie's looks may suffer as a result of its frugal finances, but Wagons West and its pioneering spirit charm you into not minding so much with relative ease.
 
WYOMING ROUNDUP (1952). A crooked town council hires two cowhands (Wilson and Tommy Farrell) to use as pawns in a range war. Part of me wants to say that the conspiracy twist would've been better served had its reveal been saved for the climax, but its inclusion shows great ambition on Wyoming Roundup's part nevertheless. The movie does a fine job of ratcheting up the tension as Wilson unknowingly carries on the villains' work, leaving us unsure of whether he'll first take fire from the cattle ranch he's sent to investigate or his superiors when he starts to catch onto the truth. The suspense rises further as our heroes gradually unravel the scheme, their efforts reaching a riveting fever pitch in an explosive showdown against the evildoers. Wyoming Roundup is armed with loads of action and humor, delivering the goods without hardly ever feeling like it's dragging its spurs in the dirt.

(The Monogram Cowboy Collection: Volume 2 is available to purchase through the Warner Archive Collection: http://www.warnerarchive.com)