One cracks his lash of justice and sends the bad guys scattering. One is a good ole boy whose friendly smile masks a fighting spirit. One is a balladeer of the prairies who can look out for the innocent and play a mean campfire tune in equal measure. They're Whip Wilson, Johnny Mack Brown, and Jimmy Wakely, three of the many western stars who rode into the nation's collective heart, courtesy of Monogram Pictures. You can make a compelling case that the stories behind their dozens upon dozens of vehicles all bleed together in the end, but these three hombres each brought a little something different for their fans to enjoy. Whether you prefer Wakely's singing voice, Wilson's no-nonsense ways, or Brown's affable attitude, the seventh volume of Warner Archive's Monogram Cowboy Collection is the perfect sampler platter, offering a line-up of nine short but sweet western adventures as only Poverty Row could make them.

ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE (1949). Jimmy Wakely helps out a pal (Riley Hill) whose clan has become the target of silver swindlers. It wasn't uncommon for strong supporting characters to unintentionally overshadow Monogram stars like Wakely in their own vehicles, a case that definitely applies to Across the Rio Grande. But where other movies benefitted from telling side stories that were ultimately more fascinating than what the headlining buckaroo was up to, this one forgoes numerous opportunities to easily enhance its plot. With Wakely's friend being a lawyer, perhaps some legal tactics could've been employed to give the proceedings a different twist, but as per usual where vintage westerns are concerned, pretty much all conflict gets solved via fisticuffs. Across the Rio Grande is an average enough flick, and it gets the job done. Too bad it resigns itself to being light and forgettable while hardly putting up a fight. 

ARIZONA TERRITORY (1950). A prospector (Whip Wilson) rides to the rescue of a beauty (Nancy Saunders) whose villainous uncle (John Merton) plots against her. Arizona Territory seems to include a mindset that if audiences have seen all of its tricks and twists before, then at least it should have the courtesy of putting on a lightning-quick show. The flick makes sure there's always something happening to keep  viewers occupied, from Merton's character trying to frighten his niece out of town to his dealings with lowdown counterfeiters. Things move so fast, you barely notice that Wilson doesn't put his namesake weapon to use all that often, but our hero appears in suitably butt-kicking shape, and Andy Clyde provides a likable sidekick (even if he does come across as a discount Sandy Hopkins). Arizona Territory offers solid fun, blazing along at a pace that helps you overlook the fact that you've seen  the sort of dust it kicks up many times before.

GUNSLINGERS (1950). A good Samaritan (Whip Wilson) honors a dying bandit's request to save his dad (Steve Clark) from being framed for cattle rustling. From start to finish, Gunslingers displays an abrupt grasp of pacing, one that doesn't completely derail the movie but comes darn close. To begin with, we don't learn an awful lot about our hero; Wilson is banging away on some errant fence post when he gets swept up into the action, and as our story continues, there's never any strong motivation for him sticking around -- other than that there'd be no picture if he didn't. There just isn't much flair to this premise, which sees Wilson playing a glorified game of keep-away with Clark's old-timer while searching for those trying to set him up. Consequently, Gunslingers doesn't end up feeling very thrilled at having to go through its genre's motions, and while there's some fun to be had, its plotting shows about as much imagination as its title.

LAWLESS COWBOYS (1951) When corruption strikes a growing rodeo outfit, Whip Wilson comes in to snuff out the source. If the amusingly blunt title weren't enough to send you snickering, Lawless Cowboys has other methods of unintentionally tickling your funny bone up its sleeves. After witnessing him take out robbers and killers his entire career, seeing Wilson turn his attentions to catching rodeo cheaters doesn't carry the same sense of palpable urgency. The conspicuously modern cars parked front and center in the bronco-busting stock footage are also cause for a few good giggles, but things like these are more endearing than irritating. With a plot that reserves at least some curveballs to hold our interest, Lawless Cowboys becomes the kind of western-raised gouda I can live with, a flick so hopelessly square that it's hard not to eventually be charmed by it.

MAN FROM THE BLACK HILLS (1952) Johnny Mack Brown gets caught in the middle when two men claim to be the long-lost son of a blind gold miner. With an opening scene that has bandits waxing sentimental about life out west before embarking on a holdup, Man from the Black Hills trains you to expect the unexpected. Misdirection flows through this film's veins, peppering a story that already focuses on impostors and con men with new information that's constantly turning the situation on its head. As a result, the picture adopts a rather engaging rhythm, and with the folksy-as-ever Brown handling himself well in any brawls that come up, so the viewer's spirits soar in tandem. Man from the Black Hills is a true blast to watch, a flick that strikes a balance between the safety net of western genre cliches and plot twists you might not see coming.

SADDLE SERENADE (1945) After an undercover marshal is killed on a dude ranch, Jimmy Wakely makes it his responsibility to catch the culprits. Although the prospect of a whodunit murder mystery set in the Old West seems quite tantalizing, that isn't the movie Saddle Serenade decides to be. The game of cat and mouse that dominates the running time never pulls you in all that much, as the identities of the villains are revealed fairly early on, and Wakely takes his sweet time to round them up. But that's not to say the flick has no entertainment value to spare, for the soundtrack is loaded with classic cowpoke crooning, and the hijinks of perennial second banana Lee "Lasses" White contain a good deal of charm. Saddle Serenade doesn't blaze any especially daring trails, but it helps make the journey to where it's going a reasonably fun one.

SILVER RAIDERS (1950). An Arizona Ranger (Whip Wilson) gets chummy with a gang of outlaws conducting increasingly dangerous heists. Though our story is a rehash of the old "good guy goes undercover" scenario, Silver Raiders does a lot of little things to try and create as pulse-pounding an experience as it can. The bandit troupe that Wilson's lawman embeds himself within has to be one of the most swiftly bamboozled bunch of boneheads in the western genre's history, but the time spent in their company is surprisingly fraught with tension. Our hero already has a precarious go at keeping up his ruse, and the addition of a secret surprise baddie behind the scenes guarantees that it's going to stay that way until the last bullet whizzes across the prairies. As traditional to a fault as it often feels, Silver Raiders is twice as stirring, thanks to the old-fashioned thrills packed in its holster.

TRIGGER FINGERS (1946). A noble cowpoke (Johnny Mack Brown) comes a-calling when the son of an old pal (Raymond Hatton) is accused of murder. The name Trigger Fingers proves to be a pretty apt description, as not only are the main villains quick on the draw, so is the innocent hombre (Riley Hill) they're taking advantage of. His ill temper is already notorious before he's set up as the fall guy for a so-called killing, so protecting him form the real bad guys and making sure he gets a fair trial ensure that ol' Johnny Mack's hands stay full for the duration of the movie. The picture is rarely without some small pleasure to enjoy, be it how Steve Clark's criminal mastermind masquerades as the town drunkard or the more dramatic performance Hatton delivers than fans are accustomed to. The bow it puts on all this excitement is a touch too tidy for my taste, but Trigger Fingers does make good on the power its title promises.

WHISTLING HILLS (1951). A gunslinger (Johnny Mack Brown) is hired to protect a stage line that keeps getting held up by a masked rider. It won't take you long to figure out the combination when it comes to Whistling Hills and its lockbox of "secrets," but this doesn't mean the movie is a total slave to formula. Johnny Mack's shaky alliance with the town sheriff (Jimmy Ellison) is one development yours truly didn't anticipate, and neither is the somber direction the story took once the marauder in disguise gets exposed. Without giving away what happens, I will say that the note our film wraps up on is an uncommonly sorrowful one...granted, the peppy, "Yay, we won!" music that booms soon afterwards as Brown rides into the sunset sort of ruins the moment, but it's the thought that counts. While it encounters its share of slow patches, Whistling Hills trots along at an agreeable pace and bucks the narrative norm just enough to get your attention.

(Monogram Cowboy Collection: Volume 7 is available from the Warner Archive Collection.)