Dreams do come true, and that was certainly the case when the Warner Archive Collection recently released the Monogram Matinee Volume 1 collection on Blu-ray!
This set consists of three Monogram "B" Westerns, all released in 1949: WESTERN RENEGADES (1949) with Johnny Mack Brown, CRASHING THRU (1949) with Whip Wilson, and MISSISSIPPI RHYTHM (1949) starring Jimmie Davis. This collection was certainly a wonderful surprise, and I hope we'll see more volumes in the future.
I've enjoyed several
Johnny Mack Brown Westerns in the past, but it's been quite a while, so I chose to start my viewing with that one. WESTERN RENEGADES is a 59-minute film which was directed by
Wallace Fox and written by Adele Buffington.
I'll add here that it's interesting to note, given both the era and the genre, that all three films in this set were written by women.
The plot of WESTERN RENEGADES is somewhat convoluted, with fake identities galore. Marshal Johnny Mack Brown (Brown) is headed to Gordontown to visit his old friend, Dusty Dekker (Steve Clark).
On the way he saves a brother and sister, Joe (Riley Hill) and Judy (Jane Adams) who live in Gordontown from some murderous bad guys. When everyone arrives in Gordontown, they learn that Dusty has been accused of murdering Joe and Judy's father Paul (Marshall Bradford).
It's all part of a plot by Jim Larren (Hugh Prosser) and others to steal control of land in Gordtown. The bad guys have even hired an actress (Constance Worth) to play Joe and Judy's long-lost mother, who will ostensibly inherit their ranch.
Like many films of this type, this is nothing particularly special, but it's an agreeable hour headed by the genial Brown, who's always one step ahead of the bad guys. Perfect relaxed Sunday afternoon viewing.
Among the supporting cast I especially enjoy Jane Adams, a "B" Western leading lady who also worked with Brown in LAW OF THE PANHANDLE (1950) and the previously reviewed OUTLAW GOLD (1950). Both of those later films were released on DVD in Monogram Cowboy Collections from the Warner Archive.
The supporting cast of WESTERN RENEGADES also includes Max Terhune, Marshall Reed, and Myron Healey.
WESTERN RENEGADES was filmed in black and white by Harry Neumann. Location shooting was done in Santa Clarita, California.
As an aside, last year I finally located the spot where Johnny Mack Brown is interred with his daughter at Forest Lawn Glendale; I shared a photograph in my Classic Movie Hub
Western RoundUp column. It was a nice moment pausing to pay my respects to someone whose work continues to make viewers like me very happy.
All three films in this set are contained on a single Blu-ray disc; they fit easily given that the longest movie in the set is 68 minutes, with the other two titles clocking in at under an hour.
There are no extras in the Monogram Matinee set, but having this trio of films on Blu-ray was enough to please this viewer, and I suspect my fellow Western fans will feel the same. WESTERN RENEGADES looks absolutely gorgeous, crisp and clear, and I'm looking forward to watching and reviewing the other two films in this set at a later date.
I hope all Western fans will support this release so that we'll see more Monogram Matinee releases in the future!
Dreams do come true, and that was certainly the case when the Warner Archive Collection recently released the Monogram Matinee Volume 1 collection on Blu-ray!
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