South of the Rio Grande

After several years' dormancy, the "Cisco Kid" western-film series returned to the screen with Monogram's The Cisco Kid Returns. Duncan Renaldo, actually Rumanian, starred as the Mexican "Robin Hood of the Old West", with Martin Garralaga as his corpulent sidekick Pancho. In the tradition of 20th Century-Fox's earlier "Cisco" efforts, our hero comes to the aid of an orphaned child, clears himself of a kidnapping charge, and proves that a "solid citizen" is in fact a criminal mastermind.

Gallant Cisco "kidnaps" murder suspect Ellen from the authorities, then sets about to prove her innocence, all with the cooperation of a sympathetic sheriff.

The Cisco Kid and Pancho set off to find the missing owner of a devoted little dog in this western adventure. From the vanished man's sister, the heroes learn that her brother disappeared soon after striking a major gold vein in his mine. In the end Cisco accosts the villain, saves the kidnapped miner and reunites him with his dog.

The Cisco Kid and Pancho are mistakenly identified as leaders of an outlaw band. While the cavalry runs them down, they must hunt down the real bad guys.

Daring Cabellero was the third of producer Phil Krasne's Cisco Kid "B" westerns. Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo return as Cisco and Pancho, roles they'd carry over into a popular 1950s TV series. Once more stumbling into a dangerous situation, Cisco and Pancho risk their own necks by saving an innocent man from hanging. Eventually, our heroes learn that a corrupt political machine is behind the killing. Leading lady Kippie Valez is cast as "herself," which must have meant more in 1949 than it does today. Unlike the subsequent TV series, Daring Caballero does not end with the leading actors reciting their standard mantra "Oh, Pancho! Oh, Cisco!"

Satan's Cradle was the fourth of producer Phil Krasne's "Cisco Kid" programmers for United Artists. This time, Cisco takes on a frontier megalomaniac, shyster lawyer Steve Gentry, who has taken over a mining town. Gentry's confederate is dancehall girl Lil who is as deadly as she is beautiful. When itinerant preacher Henry Lane is beaten to a pulp by Gentry's goons, Cisco and Pancho move in for the kill.

Cisco and Pancho set out to clear their names in a series of stage robberies committed by two thugs who are impersonating them.

Dave Crockett comes to the aid of ranchers living on the Yucca Strip, who want their area made part of the United States. A greedy land baron, however, wants the property as his own.

Johnny Mack Brown stars in the formula oater Shadows on the Range. The film was made at a time when Monogram was experimenting with the notion of passing Brown off as a singing cowboy. While his voice is dubbed, he's definitely handling all the action sequences himself, and that's what the fans really wanted.

John Oxford owns a gambling hall in an Alaskan mining town, but it known far and wide as an honest man. However, one day he finds that in order to save the life of Doris Henry, who has come to Alaska to marry Wallace Towers, he has to cheat. It turns out that Wallace has incurred huge gambling losses and is being threatened by those to whom he owes the money, and they in turn are threatening Doris--who mistakenly blames John for the predicament that she and Wallace are in.

Burly Johnny Mack Brown once again plays undercover U.S. Marshal Nevada McKenzie in this overly complicated series oater from low-budget Monogram. This time, McKenzie, who goes under the alias of Roy Ferris, is waylaid by would-be stage robber Cy Manning (John Merton) en route to the Bar X Ranch.

Kate Diamond owns the Roaring Falls Trading Post from where she directs her gang's gun-smuggling to the Indians. After she short-changes smuggler Stacey, his men attempt to steal the hidden guns, and attack her foreman Nebraska, but he is saved by Jimmy and "Cannonball" on their way to file a homestead claim at Canyon City. Jimmy renews a long acquaintance with Sheriff Harris and his daughter Jessica. The sheriff is wounded by half-breed Danny when he finds a rifle hidden in the latter's wagon, but Jimmy captures the outlaw, a go-between for Kate and the Indians.Wounded and in bed, Sheriff Harris ask Jimmy not to tell Jessica that she is only adopted and that Nebraska is really her father, although he believes her to be dead.

Sergeant Carlos Olivarez (Buck Jones) becomes entangled in the machinations of an oil baron, havoc-wreaking bandits, and the femme fatale who ruined his brother.

Larry is engaged to Lisbeth Blair but he becomes attentive to Gail, a singer, and is injured in an accident in her apartment. He is slowly going blind and decides that he shouldn't marry Lisbeth. A surgeon restores his sight and he and Lisbeth reconcile to the strains of "My Old Kentucky Home" sung by the Hall Johnson Choir.

Wild Bill Hickock and Cannonball help two young people in love and bring the murderer of Cannonball's father to justice.

A sleazy lawyer's female assistant sets out to end his cheating ways.

After killing a friend in a gunfight, Jeff Douglas quits the Texas Rangers. He arrives at the Kenyon ranch just as Jonathan Kenyon apparently commits suicide. He and Janet Kenyon then become the new half owners. At first, he refuses to wear a gun and is believed to be a coward, but as trouble mounts, he straps it on once again.

Flame of the West has always attracted more attention than most of Johnny Mack Brown's Monogram westerns, if for no other reason than the offbeat casting of Douglass Dumbrille. Usually seen in villainous roles, Dumbrille herein offers a sincere, effective performance as a scrupulously honest US marshal named Nightlander. When he takes on a gang of crooked gamblers, Nightlander is shot down in cold blood, compelling frontier doctor John Poole (Johnny Mack Brown) to put his Hippocratic oath on the back burner and strap on the shootin' irons.

Anita Morell arrives by stagecoach in a small California town to find her father murdered and his property being stolen by two unscrupulous townsmen. She receives help from a sympathetic lawman and from a masked rider known as "the Black Shadow" whose whip-scarred back is evidence of his own grudge against the townsmen.

After a brief mid-1940s burst of originality, Monogram's Johnny Mack Brown western series settled back into the commonplace with such entries as Flashing Guns. In this outing, Brown tries to save his pal Shelby (Raymond Hatton) from being thrown off his ranch by crooked banker Ainsworth (James E. Logan). To do this, our hero must prove that the banker is in cahoots with the local gambling boss (Douglas Evans).

The baby sitter is none other than veteran Hollywood tough guy Tom Neal. A private detective, Neal is hired to keep an eye on the child of married couple George Meeker and Rebel Randall. Actually, Meeker and Randall are jewel thieves, and their "baby" is their stolen loot. Neal eventually catches on when he realizes that this is the quietest child on earth. Running a scant 41 minutes, Case of the Baby Sitter was designed to be shown in tandem with another Screen Guild Productions "briefie," The Hat Box Mystery: the films were shot back to back, with Tom Neal and Pamela Blake starring in both.

Dr. Janos Rukh discovers a certain type of radium that has almost magical healing properties. But the element has a dangerous side, too, and it has already started affecting Rukh. Consumed by paranoia, he begins to suspect that his wife is having an affair. Wild for revenge, Rukh hatches a deadly plot...using his own poisoned body as a weapon to kill.