Monogram Matinee: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Monogram Matinee: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie Review

Three down, hundreds to go.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 3, 2025

Long-defunct film studio Monogram Pictures Corporation was known during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s as a champion of low-budget entertainment and part of "Poverty Row", the nickname given to like-minded "B" outfits that stood in sharp contrast to the extravagance of Hollywood's Golden Age. Nowadays, even Monogram's best big-screen efforts play more like forgotten TV pilots or part of an anthology series, covering several different genres such as film noir, suspense, and comedy while others blossomed into long-running series like Mr. Wong, The East Side Kids, and of course Charlie Chan. A big part of their more than 700-film output during those three decades (and beyond, after the studio transitioned into Allied Artists Pictures) was Westerns, and Warner Archive's welcome new Blu-ray collection serves up three short and enjoyable entry-level oaters from 1949, two of which are making their home video debut.

Mississippi Rhythm (68 minutes) is the de facto main feature, if we're going by runtime and poster art size, but for me it's probably the least essential of these three efforts. Still entertaining and breezy enough at just over an hour, it follows singer Jimmie Davis (as himself, kind of) on board a riverboat bound for Creek City where he'll be co-owner of a company bequeathed by his recently deceased uncle. Jimmie is seen as something of a rube to the other passengers, including Dixie Dalrymple (the great Lee "Lasses" White, who sadly died later that year), and is almost played for a fool when he's invited to be part of an on-board musical show but wins over the crowd. Nonetheless, he's almost swindled again in a crooked card game led by Judge Homer Kenworthy (Paul Maxey), but Dixie helps him out and Jimmie wins big. This all serves as a prerequisite to what follows in Creek City: Kenworthy and his men are welcomed with open arms, the death of his uncle seems suspect, and other potentially unsavory characters are around including Jeanette (Veda Ann Borg), who owns the saloon where Jimmie is booked to perform with the riverboat band. The story's decent enough but a little too convoluted for a 68-minute film, especially when one considers that multiple musical numbers -- including a full-on minstrel show -- pad almost half the runtime. Film Rating: 2.75/5, but Dixie's a hoot.

Western Renegades (54 minutes) has an even more convoluted plot, but isn't padded with songs so it at least has almost enough time to breathe. Our story takes place in and around Gordonville, where the town owner Paul Gordon (Marshall Bradford) is expecting a visit from his adult children Joe (Riley Hill) and Judy (Poni Adams). Trouble arises when they're ambushed by two riders but U.S. Marshal Johnny Mack Brown (again, sort of playing himself) intervenes on his way to the same town for a meeting with retired Marshal and current livery owner Dusty Dekker (Steve Clark). Dusty's back in town having a chat with Paul, who just received a letter from his ex-wife who he thought was dead... but Paul is the one who ends up dead after being gunned down by Jim Laren (Hugh Prosser), who's planning to take over Gordonville with his men. What follows is half drama and half mystery as Dusty is accused of the murder, Paul's wife finally shows up, both of them are captured, and Marshall Brown must help Sherriff Alibi (Max Terhune) solve the case. This is a fun little outing but tough to follow at times, while some of its bigger moments are hampered a bit by the film's low budget. Even so, Western Renegades was the only one of these three films previously released on DVD, as part of Warner Archive's 2019 Monogram Cowboy Collection: Volume 10. Film Rating: 3/5.

Crashing Thru (54 minutes), starring Whip Wilson (as himself, and named after his weapon of choice), proves that opinions vary: this one's got the lowest rating on IMDb -- not that that really means anything -- and has the smallest poster on the front cover, but I probably enjoyed it the most. It's a bit slimmer in plot and thus a lot more accessible, following our hero -- a Wells Fargo agent investigating a string of robberies -- as he rides along with stagecoach driver Ranger Tim Raymond (Kenne Duncan) on their way to the town of Masonville with passengers Stella Drew (Christine Larson), Mr. Winkle (Andy Clyde), and a load of gold bullion. Ranger Raymond is shot by robbers who make off with the gold and, before dying, tells Whip that he was sent to clean up Masonville and hands off his credentials. Now entering town under the guise of authority, Whip's story checks out until the real Ranger's sister Janet (Jan Bryant) shows up. Crashing Thru still isn't exactly air-tight entertainment, but it has the best overall tone alongside Western Renegades and feels the most well-paced of the three... and Andy Clyde, already well-known for his portrayal of California Carlson from several Hopalong Cassidy films, steals the show as Mr. Winkle. Film Rating: 3.25/5.

Monogram Matinee: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The long and short of Warner Archive's exclusive new 1080p transfers is that they've all been derived from the best-available preservation elements, which were scanned in 4K and treated to a round of the boutique label's proprietary manual cleanup process. (For videophiles keeping score at home, Mississippi Rhythm was sourced from a second-gen nitrate composite fine-grain master positive made during the film's release year, while both Western Renegades and Crashing Thru were from 1970s third-gen 16mm picture and track negatives.) Mississippi clearly leads the pack with a comparably more crisp and well-defined image that, at times, could easily stand toe-to-toe with some of the boutique label's best releases from this era. The other two are noticeably softer but no less impressive, sporting an attractive silvery sheen and respectable amounts of fine detail with no prevailing issues that couldn't be described as source-related. All three are nicely encoded on this dual-layered disc with only occasional signs of light macro blocking, but under the circumstances these look surprisingly great and will impress die-hard fans of the studio.

Mississippi Rhythm: Screenshots #1, 2, 6-13

Western Renegades: Screenshots #3, 14-17

Crashing Thru: Screenshots #4, 5, 18-20

Monogram Matinee: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

All three DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mixes are sourced from the same source elements listed above and have likewise been cleaned of most age-related wear-and-tear, but occasional hiss and wavering volume levels can occasionally be heard on both Western Renegades and Crashing Thru; it's absolutely nothing major, though, as all three films exhibit uniformly intelligible dialogue with plenty of room left over for occasional gunshots, rousing chase sequences, and their respective original scores. In short, they're as straightforward as you'd expect for mono tracks presented in a split two-channel container and, like the visuals, likely exceed those heard in theaters back in the late 1940s.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during all three films.

Monogram Matinee: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with attractive collage cover art showcasing all three original one-sheet posters. Although no bonus features are included, given the sticker price that's not a deal-breaker.

Monogram Matinee: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Warner Archive's welcome new Blu-ray collection Monogram Matinee Volume 1 celebrates the popular "Poverty Row" movie studio Monogram Pictures, a B-movie house that released hundreds upon hundreds of low-budget films during the 1930s-50s under that name. As its title implies, it's a light dig into the vaults -- Western-themed, at least this time around -- and serves up three short and enjoyable entry-level oaters from 1949, two of which are making their home video debut. The A/V merits are unsurprisingly solid, making this a welcome set that fans will enjoy.