Early Cantrell

Despite his unprepossessing screen personality, singing cowboy Jimmy Wakely was starred in a series of Monogram westerns, one of which was West of the Alamo. Wakely and comedy sidekick Lee "Lasses" White play a pair of government agents who work undercover to solve a series of baffling crimes. It comes to no one's surprise that the criminal mastermind is the town's leading citizen, in this case banker Clay Bradford (Jack Ingram). As was typical in the Wakely westerns, West of the Alamo is approximately 25 percent action and 75 percent musical. Among the guest warblers this time out is the Arthur Smith Trio, headed by a gospel singer who'd later emcee a popular religious TV talk show.

Shemp Howard, in this Columbia All-Star Comedy (production number 7438), knows many ways to get into trouble with his wife, and one he opts for here is stay out late playing poker with the boys and then tell his wife he has been working.

A carnival showman tries to keep Japanese spies from sabotaging the Panama Canal.

A debutante, a serviceman's bride and a girl from a military family join the Women's Army Corps.

After his wife complains about the number of nights Woodcock (Shemp Howard) spends at the Hoot Owl Lodge, he takes her on a belated honeymoon. The first person they meet is lodge member Joe Wilson, who asks Woodcock to help him retrieve some ill-advised letters to lovely hotel guest Irene (Christine McIntyre). Woodcock soon finds himself caught between his jealous wife, and Irene's Latin-tempered fiancee Ricardo.

After a rare gem is stolen from an exhibition at a posh hotel, Inspector Farraday decides to recruit former thief Boston Blackie to find the stone. Along with his assistant, "The Runt", Blackie focuses his investigation on the hotel manager, George Daley, and his sister, Eileen. Through disguises and ruses, Blackie and the Runt try to trick their way to discovering the thieves.