Lure of the Wasteland (in Color) (1939) / Call of the Rockies (1931) (DVD)

Lure of the Wasteland (1939, B&W): Filmed on location in Kanab, Utah, Lure of the Wasteland was one of the first B-westerns shot in color.

Outlaw gang leader Butch Cooper buried $250,000 in stolen loot in the Utah Badlands before he was sent to prison. Hoping to recover the money, undercover Federal Agent Smitty poses as a convict and helps Butch escape. The two ride into the desert to dig up the treasure, but someone has beat them to it. With Smitty tagging along, Butch reunites with his gang, and learns that they have moved the cash. Just as he is about to learn the money's whereabouts, Smitty's cover is blown. Hog-tied and under guard, the lawman must find a way to stop Butch from retrieving the loot and heading for Mexico.

Starring Grant Withers, LeRoy Mason, Marion Arnold, Snub Pollard, Karl Hackett;Written and Directed by Harry L. Fraser.

Call of the Rockies (1931, B&W): Three outlaws encounter a wagon train as it follows the old Mormon Trail through the Rocky Mountains. Posing as lost travelers, the trio gains the trust of the pioneers, joining them on their westward trek. Just as the weary wagoners reach their destination, the outlaws steal the wagon train's horses and deliver them to hostile Indians in exchange for gold. The rustling effort triggers a deadly buffalo stampede. Everything that the newly arrived settlers own will be wiped out unless they can divert the rampaging herd.

Call of the Rockies was produced as a silent film in 1928 by the Mormons of Utah. Sound effects and a talking prologue scene were added for its eventual 1931 release.

Starring Ben Lyons, Marie Prevost, Gladys Johnston, Anders Randolf, Russell Simpson; Directed by Bernard B. Ray.

• western