Raiders of the West

Treasury Department employee Joseph Rand is kidnapped by outlaws, held hostage and forced to engrave plates that can be used to print counterfeit currency. Using the Mallory Dude Ranch as a front, the gang plans to flood the entire district with phoney money and stops at nothing - including murder - to cover its tracks. The Frontier Marshals (Lee Powell, Bill Boyd, Art Davis) are assigned to apprehend the counterfeiters, with Lee going undercover in a dangerous bid to ferret them out.

The second of six "Frontier Marshals" Westerns released by PRC during 1942, Raiders of the West hews closely to the formula established in the series opener, Texas Manhunt: Lee Powell (the screen's first Lone Ranger) goes undercover on his own, while fellow star packers Bill "Cowboy Rambler" Boyd and Art Davis work in tandem. This arrangement makes it easier for writer Oliver Drake to devise setups for the pair's frequent musical interludes - freeing non-singing star Powell to participate in the film's action sequences.

• western