Tom Keene Matinee: Western Mail (1942) / Crossroad Avenger (1953)

Tom Keene made a career out of playing self-assured cowboys who relied more on their clever wits and cunning than on their fists and firearms. His handsome smile and rugged physique garnered him legions of loyal fans.

Western Mail (1942, B&W): An outlaw gang holds up a train and robs the U.S. Mail shipment, attracting the unwanted attention of federal agents. Undercover U.S. Marshal Tom Allen infiltrates the gang by providing one of the gunmen, Lucky Webster, with an alibi for the robbery. Both Tom's mission and his very life are put in jeopardy when Lucky's sister, Julia, who has fallen in love with Tom, inadvertently blows his cover.

Starring Tom Keene, LeRoy Mason, Jean Trent, Glenn Strange; Directed by Robert Emmett Tansey.

Crossroad Avenger (1953, Color): This rare episode of the early 1950's TV series, "The Tuscon Kid," starred Tom Keene and featured fellow B-Western star, Tom Tyler. But its true claim to distinction is that it was written and directed by the legendary Edward D. Wood, Jr., who gained cinematic immortality for the cult classics Glen Or Glenda (1953) and Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959).

Starring Tom Keene, Tom Tyler, Lyle Talbot, Bud Osborne; Written & Directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr.

• western