A group of cowboys ending their cattle drive in Abilene find that cattle prices are being kept artificially low, driving down the price they'll get for their beef. They set out to change the situation.
A "special" by Monogram standards, Lure of the Wasteland was lensed in a not inexpensive process called Telco-color. Grant Withers takes a break from his duties in the "Mister Wong" series to play Smitty, a US marshal assigned to track down $250,000 in stolen bonds.
Wayne Morris' B-western series was the last of its kind to be produced in Hollywood. Texas Bad Man casts Morris as a sheriff who happens to be the son of inveterate thief Frank Ferguson. Knowing full well that Ferguson's gang intends to steal a shipment of gold, Morris must stay up nights trying to second-guess his crafty dad. While there's no shortage of action, the resolution to the story relies more on brawn than brain. Western "regulars" Sheb Wooley, Myron Healey and Denver Pyle do their usual in secondary roles, as does Elaine Riley as the requisite (but hardly crucial) heroine.
In this western, a paroled desperado and his twin, a preacher, wander about the Old West to bring "salvation." The parson begins trying to help a gang leader's niece whose uncle has been forcing parolees to join him or return to prison. Naturally he tries to rope the paroled twin into his gang.
John Malvin , prospecting the Montana territory during the gold rush, sees bandits kill a miner and his son. He eludes the outlaws by hiding near a stagecoach relay station run by "Possum" Enoch and his daughter Clair, with whom John Falls in love with. Sheriff Henry Plummer, secret head of the outlaws, learns John witnessed the killings and sends him as his deputy on a dangerous mission with a planned ambush.
Clint Ross's skill at fisticuffs earns him the town marshal's job in Cheyenne. Thanks to the string-pulling of political boss Big Bill Harmon, Ross makes it all the way up to the governor's office. But when Ross figures out that Big Bill is a big crook, it's showdown time.
There is a range war between the ranchers led by Tilden and the outlaw gang of Link Carson. Wanted outlaw Dude Ramsey arrives and joins up with Tilden. First he saves the ranchers from Carson's trap and then exposes Pearson as Carson's informant and killer of Steve Warner.
Two brothers settle a wilderness, one builds the largest cattle ranch in the state while the other creates a game preserve to protect the wild life. Trouble lies ahead.....
Jack is looking for the man that was responsible for the death of his sister after he hired her as a school teacher. When he runs into school teacher Ann who was just hired by Corey, he soon realizes Corey is the man he is after. Lacking proof, he works on Corey's nerves hoping to get a confession from him.
Hero Jeff Strong (Starrett) comes to the rescue of a group of victimized ranchers. The villains are a gang of crooked gamblers, who demand a valuable dam as payment for a $50,000 debt. The ranchers hope to earn the money by getting their cattle to market on time, but head bad guy Cash Fenton (Kenneth MacDonald) and his flunkey Lobo (Dick Curtis) intend to prevent this.
Randall and his sidekick Manny (Frank Yaconelli) played horse traders battling a greedy and unscrupulous rival (Tom London). When some of his stock disappears, Jack follows the trail to a ranch belonging to Harriet Morgan (Marin Sais) and her young niece, Ann (Phyllis Ruth). A white stallion is accused of luring the Morgan mares astray but the horses are in reality being rustled by the ever-present London and his henchman (Charles King).
Wild Bill Saunders discovers that his uncle Mort has been murdered by an unscrupulous ranch foreman, Matt Brawley. But before he can right Brawley's wrongs, Wild Bill is arrested for a murder he didn't commit. Sidekick Cannonball Sims and disgruntled girl rancher Joan Darcy plot to break Wild Bill out of jail but Brawley is wise to their plan.
Texas Ranger O'Brien has an outlaw twin brother. When his sibling is killed, O'Brien assumes his identity in order to infiltrate a gang of stagecoach robbers.