"[8] Wheeler Oakman, usually wearing a dapper mustache, generally portrayed villains, gangsters, or henchmen, frequently appearing in crime thrillers, melodramas, and westerns.

In 1941 he accepted a leading role in J. D. Kendis's very-low-budget exploitation feature Escort Girl, opposite another silent-screen veteran, Betty Compson.

Their performances were noted by Monogram Pictures, a prolific producer of budget features for neighborhood theaters, and the Kendis film extended their careers.

Oakman in particular became a fixture at Monogram, working with Bela Lugosi, ZaSu Pitts, Harry Langdon, Gale Storm, Kay Francis, Shemp Howard, and The East Side Kids, among others.

Oakman, now in his late fifties, continued to work in Katzman's Columbia serials despite declining health -- in Jack Armstrong he was visibly frail, and was relieved of much of the action by last-minute replacement Charles Middleton.