Heart of the West

Although, as a general rule, the early entries in this series are superior to those produced in the 1940s, "Heart of the West" emerges as one of the least interesting of the Hopalong Cassidys. This one disappointingly treats us to a parade of dull and boring characters engaged in a tiresome plot about a fence war between neighboring ranchers. How many times have we been regaled with that one? True, fascinating characters and clever storytelling can overcome even the most hackneyed themes, but here the problem is not alleviated at all, but compounded by indifferent acting and poor production values.

Technically, the movie also weighs in as second-rate. The sound recording and the dubbing of effects are especially weak, and even Archie Stout's camera-work scales up as far less noticeably impressive than usual (although there is one composition looking through a window that's mildly appealing).

All the action is saved for the final reel. True, if you're prepared to wait for it, the cattle stampede at the climax does perk up the picture a few notches.

Hoppy and Johnny travel to the Trumbull ranch where they are hired to lead a cattle drive, when they see a man floating down the creek. After Johnny saves him, Windy Jenkins claims he is the foreman for the Triple J ranch, headed by easterner Jim Jordan. Arriving in town, Hoppy goes to the courthouse to find a case between Jordan and Trumbull over fencing rights (Jordan's idea). Jordan wins the case, but is threatened by Trumbull's gun man Paterson. After Hoppy overwhelms him, he refuses the Trumbull offer and decides to spend the evening at Jordan's ranch. Trumbull's main purpose now is to rescue Johnson, the man who robbed Windy's stage and dumped him in the drink. That night they are successful and Johnson tells Trumbull of their plans to build the fence soon. Windy goes to town to get the fence posts and has his wagon stolen and burned by Trumbull's goons, but not before Johnny saves it. At the Jordan ranch, Trumbull has the idea of marrying Jordan's sister, Sally, and get control of the ranch so that the fencing would not happen and he can resume his cattle rustling operations. Hoppy and some of Jordan's men teach Jordan the error of his ways, and start on the fence building. Barton, a gun man Jordan sent for, arrives and Jordan sends his men to ambush Jordan and his men, but when Jordan's men fight back, Barton decides to stampede the cattle over the fence. Above average entry in the Hopalong series but it still could have been better. Blackmer doesn't seem to be the best actor for the main heavy role, and when Kohler popped on the screen, I felt he would have been a heckuva lot better in the role. Much of the film is routine and could have fit a Ken Maynard, Tom Tyler, or some other B western star, rather than specifically designed for a Hoppy film. Lynn Gabriel is cute, but her thespian talents leave a lot to be desired. The film does have the action, drama, and humor that works so well in the Hopalong series, Rating, based on B westerns, 5.

I found this to be a mediocre Hoppy film, as compared to the two dozen or so I have already see.. Usually I find the Hoppy films with Ellison and Gabby Hayes as among the best, but not this one. The copy I saw on Cozi TV had terrible sound. The woman who played the heroine, Lynn Gabriel, was the worst sounding one I have ever seen in a Hoppy film; I see she only appeared in two films throughout her "career." And Sidney Blacker (bland and sluggish as he usually is too often) came across as the one of the worst acted and appealing villains in a Hoppy movie. The plot was decent but no shakes; same for the other supporting actors. That didn't leave too much to enjoy.

If you've seen many of the Hopalong Cassidy films, this one might be a bit confusing due to a continuity problem. When the film begins, Johnny jumps in the river to save Windy's life....and Johnny and Hoppy don't know Windy...and vice-versa. This is strange as George 'Gabby' Hayes had previously played Windy in "Bar 20 Rides Again" with them! Hayes was also in the first Hopalong Cassidy film, though in this one he played a different character! Such continuity problems aren't unheard of in cowboy B-movies...but it is confusing.

Shortly after saving Windy's life, Hoppy and Johnny head into town. There they learn that the man who offered them jobs is orchestrating a range war...and he's hiring them to be his hired guns. Well, not surprisingly, Hoppy is disgusted by Trumbull and his propensity towards violence....and he tells him to keep his job! But instead of just heading off into the sunset, Hoppy and Johnny stick around to learn more about this brewing problem....and as time passes, it's obvious Trumbull and his men are doing far more than just raising cattle!

So is it any good? Generally yes. My only complaint is that the story is awfully simple...and there is nothing especially unique about the movie. In other words, it's a competently made and well acted western....just like all the rest of the Cassidy films...but also not a must-see either....though I did enjoy seeing how Trumbull met his fate!

The location for this film is around Sonora, California...several hours to the west of the filming location for most of the Hopalong Cassidy movies--with Yosemite National Park separating them. This isn't a problem...just an observation and you might notice that the location is a bit more hilly and less a mountainous desert like Lone Pine.

Heart Of The West has a beginning like the John Wayne/Robert Mitchum classic El Dorado. Do you remember that Wayne came to work for Ed Asner, but after finding out that Asner was the bad guy, the Duke threw in with Robert Mitchum the sheriff and the family Asner was trying to force out.

Same here. Bill Boyd and his young friend James Ellison get an offer to work for Sidney Blackmer the local Ponderosa owner. But when they find out he's the bad guy they throw in with brother and sister Charles Martin and Lynn Gabriel who are being squeezed by Blackmer.

There's some public grazing land that Blackmer has appropriated for himself. At first the thought is he's just greedy. But he actually does have some underhanded motives for trying to keep everyone else off.

Blackmer in the best Snidely Whiplash tradition has designs on Lynn Gabriel. But as usual when there's a pretty girl around to get his attention, anyone else will have to deal with Jimmy Ellison.

The climax is a cattle stampede which Hoppy turns to his advantage.

A good one in the Hoppy tradition.