Trail Dust

William Boyd seemed to be having too much fun in this one. Why shouldn't he with a cast like this. Of course Gabby was in top form as was his co-sidekick, James Ellison. I only wish there would've been more verbal jousting between them as they were pure gold together. One great scene was when Gabby was showing Ellison the proper way to court the gorgeous leading lady, Gwynne Shipman. The best in the business Morris Ankrum and Ted Adams head up the malicious gang trying to stop the huge cattle drive on the way to Plainsville. Al St. John, George Chesebro, Al Bridge and Kenneth Harlan round out a great cast.

It's a Depression time in the old west just as it was for the movie going public when Trail Dust came out in 1936. The price of beef cattle is sky high and a greedy rancher played by Morris Ankrum wants to keep the price high. So he looks askance when a relief committee seeks to buy cattle for relief purposes, including the herd from the Bar 20 Ranch where Hopalong Cassidy is the foreman.

Hoppy and the gang have to drive the herd to the railroad terminal to be paid. Ankrum's one ruthless dude however. He joins the trail drive under an alias and continues any number of nefarious schemes to prevent Hoppy's herd from arriving.

Of course Bill Boyd, Jimmy Ellison and Gabby Hayes are up to the challenge. Trail Dust is a bit unusual in that Hoppy is for once dealing with a plot that involves his chosen profession, ranch foreman. Most of the Cassidy features involve him getting in all kinds of circumstances that have nothing to do with being foreman of the Bar 20. Perhaps this one sticks to the trail because it is taken directly from one of Clarence Mulford's novels.

The plot involving a depression and relief certainly struck the right note with a 1936 movie audience. Trail Dust holds up fairly well today for B western film of the time.

I really enjoyed this "Trail Dust" installment of the Hoppy series, which is owing really to many factors, but in perhaps largest measure to the story derived from Clarence Mulford's "Trail Dust" novel. Few films take on a trail drive as their sole purpose for being. It is impressive that even though approximately 95% of the program takes place outdoors-- and most of that on the cattle trail-- the film really never lets the viewers' attention wane. Photography by Archie Stout is well planned, including beautifully highlighted western vistas abounding throughout. The natural beauty afforded by the countryside near California's Mother Lode district verges on magic (this setting is a welcome relief from the venerable Alabama Hills that viewers of lower-budgeted westerns have become all too familiar with). The evening gathering of hardworking trail hands gathered around the chuck wagon, all illuminated by the campfire's illuminating glow, are gorgeously captured. Sound is very important in the movie, too...the sound of horses and cattle and the cowboys' communicating voices stay with the viewer long after the film has concluded. The unforced and simple banter between Windy (George Hayes) and Hoppy (William Boyd) showcase two of western film's more distinctive and entertaining voices. Listen to Windy walk in his boots across the wooden floor of the Waggoner's Outfitting Store...it is so appropriately atmospheric!

All the players in "Trail Dust" do the acting profession proud, for this is a serious film and one senses the performers are committed to doing it right. But one really has to hand it to good ol' William Boyd... he carries such a reassuring, honest, and pervasive presence that his Hoppy persona hangs over every frame of the film, whether he is present or not. However, there was one moment that was a bit worrisome for me, and that concerned some gun play in which Hoppy was involved... see if you notice anything that might make you wonder just a tad.

In summary, then, direction, dialog, lighting, location, and camera placement for "Trail Dust" were all done so well. This is a solidly-funded Paramount western film and one that western fans will very likely find worth their while.

"Trail Dust" from the Hopalong Cassidy series is a real duster in every sense of the word. Most of the story takes place on a dusty and dry cattle drive.

Unscrupulous cattleman Tex Anderson (Stephen Morris) is withholding his cattle from a hungry market in order to drive up prices. The cattle buyers prevail upon some smaller ranchers including Hoppy (William Boyd)to form a drive and bring their cattle to market. Hoppy takes on the job of trail boss and is joined by his two pals Johnny Nelson (Jimmy Ellison) and Windy Halliday (George "Gabby" Hayes). Along the way the pick up the heroine Beth Clark (Gwynne Simpson)who is searching for her father. Unbeknownst to the group is that the evil Tex Williams has hired on in order to sabotage the drive and his cattle to reach the market first.

This is a better than average entry in the series. Produced by Harry "Pop" Sherman and directed by Nate West, this adventure takes place on the trail and leaves the viewer as thirsty as the cattle from all of the dust and long days along the trail. At 77 minutes this picture is longer than most series westerns but benefits from the extra running time. The outdoor photography is breathtaking and gives the viewer the feel of being on the trail too. In fact Boyd's traditional black costume is covered in dust through most of the film, unheard of for most "B" western heroes.

Boyd plays Hoppy the trail boss with an edge unusual for a series western hero. He takes no guff from anyone including his friends. This is what set the early Hoppys above most of the competition of the day. Hayes had still not adopted the "Gabby" nickname at this point. He was still being billed as George Hayes. Ellison was nearing the end of his tenure on the series, wanting to go on to "A" features. Morris became better known as Morris Ankrum later in his career.

As usual at the end, Ellison dumps the heroine and Hayes makes a remarkable recovery from a leg wound to ride after Hoppy and join him for the next adventure.

This is the one Hopalong Cassidy adventure that really stands out in my mind as being the best. It's a little more gritty than some of the later ones, and more like a real western than an episode of a tv show. Later on Hoppy would get a bit more corny and more like a wandering doo-gooder, but here he's just an ordinary cattle-man, trying to get his herd on down the trail. Gabby Hayes is, as usual, excellent as Windy, while the rest of the cast make great cowboys. My dad taped a whole bunch of these off PBS for us, and this is what I watched growing up, instead of cartoons or other things, and I think I'll always love these classic adventures. This is definitely the best of them all.