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.

In the sixth Hopalong Cassidy movie, Bill Boyd and James Ellison head out to take a job for a while with Sidney Blackmer's outfit. Before that can happen, they hook up with whip-wielding Gabby Hayes, who tells them about the fence war with his employer, Lynn Gabriel. So Hoppy and Johnny go to work for her. Meanwhile, Blackmer tries to get Miss Gabriel's spread, proposing marriage to her, and starting a cattle stampede. With Hoppy on the job, will everything turn out right?

It's a pleasant effort early in the long-running series, still under the control of producer Harry Sherman. It looks like pretty much standard B-western fare, albeit with a better script, pacing, and production values than the independents could manage.

I hadn't seen a Hopalong Cassidy in years--then this one appeared on COZI TV--they show old movies and TV shows. It was fast paced and quite exciting with a cattle stampede to boot! Paramount released this film ( #6 in a series of Hoppy films)in 1936. Besides William Boyd as Hoppy, the film had James Ellison as his sidekick, Johnny Nelson. Ellison was quite handsome and even managed to take his shirt off twice--once to save Gabby Hayes from drowning. I think that Mr. Ellison practically stole the picture from Mr. Boyd. Mr. Ellison was later replaced in the series by Russell Hayden--who was also good, but Ellison was a better actor and very handsome.

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.

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.