Silent Conflict

Seems they either love or hate this entry in the Hoppy franchise? I didn't mind it, a bit different, no punch ups or gun fights, but an intriguing, if improbable little plot, don't forget these were primarily made for kids, of all ages I might add, and kids don't analyse things too much, they just sit back and enjoy. Rand Brooks, I thought, made a good Lucky Jenkins, and hey, it's Hoppy, nothing much else matters!

Hoppy's dressed all in black, which is a good sign; he's unusually stern with Lucky ("You sound like a little boy & you're beginning to act like one"), which sets up some of the ensuing plot. Virginia Belmont, the female romantic lead, looks older (she's just looks older, she's really only 27) & not as pretty as most of the Hoppy heroines. Lucky has much bigger role than usual. Hoppy & his two pals carry $25,000 in gold from the sale of combined cattle herds. Lucky is hypnotized by Earle Hodgins, with the aid of special "herb tea." The plot intertwines Hoppy & California's search for Lucky, Hoppy's four rancher friends' search for Hoppy, a gang of six outlaws suspected of stealing the money, & the travels of Hodgins & his niece (Belmont). Hodgins is very good in one of his biggest & most sinister roles in any Hopalong Cassidy film. Rand Brooks sleepwalks through the film as part of his role, as opposed to his usual sleepwalking in other Hoppy films. Hoppy uses some psychological ("hypnotized") & legal ("alimony") jargon, both unusual terms for the 1800s, making one wonder if he was college educated! Very little action but holds the attention nonetheless by being quite a decent mystery movie. I rate it 6/10.

Hopalong Cassidy and pals are at the end of a cattle drive. Hoppy seeks the comfort of sleeping in a bed -- the audience is a-tingle, wondering if he wears black pajamas to match the spotless black shirt he wears on the dusty trail. Meanwhile, perennial series juvenile Rand Brooks is fascinated by medicine-showman Earl Hodgins and his talk of his many great inventions, including a glass eye that can wink. Hodgins also gives Brooks a drink of his special tea. He says it will clear his mind. It will clear it so greatly that Brooks will do whatever Hodgins says, including giving him the money from the drive and agree to kill Hoppy.

That would have been one way to end the series, I thought, when I read the synopsis. If I give you the impression that I was not impressed with the story written by Charles Belden, you are correct. It's silly, far-fetched and there's no way that things will turn out badly for Bill Boyd when he's the producer; it would break the hearts of the youngsters who loved his screen character.

Cinematographer Mack Stengler shoots the vistas very nicely, and anyone who has seen more than three B westerns will instantly recognize the familiar rocks of Lone Pine in this placeholder entry to the series.

Earle Hodgins one prolific character actor in mostly westerns has one of his best roles in this Hopalong Cassidy western. He runs a medicine show with Virginia Belmont serving as the female come on for the red blooded males.

One of his concoctions makes one lose their will and be vulnerable to Hodgin's mesmerizing ways. When they're under his spell Hodgins gets them to do all kinds of things in the case of Lucky Jenkins steal the money that Hoppy got for driving the cattle to market, Bar 20 and other herds.

Hodgins always played all kinds of rustic characters and was in several previous Cassidy westerns. Here that's a guise, he's a slick article, but nobody is slicker than Hopalong Cassidy.

This is one of the better latter day Hoppy features. And for once Andy Clyde didn't stumble into any trouble.

Silent Conflict has a different plot than most westerns. This time the bad guy is a master of mind control, and poor Lucky Jenkins is the victim.

As Hopalong Cassidy, Lucky Jenkins, and California Carlson head home from a cattle drive they lose the money they collected to pay all the cattle ranchers. Hoppy has a hard time finding out who took the money and what has happened to his friend, Lucky. A feeling of hopelessness hangs over most of this movie, but has anyone ever seen Hopalong Cassidy fail to come through by the end of a movie?

The relationship of Hoppy and his pals was one of unquestioned loyalty. He would always look out for his friends. In Silent Conflict nearly all of his dialogue with Lucky is downright mean. Hoppy usually showed some kind of care for Lucky when he had to correct him, but this time he crossed over the line of "tough love." Although we know that Hoppy really cared for Lucky, a first time viewer may not get that right away from watching Silent Conflict. Hoppy is even mean to the innkeeper for no reason.

California often got in trouble to draw Hoppy into action. This time he cannot take the blame for any of Hoppy's troubles. In one humorous scene he reveals that he does not know his own age.

An indicator that a movie will be fun to watch is the inclusion of Earle Hodgins in the cast. His role as Doc Richards in Silent Conflict was better than normal. Not only is he the villain, he does not need any henchmen to help him do his dirty work. Hodgins was magnificent in this movie. This may even be his best role in a movie because he gets so much time on screen.

Rarely does background music make itself noticeable, but the music stands out in Silent Conflict. The usual Hoppy theme music switches back and forth with an eerie horror/suspense type of music during the scenes where Lucky is hypnotized. The forced fit of unmatched music was distracting, especially in the outdoor scenes among the rocks.

An unusual plot and the strong presence of Earle Hodgins make Silent Conflict stand out. It is definitely worthwhile to watch this one.