Hop-a-Long Cassidy

Although the Character of Hopalong Cassidy had Virtually Nothing in Common with the Author Clarence Mulford's Novels...

William Boyd and "Hoppy" Maintained one of the Most Popular and Long Running Character Features in Movie History...(66 Films & TV).

"Hoppy" in the Movies Did Not...Smoke, Drink, or Result to Violence Unless Provoked and the "Bad Guy" Drew or Punched First.

A Complete Opposite of Mulford's "Hoppy", A Grizzled, Tobacco Chewing, Ruffian.

Unrealistic to a Fault, but Not as Unrealistic as say Gene Autry, Roy Rogers or Other Kid's Heroes of the Day.

It's Not Easily Understood Why the Character was So Popular.

His Outfit was Black from Head to Toe, and sure was the Antithesis of Gene and Roy where Only the Bad-Guys Wore Black.

It was a Stunning Contrast to His Horse "Topper" an All-White Stallion.

Add to That Boyd's Hair was Completely Premature White.

These Things Certainly Helped the "Hoppy" Image.

Although Extremely Popular in His Initial Reincarnation with a Steely-Stare and an Edge,

"Hoppy's" Entrance is a Thrilling Descent Down a Steep Decline Aboard "Topper".

Boyd's "Hoppy" Became More and More Docile as the Character and the Film-Series Aged.

This First Entry, was Re-Titled "Hopalong Cassidy Enters" in Re-Release to Point Fans to the Origin,

is a Visual-Treat with Wide-Open Spaces and Horses Always Moving, Bucking, and Galloping.

The Plot Has Mystery Elements and George "Gabby" Hayes as "Uncle Ben"

Makes for a Sentimental and Emotional Touch with One-Scene Unforgettable.

For B-Western Fans...A Must See.

William Boyd made his screen debut as Hopalong Cassidy in Hop-ALong Cassidy. He was really William known as Bill Cassidy when he does arrive, but he gets wounded in a gunfight and limped a bit for the duration of the film. The guys in the bunkhouse called him Hopalong after he gave himself that nickname. Throughout the rest of the 66 films and TV shows we rarely heard his Christian name.

The plot is a standard western one, an outlaw gang stirs up a feud between the Bar 20 and a neighboring outfit owned by Robert Warwick. But it takes Bill Boyd to come up with the solution, aided and abetted by James Ellison whom he acquires as a sidekick.

Gabby Hayes is in this as Uncle Ben and he's the usual Gabby Hayes. He proved so popular that Paramount just resurrected him for the next few years before he left the series. Here as the chief villain guns him down it shows the Saturday matinée kids just how dastardly he is. Rather stupidly he leaves him to bleed out rather than finish him off. I guess Paramount did not want to shock the kids whose dimes to see the film and the subsequent series planned.

So Hopalong Cassidy becomes an American institution. Curiously enough Bill Boyd did a few non-Hoppy films after this before settling down into this character permanently.

It was a good beginning for an American institution.

It was interesting for me to see this first of the Hopalong Cassidy movies last night. I saw a distinctly different Hopalong than those later movies I have seen. This one had a hard look in his eye that was most menacing and at one point, he was about to draw his gun on his own man, which made for a completely different Hopalong than the one which emerged in time. He actually resembled men of the REAL OLD WEST instead of the watered-down, lip-stick sissy version most of Western characters in the movies had--such as Gene Autry.

I remember last year I got to see the very first episode of Bonanza--the TV Western series. I noticed the same thing there how the Cartwrights were hard, rough and even deadly (the way men were in the REAL WEST) and, having watched the series over several years, I noticed they too mellowed with time.

Otherwise, I certainly enjoyed this first issue of Hopalong Cassidy. He was certainly my HERO as a small boy of 5-6 back in 1953-1954 when I first started watching him on TV. And it was good to view this one.

I won't bother with the plot. Others have already done that. But the point I made is one that clearly stood out to me about this very first movie in the series.

Hoppy returns home only to get caught up in a rustlers' sceme that involves his friends Johnny (Ellison) and Uncle Ben (Hayes) and even Buck (Ming The Merciless!).

Aces all around, from great rocky locations, to better than usual acting, to a really surprising twist. From all this I can see why the Hoppy series became so popular following this first entry. Also, note that handsome youngster Ellison gets almost as much screentime as Boyd, maybe to entice younger viewers.

Then too, looks like the producers were intent on a big send-off since there's no stinting on the hard-riding gangs, cattle herds, or sustained outdoor locations.

Moreover, catch the imaginative camera set-ups that make good use of the rocky spire and action sequencess. The plot may be a bit worn, but happily it's imaginatively mounted. Also, catch the standing tree trunk that suddenly becomes a bed, along with cutie Mary's (Stone) jazzy dress that makes her stand out at the dance. All good touches.

Anyway, there's likely no better actor among matinee heroes than Hoppy's Bill Boyd as this flick abundantly shows. Ordinarily, I don't rate matinee westerns, but among them I'd give this one a "10". So, for front-row matinee fans like myself, don't miss it.

A range war is brewing between the Bar 20 and Meeker ranches, which is being caused by Meeker's foreman Anthony (who is in reality, an outlaw called the Pecos Kid), whose method is to have each ranch be accused at acts of rustling cattle or murder, then the two ranches will start a war against each other. In the meanwhile, Anthony's gang will round up all the cattle from the two ranches, change brands, and sell them at market. It's up to Hoppy, Red, Uncle Ben, and Johnny Nelson (who is a target for Meeker's hands since Johnny is sweet on Meeker's daughter Mary) to clear the Bar 20's name and round up the outlaws. The film is a very good entry in the opening film of the Hopalong series, but far from the best, since the action doesn't really begin past the halfway point of the film. Then on it's gets better building up to a great climax. Good performances by the cast (especially by Hayes as Uncle Ben, in a pre Windy Halliday role), but Thomson is miscast and ineffective as Anthony. Rating, based on B westerns, 6.