Unexpected Guest

With an eventual total of 56 Hopalong Cassidy features, it was only normal to expect that now and again they'd try something a little different to the norm, sometimes it worked, others not so. To me this one was OK a bit of a mystery with elements of 'Then There Were None', all on the pretext of California showing up for a will reading of his late Uncle's estate, naturally his pals Hoppy & Lucky come along to keep him out of trouble. Not a lot of gun fighting involved it's true, but a couple of decent punch ups with Hoppy and the bad guy toward the end. The buckskin jacket didn't really suit William Boyd who usually looks good in most things, but Hoppy was always at his best in black! But as I say, at least they tried for a bit of variety, and I accept that!

Some of Agatha Christie's mysteries might have been the inspiration for the plot of Unexpected Guest. This Hopalong Cassidy western where Hoppy and Lucky Jenkins travel with California for the reading of a will where Andy Clyde is one of six heirs to a ranch that has more debts than anything else according to lawyer John Parrish.

But Parrish whose whole demeanor screams shyster has been milking the estate with the connivance of one of the heirs. As the heirs start dying like they do in Ten Little Indians it's up to Hoppy to investigate and find out who's the accomplice. Especially with Rand Brooks accused of murdering one of the heirs.

A lot less action in this Hoppy flick than usual. Still it was acceptable to the Saturday matinée kids and a grownup or two.

The version I have has the re-release title of "Saddle & Spurs." Hoppy starts out dressed all in black, although later changes to an unflattering Buckskin suit & tie. There's a mysterious figure running about who resembles the 1940s "The Shadow." Very nice music soundtrack (probably borrowed from an earlier non-Hoppy film). Some good comedic lines, such as Hoppy to California: "The brown horse is yours." Earle Hodgins, who usually plays the snake-oil salesman type of character to perfection, is here cast out of character as a scruffy, bearded cowhand. Old Dark House elements abound: the wind blows the lights out in a big old house, at which time one of the beneficiaries of the will being read is killed, lots of people sneaking about at night, there's a secret passageway, there's a mounted buffalo head where someone is sneaking peeks into the next room, a mysterious voice at a gravesite, & so on. There's a long fight scene in the cellar that features fantastic camera angles & a very neat expressionistic set! Misplaced in a western, but great anyway! The heroine, played by Patricia Tate, is one of the prettiest in all the Hoppy films, but strangely, Lucky is not romantically interested in this young lady. A very good mystery western, but Western fans beware, Hoppy doesn't fire his gun at all in this film, despite being shot at twice. I rate it 7/10.

At the reading of his late cousin's will, California learns the estate will be divided among whoever remains of the seven relatives. With one already dead, another immediately murdered, and the Lawyer telling them the ranch is almost worthless, Hoppy investigates.

Masked Killer in a cloak, secret passages, people getting bumped off, eyes moving in a moose, and strange maid talking about hearing voices - all these make you think you're watching a dark house mystery than a Hopalong Cassidy Western. It's a mix of two genres, and it works really well, and though it's not action-packed, enough things happen to keep you watching. It's great fun, then again I'm sucker for a dark house mystery, add that to a horse opera and I am happy.

Even though this Hoppy Adventure has a good plot and lots of Mystery it is lacking the action of earlier Hoppy movies. Hoppy only fires his gun in the very first few minutes when a shadowy character tries to "Dry Gulch" them. California Carlson steals this movie with his better than usual antics. All in All I would still recommend this flick to anybody that loves a mystery and Hopalong Cassidy! Did anyone notice that the lawyer and Hoppy also appeared together in "The Greatest Show on Earth" ?