Secret of the Wastelands

This Hopalong Cassidy was one of the wilder films of the series. For one thing Hoppy and his pals are serving as expedition guides into the California desert for some archaeologists who want to prove that the Chinese settled here before Columbus or the Vikings arrived.

This was a really stupid premise and these people of science which included a woman, the upcoming Barbara Britton, look like professors of the absent minded kind.

Who's settled there was some Chinese people seeking refuge and headed by dragon lady type Soo Young. I guess Anna May Wong was unavailable. They do have however a goldmine that some villainous Occidentals want to steal. That's where Hoppy and his friends come in.

One of the sillier Cassidy films.

Just who is the villain in Secret of the Wastelands? Is it Salters the lawyer? Are those Chinese store owners evil or just mysterious? What secrets will be uncovered by the archaeologists digging around abandoned Indian dwellings built on a mountainside? Secret of the Wastelands starts off like a good Hopalong Cassidy adventure, but it gets stranger as it goes.

Hoppy, California and Johnny are hired to escort a team of archaeologists into the desert. A knife attack from a Chinese man is a warning to cancel the trip, but Hoppy is not so easily dissuaded. The cook hired for the trip happens to be Chinese, and is a strong suspect for attempts at sabotaging the expedition. Concern by the Chinese merchants is apparent, but there is no obvious reason for a connection between them and the Indian ruins. Slade Salters observes the situation and suspects that the archaeologist may find a source of gold connected that connects the Chinese with the abandoned Indian ruins. Salters has his men follow the team so he can take over if and when the time is right. The story keeps the viewer slightly off guard until the end when all questions are answered with an ending that I found to be unrealistic.

The scenery goes between normal western surroundings like the town and the open range. The site of the archaeological dig looks more appropriate for an Egyptian or South American setting. The Chinese characters seem a bit unrealistic, too. Any time cowboys are taken out of a traditional western settings a movie takes a chance. Usually the outcome is disappointing. Viewing with an open mind helps sometimes.

As in every adventure, Hoppy's younger sidekick chases after the girl. This time it is Jennifer Kendall, the young female archaeologist. Sadly for Johnny, the girl just is not interested in him. Brad King played Johnny Neslon in this movie, and even had a singing part. I have seen better acting and singing by King in other Hopalong Cassidy movies.

Secret of the Wastelands is an odd entry into the Hopalong Cassidy series. While Hopalong Cassidy movies were often better than other westerns, this one is not my favorite Hoppy movie.

In the 1950s, lots of old B-westerns from the 30s and 40s were chopped to pieces in order to get these films to fit into an hour-long time slot. Fortunately, in the case of Hopalong Cassidy's films, he had the foresight to save the originals....and recently these beautiful original-length movies have been downloaded to YouTube. The abbreviated films ran about 54 minutes....but this copy I saw runs 62. Now IMDB says the film is originally 66 minutes...but likely this is a mistake and the film was 62 originally. All I know for sure is that this is NOT the television version!

Often in the 1930s, Chinese and Chinese-American characters are played by white folks. While I am not the most politically correct guy, I hate this as so often these characters seem about as Chinese as a taco! Because of this, I found myself pleasantly surprised when I saw "Secrets of the Wastelands", as all the characters playing Chinese-Americans were Asians and looked Chinese. Additionally, the parts were written well...with none of the often seen stereotyping of these folks. I have noticed that OFTEN in these B-westerns, all different ethnic groups are portrayed very honestly...as Hoppy has made a few nice films with South American and Mexican-Americans as well.

The story is odd...quite unlike the usual Hopalong Cassidy film in some ways but also quite familiar. It's unusual because Hoppy has been chosen to lead an archaeological expedition!! Not unusual in that a bad boss-man is trying to cheat folks, in this case the Chinese-Americans, out of what is rightfully theirs. I could say more but really don't want to spoil it.

Overall, a very good film...well worth seeing and a bit better than you'd expect from a series western.