Trail Dust

This is the one Hopalong Cassidy adventure that really stands out in my mind as being the best. It's a little more gritty than some of the later ones, and more like a real western than an episode of a tv show. Later on Hoppy would get a bit more corny and more like a wandering doo-gooder, but here he's just an ordinary cattle-man, trying to get his herd on down the trail. Gabby Hayes is, as usual, excellent as Windy, while the rest of the cast make great cowboys. My dad taped a whole bunch of these off PBS for us, and this is what I watched growing up, instead of cartoons or other things, and I think I'll always love these classic adventures. This is definitely the best of them all.

It's almost as though the other reviewers here were reviewing another movie than the one I saw. It was decent, and perhaps pretty good for the time it was made (1936), but I found it pretty creaky, mediocre, almost juvenile with all the Windy-Johnny banter.

For me, one sign of a weak adventure movie is seeing the hero easily start a brush fire to deter the bad guys, here the bad guy's herd of cattle.

Another thing that threw me was that Hoppy suddenly is convinced to organize a cattle drive to deliver cheap food to a hungry town. I couldn't understand why it would make any difference as to whose herd reached that town first -- benevolent Hoppy's herd (which would be sold by Hoppy for a fair low price) or a greedy bad guy's rival herd (who would charge a lot for his cattle). What was the rush? Why should a day or two matter? Hoppy could have easily sent a horseback rider to the town, telling the townspeople to wait for Hoppy's inexpensive cattle.

William Boyd seemed to be having too much fun in this one. Why shouldn't he with a cast like this. Of course Gabby was in top form as was his co-sidekick, James Ellison. I only wish there would've been more verbal jousting between them as they were pure gold together. One great scene was when Gabby was showing Ellison the proper way to court the gorgeous leading lady, Gwynne Shipman. The best in the business Morris Ankrum and Ted Adams head up the malicious gang trying to stop the huge cattle drive on the way to Plainsville. Al St. John, George Chesebro, Al Bridge and Kenneth Harlan round out a great cast.

"Trail Dust" is a pleasing example of how a simple "formula" western can, with a bit of imagination and a good cast, can be turned into a first-rate adventure. Hopalong Cassidy, together with his usual sidekicks Windy and Johnny Nelson, volunteer to sell their herd at a reasonable price during a food shortage. This does not set well with some greedy cattlemen (led by Morris Ankrum, who was to become a familiar staple in later Hopalong adventures, usually as an unctuous villain). The bad guys set out to sabotage the cattle drive at every turn, and the action scenes are vintage Hopalong Cassidy. There are some pleasant diversions along the way - including an understated Beth Clark - and the climatic denouement seems a natural to the scenes which precede it. There is a little singing along the way, but - as in most of the early Cassidy movies - the music is pleasant, authentic to its genre, and does not interfere with the plot or action. Also, Trail Dust contains some good scenes of cattle-droving, using some real-life cowboys. Quite Enjoyable.

Hoppy, mindful of the famine threatening the country, persuades other ranchers to combine their herds and offer them at a fair price to a relief committee sent to buy cattle to feed a starving population. Cidy leads a collective cattle drive, but greedy profiteers set out to sabotage his efforts, and they'll kill any man brave enough to stand in their way.

An above average Hoppy which features some great cinematography, a vivid description of the harshness and struggles of a cattle drive. You really feel you are there, feeling the dust as you steer those dogies. There's some good action, and a tense climax with dynamite placed on a gorge, ready to go off.