Pirates à cheval

The Hopalong Cassidy movies and television show are fond childhood memories. This is the first Hoppy movie I have seen in more than five decades. While I certainly hope I watch B Westerns with a different eye than I did when a child, I still enjoy them and this one was superb. Hoppy's comic sidekick, California (Clyde) receives word that his distant cousin, a prospector named Ben, has been murdered. Ben had recently struck gold at the El Dorado mine and unfortunately talked about it in the saloon. Ankrum wonderfully plays the cold and vicious gang leader Ace Gibson whose henchmen murder Ben. The ambush of Ben at his cabin is a gripping scene worthy of being in an A Western. Hoppy, California and Lucky (Russell Hayden) head out to Rim Rock to find Ben's mine. Upon arriving at the cabin, they find Ben's niece Trudy (Eleanor Stewart) already there. Pretending to be an old friend of Ben's, Ace has befriended Trudy and later turns her against Hoppy, California and Lucky. Unraveling a cryptic clue Ben left, the three do discover the mine. I much enjoyed the comic moments, particularly the scene where Hoppy and California tease Lucky over his falling so quickly for Trudy. I know Ankrum often played the bad guy in Westerns but every time I see him, I think of his role as a judge on the Perry Mason television show. At any rate, this is a superior oater whose only flaw for me is the ending, which makes no sense in terms of any succeeding Hoppy films.

Hoppy and the boys are out to take back Trudy Pendleton's mine after it was taken from her. After they find the mine, Hoppy gets into a fight with gambler Ace Gibson.

The most stupidest thing a prospector (who happens to be California's cousin) does is proclaiming to all and sundry in the saloon that he found gold and then proceeds to tell the villain ( Morris Ankrum) that he won't tell anyone where it is! What a thickhead! Next minute he is shot after putting up a fight but stashes his claim in a book - not the best place to hide it but the Ankrum's thugs don't look in there during the search. But Hoppy finds it and try to prevent Ankrum from getting the claim, but Ankrum is one slippery character and convinces the niece that Hoppy and co. Are the bad guys - there's the usual quota of fast-galloping, schemes and exciting gunplay. Energy simmers through out. A good addition to the long running series.

Producer Harry "Pop" Sherman, originator of the Hopalong Cassidy film series that stars William Boyd, is responsible for this well-devised work, released through Paramount, that recounts of gold miner Ben Pendleton, viciously gunned down by henchmen of gambler Ace Gibson (Morris Ankrum) during an unsuccessful endeavour to force Ben into revealing the location of his newly found rich strike. Since Cassidy's friend California Carlson (Andy Clyde) is a distant cousin of Pendleton, he, Hoppy, and their sidekick Lucky Jenkins (Russell Hayden) attempt to locate the concealed lode while simultaneously seeking Ben's killers, but when the trio comes to the cabin of the deceased, they find it occupied by his niece Trudy (Eleanor Stewart). When the evil Ace succours the young woman, in the process turning her head against Hoppy and his friends while planning to defraud her of her legacy, Hopalong and his pals face tough sledding and many anxious, danger fraught moments. Shot in the rugged high country of eastern California's Inyo County, the brief (69 minutes on VHS) film is replete with finely wrought detail and naturalistic dialogue, trademarks of director Lesley Selander who had benefited from his close friendship with Buck Jones, gradually developing into a top drawer helmsman of low-budget Westerns. Additionally apparent is the hand of assistant director Glenn Cook, one of the best at deployment of extras. The work showcases humour as often as it does action and melodrama, all smoothly blended by Selander, while crisp editing and effective sound mixing, especially of the scoring, are noteworthy, and skillful cinematographer Russell Harlan is consistently inventive. All of the featured players perform capably, the beautiful Stewart a nifty rider to boot, with brief but effective turns from Dick Simmons, as a cheated gambler, and lanky Wen Wright as a Gibson lackey; acting laurels go to Dennis Moore, cast as Gibson's principal henchman, who eventually joined cinema's Forces of Good as a Range Buster but still frequently fulfilled roles as a member of the Forces of Evil.

The silly title is a put off, but of course there are no real "pirates" in this film, which at 69 minutes, is one of the longest in the Hopalong Cassidy series. It starts off very well, with lots of action & a goldmine plot. Based on the way it started, I thought this would be one of the best Hoppy films; it was realistic, conveyed a good old-fashioned western feeling, & the gunfight between a prospector & the baddies was brutal. Hoppy first appears 10 minutes into the film, wearing a black hat, tan shirt, & light-colored pants. If you've read my other Hoppy reviews, you'll know that the lighter the colors he wears, the worse the film is. I thought this film would be an exception to that rule, but sadly, I was wrong. The comedy starts soon after Hoppy appears, which is to be expected anytime Andy Clyde is on screen, & that's OK, but in this film, the comedy went on & on & on, & eventually caused the film to lose all the momentum it had gained before Hoppy had even appeared. There were some good comedy segments to be sure; one that stands out is California's assumption that he's speaking to a dumb Indian & therefore resorts to pantomime, only to find out that the Indian speaks English in a more educated manner than any of the cowboys! Another humorous segment involved jokes about Lucky's propensity for immediately falling in love with any young lady he meets. But five to ten minutes of the film is wasted on a long, drawn out gold nugget joke situation. Amazingly, Hoppy is not involved in even a single gunfight, & fires his gun only once during the film (but at the ground). The first 10 minutes of the film were certainly the best part of this film, & it could have been so much better than it was, a disappointing effort overall.

"Pirates on Horseback" is available to see on YouTube. And, like so many of the Hopalong Cassidy films posted there, it's the original version--not the edited for television version from the 1950s. Additionally, the print is pristine and simply looks great.

When this story begins, an old prospector comes to town. He's discovered the lost Eldorado Mine but hasn't got the common sense to keep this to himself. Instead, he blabs in the saloon...and like nearly ALL Hopalong Cassidy films, this means the local baddie and his gang will soon take action. However, when they attack the old guy, they end up killing him...and the secret goes with him. They search his place from top to bottom....and they find nothing telling them about the mine.

A bit later, Trudy arrives in town, as she's the prospector's nearest relative. On the stage into town, she spends time with the oily baddie responsible for the prospector's death...but she thinks he's a sweet guy. Later, when she meets up with California (who is also a relative), Hoppy and Lucky, she befriends them as well. Now for much of the rest of the film, the trio help her look for the lost mine...and they show consistently that they are her friends. Yet, when the oily baddie makes up some evidence that is easy to refute, she instantly assumes California and his friends are evil piggies. And, she lets the oily baddie and his men 'help her'. Of course, they are about to rob her blind and possibly kill her. Can California and his friends save her? And, after the way she treats them, should they even bother?!

This is just an okay installment of the Hopalong Cassidy franchise. It has the familiar slimy boss-man you'd find in nearly all the films but the utter stupidity of Trudy is really hard to believe...and appears due to poor writing. Not a bad film but it could have been better.