Borrowed Trouble

Some time ago, the old Hopalong Cassidy films were fully restored to original length and with lovely pristine prints. Fortunately, they were then uploaded to YouTube...where you can see these films for free. I strongly recommend it, as the Cassidy films are at least the equals of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.

"Borrowed Trouble" is a very, very unusual installment in the Hopalong Cassidy series. While I really wanted to score it 7.5, I'll round up to 8...because it did dare to be so very different. This is a great thing, as it's one of the last films in the series and instead of just retreading old plots, this one is wholly original...and quite funny.

Hoppy and his two pals arrive in town. Then, something strange happens....the local school teacher begins throwing apples through the windows of the saloon that is smack next to her school! She's tossing apples because the saloon owner promised to build elsewhere...but the noise and crowd inside make teaching the kids difficult to say the least. Hoppy sees this and tries his best to mediate...but to no avail. Soon, the teacher is kidnapped...and all the signs point to this saloon-keeper. What's next? See the film.

I love the slow, leisurely pace of this one. I also loved seeing California trying to fill in for the teacher...even though he practically knows nothing! Very clever and with an amazingly violent finale where the teacher herself delivers some justice! Well worth your time.

This was the 64th of 66 Hoppy movies, and it was one of the worst, unfortunately. The few things to like in the movie are: (1) the neat title to the movie, "Borrowed Trouble;" I always liked that; (2) the wordless scenes at the start of the movie — the cowboys driving the cattle through the plains to the railhead; good mountain scenery; (3) Anne O'Neal's performance as the crusty, feisty old schoolmarm was at turns charming and tolerable; and (4) a surprising twist ending when the "mystery" was solved.

Those are all minor good points and are weighted down by the many many minutes of bad aspects: tedious repetitive scenes; lack of action; and California's stupid humor that would try the patience of a child. The plot was no great shakes, relied on coincidences (gifts from heaven). The main story line lacked much interest — the noise from a saloon disrupting the teaching of children in the near-by school house.

Completed during the final year (1948) of Hopalong Cassidy feature film-making, this effort unsuccessfully blends humour with a customary action element, relating of quarrels among a crusty schoolteacher and two rival saloon owners, with Hopalong (William Boyd) and his two sidekicks, Lucky Jenkins (Rand Brooks) and California Carlson (Andy Clyde) finding themselves trying to mediate the various conflicts while Hoppy and California fill in for the schoolmarm (Anne O'Neal) who has been kidnapped as punishment for breaking saloon windows with apples. Produced by Boyd for United Artists and filmed in California's picturesque Inyo County, the work fails to maintain a consistent tone and, although the cast provides good performances from veteran supporting players Byron Foulger, Earle Hodgins and Cliff Clark, tepid direction from generally reliable George Archainbaud, along with very sloppy editing, leave their markings; there is, however, a nifty score by Darrell Calker who composed for many "B"s, and always adroitly.

The 64th of 66 Hopalong Cassidy movies sees William Boyd as Hoppy intervening in a feud. John Parrish's saloon is right next door to Anne O'Neal's schoolhouse. She won't have her classes disrupted, so throws apples through the saloon windows. Then one morning, Miss O'Neal is missing, so Boyd puts Andy Clyde in charge of the school and heads off in search of clues.

It's a very funny mystery in the series, with Miss O'Neal prim and proper, insisting on addressing Hopalong not as Hoppy, not as Bill, but as William. Born in 1893, she entered films in the early 1930s. She toiled as an uncredited extra in more than 100 film appearances, with only the occasional listing. She did somewhat better in television. She retired after her last appearance in a 1962 TWILIGHT ZONE episode and died in 1971.

Miss Abbott (Anne ONeal) is a schoolteacher who is having a running battle with saloon owner Steve Mawson (John Parrish) over the proximity of his saloon to the schoolhouse. Hoppy goes to see the teacher after he catches her breaking the windows in Mawson's saloon by heaving apples through them. Abbott is the stereotypical curmudgeonly, yet curiously likable old spinsterish teacher. Sometimes the supporting actors get all the best lines. After Hoppy introduces himself as Hopalong Cassidy, she tells him "I can't do anything about that, why don't you change it." He informs her that Hopalong is a nickname and that his real name is Bill, so of course she calls him "William" throughout the movie. She also gets in another zinger later when – after she has hit a bad guy – Lucky tells her "You sure knocked him out," she says, "That's nothing, he was unconscious fifteen years ago when he was a student of mine". After the apple-throwing incident, the teacher is kidnapped. Both California and Hoppy briefly look after the school children. Hoppy's scenes with the children are delightful and a highlight of the film. The ending of the film had a nice little twist to it. I agree there's not a lot of action in this film but it is an engaging, funny and quite charming film. As one reviewer said – it's all a matter of taste.