The Marauders

A storm is coming in more ways than one for Hoppy (William Boyd), California (Andy Clyde) and Lucky (Rand Brooks). California quips, "Son, I recollected once back in '86 it rained so hard I had to tie a log on each side of my horse to keep em floatin down the trail." During the lightning storm the trio take refuge in an abandoned church in a ghost town. California gets the jitters as the organ is playing and the bell is ringing by itself. The next day they find Susan Crowell (Dorinda Clifton) playing the organ with her mother (Mary Newton). Riker (Harry Cording) adds to the tension as his henchmen come to tear the church down. Deacon Black (Ian Wolfe) sides with Riker in order to have peace but Hoppy is having none of it. A shootout ensues forthwith and our heroes and the ladies are pinned down at the church. Can the county clerk (Earle Hodgins) help Hoppy solve the mystery of the ghost town? King of the Range is an unusual but wonderful Hoppy film.

The main thing wrong with this entry is the title, or both titles to be exact, the original 'The Maraurders', and the re title 'King of the Range', neither reflects anything about the film, why they didn't just call it 'Ghost Church' I'll never know? We know that the William Boyd produced final 12 films were of a much lower budget than what had gone before, but Boyd put all he had into it in order to prolong the series, it's a shame no other studio took up the franchise because Hoppy was still more popular than most! But, any Hoppy is better than none, so I give it an 8.

Hoping to aid the few remaining residents, Hoppy, California and Lucky investigate a ghost town that has been purchased dirt cheap by an unknown woman.

This Hoppy western is a ghost town mystery with a difference, it's set mainly in a church, which group of bad hombres want to destroy. It's not a typical Hoppy western, actually it's quite unusual, has good atmosphere and good characters. It's entertaining from beginning to end, though I sort of guessed who the main culprit was.

Hoppy, California, and Lucky pass through the abandoned town of Coltsville and enter a church building for shelter before a storm sets in. A tinge of horror movie elements are added for a few laughs at California's expense. During the night the church organ starts playing music. The team finds Susan Crowell and her mother in a vigil to keep the church alive. When a team of men arrive to destroy the church for its salvageable lumber, Hoppy and his pals defend the church until its rightful ownership can be established. During this time the history of the church and town, a mysterious deacon, and Susan's mother unfold as the standoff between those inside and outside continues.

Very few scenes take place outside of the church. As with most westerns there is gun play and fighting. A unique feature of The Marauders is the focus on the tense situation. In a way it is a pleasant break from the routine B western formula. Success can be attributed to a fine cast of actors, strong characters, and a director who was up to the task of doing such a presentation. At least one review of this movie mentioned the fact that the limited scene changes made this production cheap.

The Marauders would be a poor choice as an example of a Hopalong Cassidy movie or the B western genre because it is almost entirely a long story about a standoff. It is, however, a successful experiment within the Hopalong Cassidy series.

With King Of The Raiders as an example you can see how the Hopalong Cassidy series was running out of steam. Budgets got cheaper when producer Harry Sherman started doing his series independently releasing them through United Artists. More production values definitely were over at Paramount. This film essentially is one scene play most of action taking place in a church where William Boyd, Andy Clyde, and Rand Brooks go for shelter one stormy night.

Where they find mother and daughter Mary Newton and Dorinda Clifton together with 'Deacon' Ian Wolfe. In the morning there are some other people who say they own the property and want to tear down the church. The women object as Newton is the widow of the late pastor and Clifton his daughter. Mother and daughter in distress, nothing else for a cowboy hero to do but fight for them.

So they're all holed up in the church defending it like the Alamo. Still I can't believe there was a back door for Hoppy to go in and out of . You'd think the bad guys would be watching it.

If you can't figure who is the dastardly villain you haven't seen too many of these. That could be a blessing.