"In Old California" is from the seventh year of the popular series which began in 1935. The story centers on a conflict between rancher George Davidson (Stanley Andrews) and the "nesters" led by the widow Ma Woods (Sara Padden). It seems that poor old Ma has a loan coming due and Davidson is trying to ensure that she cannot repay it so that he can drive out the nesters whom he believes are rustling his cattle.
Ma contacts the Bar 20 in Arizona whose owner Buck Peters agrees to buy her cattle in order for her to get the cash in time to pay off her debt. Bar 20 foreman Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) and his two sidekicks Lucky Jenkins (Russell Hayden) and California (Andy Clyde) are sent to Colorado to look the cattle over. Along the way they are robbed of $20K in cash by unknown assailants. Rancher Davidson is made to appear to be behind the robbery.
Hoppy is sure that someone other than Davidson is behind all of the trouble. He manages to effect a reconciliation between Ma Woods and Davidson before discovering the identity of the real bandits. In a slam bang shoot out involving almost every member of the cast, Hoppy and the boys finally bring the bad guys to justice.
The Hoppy series produced by Harry "Pop" Sherman is arguably the best "B" western series ever made. Its production values were miles above any other and they always had the look and feel of more expensive "A" features. This film is no exception. The beautiful outdoor location photography is exceptional for a "B" product.
Also in the cast are Margaret Hayes as Ma Woods' daughter Myra, the love interest of Lucky, perennial Hoppy villain Morris Ankrum as Davidson's foreman and James Seay, Eddy Waller and Philip Van Zandt in other roles.
William Boyd had been a silent film matinee idol in films directed by Cecil B. DeMille in the 20s. Andy Clyde's career dated back to the early silent Mack Sennett comedies in which he was one of the Keystone Cops. Russell Hayden would soon leave the series to branch out into his own features. Morris Ankrum has appeared under the name of Stephen Morris in some of the early entries in the series.
Ma contacts the Bar 20 in Arizona whose owner Buck Peters agrees to buy her cattle in order for her to get the cash in time to pay off her debt. Bar 20 foreman Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) and his two sidekicks Lucky Jenkins (Russell Hayden) and California (Andy Clyde) are sent to Colorado to look the cattle over. Along the way they are robbed of $20K in cash by unknown assailants. Rancher Davidson is made to appear to be behind the robbery.
Hoppy is sure that someone other than Davidson is behind all of the trouble. He manages to effect a reconciliation between Ma Woods and Davidson before discovering the identity of the real bandits. In a slam bang shoot out involving almost every member of the cast, Hoppy and the boys finally bring the bad guys to justice.
The Hoppy series produced by Harry "Pop" Sherman is arguably the best "B" western series ever made. Its production values were miles above any other and they always had the look and feel of more expensive "A" features. This film is no exception. The beautiful outdoor location photography is exceptional for a "B" product.
Also in the cast are Margaret Hayes as Ma Woods' daughter Myra, the love interest of Lucky, perennial Hoppy villain Morris Ankrum as Davidson's foreman and James Seay, Eddy Waller and Philip Van Zandt in other roles.
William Boyd had been a silent film matinee idol in films directed by Cecil B. DeMille in the 20s. Andy Clyde's career dated back to the early silent Mack Sennett comedies in which he was one of the Keystone Cops. Russell Hayden would soon leave the series to branch out into his own features. Morris Ankrum has appeared under the name of Stephen Morris in some of the early entries in the series.