Cassidy of Bar 20 (1938)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Lesley Selander

Writers:

Clarence E. Mulford (story)
Norman Houston (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 February 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Western

Tagline:

TROUBLE FOLLOWS CASSIDY EVEN WHEN HE RIDES THE HOME RANGE! Hopalong's got his hands full when a gang of Texas cattle rustlers invade the Bar 20! (original six-sheet poster)

Plot:

Against a background of exceptional mountain photography, Hoppy rushes to rid former sweetheart Nora Blake and Pappy's range of rustlers and bad guys.

Plot Keywords:

Gang | Gun | Cattle | Sweetheart | Rustler

Cast

William Boyd	...	'Hopalong' Cassidy
Russell Hayden	...	'Lucky' Jenkins
Frank Darien	...	Pappy
Nora Lane	...	Nora Blake
Robert Fiske	...	Clay Allison
John Elliott	...	Tom Dillon
Margaret Marquis	...	Mary Dillon
Gertrude Hoffman	...	Ma Caffrey (as Gertrude W. Hoffman)
Carleton Young	...	Jeff Caffrey
Gordon Hart	...	Judge Belcher
Ed Cassidy	...	Sheriff Hawley (as Edward Cassidy)

Runtime:

56 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Ranch - 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California, USA

Company:

Harry Sherman Productions

Movie Connections:

Followed by Heart of Arizona (1938)

A good Hopalong entry, with one standout performance

I picked up a few of the Image Entertainment "Hopalong Cassidy" DVDs owing to a friend's research for a magazine article...I had seen numerous examples of Boyd's excellent acting and wanted to see if watching whole "Hopalong" features would be rewarding. As I had hoped, the features are very good.

One expects a certain level of acting in B movies...better than a high-school stage play, but less depth than major movie characters. B movie performances usually have enough personality to explain what a character is doing at the time...but not enough to account for what the character is like, off-screen. It's one of the excellences of Boyd's acting; you feel that he is just as honest and competent and well-meaning before the movie starts, and in scenes where he does not appear. Most of the other characters are not so well-written or well-played, that one considers their backstory.

The exception in this movie is Gertrude Hoffman as Ma Caffrey, a crusty old general-store manager. At first she appears to be a typical comic-relief gun-totin' old lady, who thinks one of Hoppy's partners looks like her dead husband. Later she talks to that partner, who's been ordered by the court to help around the store. She says:

"Jeff's a good boy. Ain't scared to stand behind a gun and shoot for what's right. Jeff's pa was a Federal Marshal; got killed fightin' for the gov'ment. Yep, fell dead right where you're standing. I've tried to learn Jeff right from wrong. Clay Allison wouldn't be where he is today if it weren't for my Jeff. Allison's round-up crew'll be here today. Fightin' men from the border; they're a bad lot; al's bring trouble." ...and in that brief minute or so you COMPLETELY believe her and her grief for her husband and her disappointment in her son, working for Mr. Allison (who's the villain of the film). It's an A-picture performance...the sort of thing that wins "Best Supporting Actress" nominations if the movie is "respectable" enough. It's plain the actress thought the part through; her every line implies her past and her ongoing relationship with her townspeople and her son.

Is this worthwhile if a person doesn't care for the Western genre? Not really. Is it worth showing to young actors as an example of doing a lot with a small part? Yes, certainly! Does it demonstrate once again that not all low-budget movies have second-rate casts? Sure!