Pirates on Horseback (1941)

Director:

Lesley Selander

Writers:

Ethel La Blanche (screenplay) and
J. Benton Cheney (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

23 May 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Western

Tagline:

HOPALONG'S HEADIN' INTO TROUBLE!

Plot:

Hoppy, Lucky and California search for a mine owned by Trudy Pendleton after it was taken from her by thw swindling gambler Ace Gibson...

Plot Keywords:

Clue | Search | Gold | Prisoner | Gold Mine

Cast

William Boyd	...	'Hopalong' Cassidy
Russell Hayden	...	'Lucky' Jenkins
Andy Clyde	...	'California' Carlson
Eleanor Stewart	...	Trudy Pendleton
Morris Ankrum	...	Ace Gibson
William Haade	...	Henchman Bill Watson
Dennis Moore	...	Henchman Jud Carter
Henry Hall	...	Sheriff John Blake
Britt Wood	...	Ben Pendleton
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Silver Tip Baker	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Tex Harper	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Jack Hendricks	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Bruce Mitchell	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Chuck Morrison	...	Gabby Cowhand (uncredited)
Cliff Parkinson	...	Henchman (uncredited)
Jack Rockwell	...	Liveryman (uncredited)
Dick Simmons	...	Cheated Gambler (uncredited)
Tom Smith	...	Gambler (uncredited)
George Sowards	...	Wounded Henchman (uncredited)
Chief Thundercloud	...	Flying Cloud (uncredited)
Henry Wills	...	Henchman (uncredited)
Wen Wright	...	Tall Henchman (uncredited)

Directed by
Lesley Selander

Writing credits
Ethel La Blanche		(screenplay) and
J. Benton Cheney		(screenplay)
Clarence E. Mulford		character

Produced by
Joseph W. Engel	....	associate producer
Harry Sherman	....	producer

Original Music by
John Leipold
Albert Hay Malotte		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Russell Harlan		(photography)

Film Editing by
Carroll Lewis
Sherman A. Rose

Art Direction by
Lewis J. Rachmil

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Glenn Cook	....	assistant director

Stunts
Ted Wells	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Henry Wills	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Music Department
George Antheil	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Gerard Carbonara	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Karl Hajos	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Victor Young	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Harry Sherman Productions

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1941) (USA) (theatrical)
• Screen Guild Productions (1946) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Better Television Distribution (2006) (worldwide) (TV)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

69 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Wide Range System)

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Harry Sherman Productions

Trivia:

The thirty-fifth of sixty-six Hopalong Cassidy movies.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Outlaws of the Desert (1941)

Too Much Comedy & No Pirates

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.