Texas Masquerade (1944)

Director:

George Archainbaud

Writers:

Clarence E. Mulford (characters)
Jack Lait Jr. (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 February 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Western

Tagline:

BANG-UP ACTION!

Plot:

A gang of outlaws are using force to become possessors of every ranch in the area. Hoppie, of course, is out to stop them.

Plot Keywords:

Rancher | Gang | Lawyer | Night Riders | Hopalong Cassidy

Cast

William Boyd	...	Hopalong Cassidy
Andy Clyde	...	California Carlson
Jimmy Rogers	...	Jimmy Rogers
Don Costello	...	Ace Maxson
Mady Correll	...	Virginia Curtis, Lazy W
Francis McDonald	...	Sam Nolan
Russell Simpson	...	J.K. Trimble
J. Farrell MacDonald	...	John Martindale
Nelson Leigh	...	James Corwin
Robert McKenzie	...	Marshal Rowbottom
June Pickerell	...	Mrs. Emma Martindale (as June Terry Pickrell)
Pierce Lyden	...	Al, Lazy W Hand
Bill Hunter	...	Deputy Lou Sykes
John Merton	...	Jeff, Lazy W Hand

Runtime:

58 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #9815) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Kernville, California, USA

Company:

Harry Sherman Productions

Trivia:

The fifty-first of sixty-six Hopalong Cassidy movies.

Quotes:

John Martindale: I was tryin' to dig this well when they came.
Hopalong Cassidy: [grabbing a handful of soil and smelling it] You have any trouble diggin' this stuff?
John Martindale: Always! Black gumbo keeps oozin' into the hole.
Hopalong Cassidy: This is why Trimble wants your ranch and all the other land in the valley.
California Carlson: You mean that smelly stuff?
Jimmy Rogers: What's it good for?
Hopalong Cassidy: [laughs] There's a young fellah in the East can tell yuh. He's on his way to bein' the richest man in the world on account of it. His name is Rockefeller... John D!

Movie Connections:

Follows Twilight on the Trail (1941)

Boyd Gets to Do Some Acting in Another Good Hopalong Cassidy

A gang of outlaws are burning out ranchers and then their front man is buying out the settlers at bargain prices. But when a pal of Hopalong's is killed, Cassidy goes to investigate, disguising himself as foppish, milk-drinking Bostonian to do so. in an amusing comic turn.

Boyd, a capable but bland actor was made for this sort of western, and given the series' start at Paramount, it had a level of gloss, both in the writing and production that almost all B westerns lacked. Veteran George Archimbaud directs and the cast includes the always excellent Andy Clyde, Russel Simpson as the lead villain, the almost forgotten J. Farrel MacDonald, and Mady Correll as the female lead -- not the love interest, since Hopalong never smoked, drank or paid attention to women. A pleasant way to kill an hour.