Unexpected Guest (1947)

At the reading of his late cousin's will, California learns the estate will be divied among whoever remains of the seven relatives. With one already dead, another immediately murdered, and ... See full summary »

Director:

George Archainbaud

Writers:

Clarence E. Mulford (characters), Ande Lamb (screenplay)

Stars:

William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Rand Brooks

Cast

Complete credited cast:
William Boyd	...	Hopalong Cassidy
Andy Clyde	...	California Carlson
Rand Brooks	...	Lucky Jenkins
Una O'Connor	...	Matilda Hackett
John Parrish	...	David J. Potter
Patricia Tate	...	Ruth Baxter
Nedrick Young	...	Ralph Baxter (as Ned Young)
Earle Hodgins	...	Joshua Colter
Joel Friedkin	...	Phineas Phipps
Robert Williams	...	Matt Ogden (as Robert H. Williams)
William Ruhl	...	Sheriff

Storyline

At the reading of his late cousin's will, California learns the estate will be divied among whoever remains of the seven relatives. With one already dead, another immediately murdered, and the Lawyer telling them the ranch is almost worthless, Hoppy investigates. Finding the ranch valuable and the Lawyer embezzling money from it, Hoppy confronts him.

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Plot Keywords:

hopalong cassidy

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

Aventura Perigosa

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hopalong Cassidy Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

61 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Connections

Follows Leather Burners (1943)

User Reviews

Weak All Around

Unexpected Guest (1947)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Tired blend of the Horror and Western genres has William Boyd in his famous Hopalong Cassidy role. He plays one of seven relatives who are invited to a will reading where a fortune is to be divided among them. If someone dies their portion will be divided among the living and sure enough a masked phantom starts killing them off one by one. Before renting this movie I had heard a lot of negative things about it with most of the bad comments coming from fans of Boyd's and this character. Many complained that there are more "old dark house" moments than Western ones, which is certainly true so I'm sure many will be upset that Boyd isn't playing with his gun more. This was my first Hopalong movie so I can't compare this to previous ones but I certainly hope they're better than this. The movie is about as boring as something can get even though it remains mildly entertaining as one of those films that you keep watching and waiting for something to happen and before you know it the thing's over with and nothing has happened at all. Cassidy seems too laid back here and the supporting cast doesn't add much and that includes fan favorite Una O'Connor (BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN) as a red herring. Andy Clyde delivers a few good moments as the sidekick. Fans of the slasher series Friday THE 13TH will certainly remember its score and it's interesting to note that there's a sequence around the twenty-minute mark here where the two scores sound almost the same for a few brief seconds. With that said, I doubt too many people will find much entertainment in this film. It moves along rather well but in the end you'll be scratching your head as to why you just wasted your time.