I can't tell you how long it's been since I've seen a Hopalong Cassidy flick, but if I had to take a stab at it, I would probably have been about ten years old, so that's going back some fifty plus years! So wouldn't you know it, the way this one starts out left me just a little baffled. The set up has a cattle rancher who's fenced off his property against the encroachment of a 'nester' who believes in free range access to land and water rights. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but in every other Western I've seen with this scenario it's been just the opposite. It's the nester who's a latecomer to the party who tries to establish their right to farm or ranch a claim peacefully. So did the film makers get it backwards? Probably not important.
Well anyway, it's cool to see Hoppy, Lucky Jenkins (Russell Hayden) and California (Andy Clyde) teamed up again for a passel of Western adventure. Hoppy and his pals are on the way to Lost River Junction with twenty thousand dollars in cash to buy Ma Woods' (Sarah Padden) cattle, a last ditch effort to make sure she's not foreclosed on at the insistence of rancher George Davidson (Stanley Andrews). Davidson had sheriff Collins (Morgan Wallace) do the dirty work, who voices his displeasure by saying "I'm willing to lay odds Davidson, that you shed your skin once a year, just like all the snakes". Quite the colorful description I thought.
A monkey wrench is thrown Hoppy's way when he's held up for the twenty grand, so now the boys try to do a little undercover work to track down the outlaws who robbed them. Their cover is blown pretty quickly by Davidson, but in the aftermath, Hoppy comes to the conclusion that there must be a third party instigating the rivalry between Davidson and Ma Woods. Ma wouldn't have had someone rob Hoppy's crew if she was getting paid for her cattle anyway, and Davidson had earlier offered to sell his cattle to Cassidy for less money to undercut his rival. Getting the warring parties to make peace, Hoppy sets out to uncover who the troublemaker really is.
Andy Clyde can usually be relied on for comic relief in any picture he appears in, but this story offered another as well. I got a kick out of Cliff Nazarro's double talk routine as the Woods cook Nosey Haskins. You know, to do it right requires a real talent and this guy's a master. Most everyone simply nods their head in agreement when he speaks but there's no way you could know what he's talking about. I think modern day politicians probably studied this guy.
Hey, did you catch that cattle stampede scene when Myra Woods (Margaret Hayes) fell off her horse? The saddle went with her - what's up with that? You know, the first time she showed up in the story, I'd have to say she filled out her dress better than any B Western cowgirl I'd ever seen. No wonder Lucky went gaga over the lady.
Well it took some doin', but Hoppy and the boys finally put away Davidson henchman Joe Weiler (Morris Ankrum) to close out the mystery of the third party instigator. I had to chuckle because in virtually every story like this where a large stash of money is stolen, the bad guy who took it is running around the countryside with the loot on him. Don't they know you could lose it that way?
Well anyway, it's cool to see Hoppy, Lucky Jenkins (Russell Hayden) and California (Andy Clyde) teamed up again for a passel of Western adventure. Hoppy and his pals are on the way to Lost River Junction with twenty thousand dollars in cash to buy Ma Woods' (Sarah Padden) cattle, a last ditch effort to make sure she's not foreclosed on at the insistence of rancher George Davidson (Stanley Andrews). Davidson had sheriff Collins (Morgan Wallace) do the dirty work, who voices his displeasure by saying "I'm willing to lay odds Davidson, that you shed your skin once a year, just like all the snakes". Quite the colorful description I thought.
A monkey wrench is thrown Hoppy's way when he's held up for the twenty grand, so now the boys try to do a little undercover work to track down the outlaws who robbed them. Their cover is blown pretty quickly by Davidson, but in the aftermath, Hoppy comes to the conclusion that there must be a third party instigating the rivalry between Davidson and Ma Woods. Ma wouldn't have had someone rob Hoppy's crew if she was getting paid for her cattle anyway, and Davidson had earlier offered to sell his cattle to Cassidy for less money to undercut his rival. Getting the warring parties to make peace, Hoppy sets out to uncover who the troublemaker really is.
Andy Clyde can usually be relied on for comic relief in any picture he appears in, but this story offered another as well. I got a kick out of Cliff Nazarro's double talk routine as the Woods cook Nosey Haskins. You know, to do it right requires a real talent and this guy's a master. Most everyone simply nods their head in agreement when he speaks but there's no way you could know what he's talking about. I think modern day politicians probably studied this guy.
Hey, did you catch that cattle stampede scene when Myra Woods (Margaret Hayes) fell off her horse? The saddle went with her - what's up with that? You know, the first time she showed up in the story, I'd have to say she filled out her dress better than any B Western cowgirl I'd ever seen. No wonder Lucky went gaga over the lady.
Well it took some doin', but Hoppy and the boys finally put away Davidson henchman Joe Weiler (Morris Ankrum) to close out the mystery of the third party instigator. I had to chuckle because in virtually every story like this where a large stash of money is stolen, the bad guy who took it is running around the countryside with the loot on him. Don't they know you could lose it that way?