I love the Hopalong Cassidy B-westerns. They tend to have little singing, great action and very good acting...placing them to an almost A-movie level. But one problem I do have with the 60+ Cassidy films I've seen is that they are often very predictable. So, if you see Glenn Strange or Victor Jory in the movie, you KNOW that they are evil...so there's little in the way of suspense. However, "Border Vigilantes" turns this upside down. Sure, Victor Jory once again plays a villain...but Morris Ankrum nearly always played a baddie but is on the side of good in this one. But even more surprising is seeing Britt Wood playing a villain!!! This is because for several installments, Wood played Hoppy's sidekick, Speedy! I really appreciate this...as it made this installment less formulaic than usual.
The plot to "Border Vigilantes" is odd. In this case, the vigilantes are the GOOD guys...a citizen's militia out to curtail lawlessness. But usually we think of vigilanteeism as a bad thing...and here it's considered a moral choice! But the vigilante organization isn't making much progress against the lawbreakers and the leader of the vigilante group (Ankrum) has decided to call in Hopalong Cassidy for help. But the leader of the gang decides to deal with Hoppy proactively...by shooting him as he nears town. He also has one of his toadies shoot the leader of the vigilantes...though he's only injured. What is this baddie going to do next? He'll play a case of 'divide and conquer'....with mixed results.
Because of the odd casting, I liked this one very much. Plus the action was quite nice. Overall, one of the better Cassidy pictures...well worth your time.
The plot to "Border Vigilantes" is odd. In this case, the vigilantes are the GOOD guys...a citizen's militia out to curtail lawlessness. But usually we think of vigilanteeism as a bad thing...and here it's considered a moral choice! But the vigilante organization isn't making much progress against the lawbreakers and the leader of the vigilante group (Ankrum) has decided to call in Hopalong Cassidy for help. But the leader of the gang decides to deal with Hoppy proactively...by shooting him as he nears town. He also has one of his toadies shoot the leader of the vigilantes...though he's only injured. What is this baddie going to do next? He'll play a case of 'divide and conquer'....with mixed results.
Because of the odd casting, I liked this one very much. Plus the action was quite nice. Overall, one of the better Cassidy pictures...well worth your time.