Hop-a-Long Cassidy (1935) User Reviews

Enter Hopalong Cassidy

[bsmith5552 · 7/10 · 13 May 2003]

"Hop-Along Cassidy" (aka "Hopalong Cassidy Enters") was the first of 66 features starring William Boyd as Hoppy. One of the most successful and best written of the "B" western series, it was to run from 1935 to 1948.

As written by Clarence E. Mulford, Cassidy was a crude, crusty ranch hand and definitely not intended as a Saturday Matinee hero. In fact, character actor James Gleason, who looked nothing like a hero was apparently first offered the part.

Boyd, who had been around Hollywood since the early 20s and had fallen from grace, ultimately was cast in the part. It was decided between himself and producer Harry "Pop" Sherman that Boyd would not play the character as written.

In this first entry in the series, Boyd plays the character with a few rough edges, all of which would disappear in future films. He starts out as "Bill" Cassidy but acquires his nickname "Hopalong" when is wounded in the leg and is forced to hop along with the aid of a cane.

The story involves two competing ranchers, Buck Peters of the Bar-20 (Charles Middleton) and Meeker (Robert Warwick) arguing over the open range land for their cattle. Meeker's foreman known as Pecos Jack (Kenneth Thompson) is behind a plot to set the two ranches against each other while stealing their cattle, changing their brands and selling them off for himself.

In this first entry in the series the traditional trio comprises Hoppy, Johnny Nelson (James Ellison) and Red Connors (Frank McGlynn Jr.). George Hayes by this time had evolved into the character he would play for the rest of his career. In this picture he plays a ranch hand named "Uncle Ben". Although still not using the name "Gabby", he would appear later in the series as the grizzled sidekick "Windy Halliday".

Also in the cast are Paula Stone as Mary Meeker, Ellison's love interest, Willie Fung as the Meeker's Chinese cook, who provides most of the comic relief, and veterans John Merton and Franlyn Farnum in other roles.

Charles Middleton would achieve some measure of fame as "Ming the Merciless" in the Flash Gordon serials. The character of Red Connors would be resurrected in the Hopalong Cassidy TV series of the 50s with Edgar Buchanan playing the part.

Just because its the first, doesn't make it the best.

[Mike-764 · 6/10 · 30 December 2004]

A range war is brewing between the Bar 20 and Meeker ranches, which is being caused by Meeker's foreman Anthony (who is in reality, an outlaw called the Pecos Kid), whose method is to have each ranch be accused at acts of rustling cattle or murder, then the two ranches will start a war against each other. In the meanwhile, Anthony's gang will round up all the cattle from the two ranches, change brands, and sell them at market. It's up to Hoppy, Red, Uncle Ben, and Johnny Nelson (who is a target for Meeker's hands since Johnny is sweet on Meeker's daughter Mary) to clear the Bar 20's name and round up the outlaws. The film is a very good entry in the opening film of the Hopalong series, but far from the best, since the action doesn't really begin past the halfway point of the film. Then on it's gets better building up to a great climax. Good performances by the cast (especially by Hayes as Uncle Ben, in a pre Windy Halliday role), but Thomson is miscast and ineffective as Anthony. Rating, based on B westerns, 6.

From Bill Boyd to Bill Cassidy to Hopalong Cassidy

[weezeralfalfa · 7/10 · 28 December 2018]

The inaugural issue of 66 feature films from 1935-'48, followed by numerous made-for-TV adventures. Bill Boyd, a former matinee idol in the silent era, begins the film as Bill Cassidy. About halfway through, he is shot in the leg, and limps around with a cane for a while, dubbing himself as Hopalong Cassady. Eventually, he is no longer see limping or hoping. Thus, he differs considerably from his pulp fiction namesake, who had an ill-fitted wooden leg that made him hop a little. He also differed radically from Clarence E. Malford's Hopalong in his personality. Whereas the book Hoppy was characterized as crude and vulgar, Boyd's Hoppy was a perfect gentleman, as far as a cowboy could be. In contrast to other cowboy stars, Hoppy dressed in all black, including his hat, which otherwise usually denoted a villain. Thus, his outfit contrasted sharply with his pure white horse(Topper), and his white hair, on B&W film. His very prematurely white hair made him look considerably older than he was, apparently not being a detriment to his popularity. Hoppy's custom of traveling with 2 sidekicks is established by the end of the film, when he combined with Bar 20 friends James Ellison(as Johnny Nelson) and Frank McGlynn(as Red Conners) to abandon the Bar 20 ranch and look for a ranch in Wyoming. Thus, typically, they leave a ranch sweetheart of the youngest of the trio behind to cry(in this case, it's Mary Meeker(Paula Stone). Boyd also established the custom of filming near the base of the Sierra Nevada, usually near Lone Pine, or in the unique rocky Alabama Hills, which provided plenty of hiding places and obstacles..........The plot concerns 2 neighboring ranches: Jim Meeker's ranch, and the Bar 20 ranch, which is owned by a Kansas City syndicate, administered by Buck Peters. Recently, they have been having issues over water rights, as the one ranch has all the water. Also, they've been having cattle rustled, fingering the other as the probable culprit. Somebody busted the dam, causing a pasture to be flooded, drowning some calves. Again, they assumed it was somebody from the other outfit. Also, the Meekers discovered 50 of their cattle dead, having been stampeded over a cliff. Who did that? ........An answer begins to emerge when Uncle Ben(Gabby Hayes) figures out that somebody has been altering the brands of both ranches into a common brand. They surmise that the various irregularities have been perpetrated to diffuse attention from themselves, as they rustle cattle. Hoppy thinks they must have somebody working at one of the ranches to orchestrate their misdeeds. It's not until very late in the film, that Hoppy figures out that the contact is: the foreman of the Meeker ranch : Jack Anthony(Keneth Thomson), known to the rustlers as Pecos Jack. Now, Uncle Ben happens to meet up Pecos Jack while looking for the rustlers' hideout. Unaware that Jack is one of that gang, he tells him that he suspects they are holing up at Thunder Mesa, which we see in the distance. Just how he came to this conclusion is not evident to me! In any case, Jack knows he guessed correctly, and when Ben rides off to tell Hoppy, Jack shoots him in the back, mortally wounding him, but he doesn't expire until after Jack leaves, failing to finish him off. Hoppy happens to come along to find Ben dead. But, Ben had scrawled a map of the hideout location in the sand before he expired. Hoppy is especially angry that Ben was murdered, and aims to extract justice from whoever did it. The combined forces of the 2 ranches now head for Thunder Mesa. They find the culprit's horses at the bottom and scatter them. But the men are all at or near the top of the precipitous mesa. Hoppy and a few others manage to scale the cliff, using a rope. He encounters one of the outlaws and asks him who uses a Sharpe rifle. The answer is Pecos Jack. Just how Hoppy surmised that Ben was killed by a Sharpe rifle bullet is beyond me! In any case, he went looking for Jack, while Jack's compatriots were gradually being picked off. Unfortunately, Hoppy was denied the pleasure of directly killing Jack, who had fallen off a cliff in his haste to avoid Cassidy.......See the film at YouTube.

If you love old B-westerns, then this one is a must!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 8 August 2020]

"Hop-a-Long Cassidy" is the first appearance of this western hero. In all, William Boyd made 66 of these films and they tended to be among the better B-series films of the era.

When the story begins, there's some tension between two ranchers...to the point that you know sooner or later violence is going to break out and someone's going to get killed. Into this mess arrives Hopalong who has been summoned by one of the ranchers to help deal with this situation. What no one realizes is that one of the foremen is deliberately stoking fires on both sides...and while the ranches are fighting each other, the foreman and his henchmen are rustling their cattle! Fortunately, Hoppy is NOT a guy to jump headfirst into the problem and his slow, cautious approach is bound to bring answers.

This film is quite different from films from the likes of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. This is no singing cowboy picture and it also is a good bit more violent than most of them as well...with a hanging, plenty of shootings and more! It all makes for a very exciting and more realistic sort of B-western. And, like a B, it runs at about one hour and is relatively low-budgeted...though it does sport an amazingly good cast for such an effort.

Among The Best

[dougdoepke · 19 September 2022]

Hoppy returns home only to get caught up in a rustlers' sceme that involves his friends Johnny (Ellison) and Uncle Ben (Hayes) and even Buck (Ming The Merciless!).

Aces all around, from great rocky locations, to better than usual acting, to a really surprising twist. From all this I can see why the Hoppy series became so popular following this first entry. Also, note that handsome youngster Ellison gets almost as much screentime as Boyd, maybe to entice younger viewers.

Then too, looks like the producers were intent on a big send-off since there's no stinting on the hard-riding gangs, cattle herds, or sustained outdoor locations.

Moreover, catch the imaginative camera set-ups that make good use of the rocky spire and action sequencess. The plot may be a bit worn, but happily it's imaginatively mounted. Also, catch the standing tree trunk that suddenly becomes a bed, along with cutie Mary's (Stone) jazzy dress that makes her stand out at the dance. All good touches.

Anyway, there's likely no better actor among matinee heroes than Hoppy's Bill Boyd as this flick abundantly shows. Ordinarily, I don't rate matinee westerns, but among them I'd give this one a "10". So, for front-row matinee fans like myself, don't miss it.

Hoppy arrives at Bar 20

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 14 November 2016]

William Boyd made his screen debut as Hopalong Cassidy in Hop-ALong Cassidy. He was really William known as Bill Cassidy when he does arrive, but he gets wounded in a gunfight and limped a bit for the duration of the film. The guys in the bunkhouse called him Hopalong after he gave himself that nickname. Throughout the rest of the 66 films and TV shows we rarely heard his Christian name.

The plot is a standard western one, an outlaw gang stirs up a feud between the Bar 20 and a neighboring outfit owned by Robert Warwick. But it takes Bill Boyd to come up with the solution, aided and abetted by James Ellison whom he acquires as a sidekick.

Gabby Hayes is in this as Uncle Ben and he's the usual Gabby Hayes. He proved so popular that Paramount just resurrected him for the next few years before he left the series. Here as the chief villain guns him down it shows the Saturday matinée kids just how dastardly he is. Rather stupidly he leaves him to bleed out rather than finish him off. I guess Paramount did not want to shock the kids whose dimes to see the film and the subsequent series planned.

So Hopalong Cassidy becomes an American institution. Curiously enough Bill Boyd did a few non-Hoppy films after this before settling down into this character permanently.

It was a good beginning for an American institution.

ENTER EDGY STEELY "HOPPY"...MELLOWED IN TIME...VERY POPULAR FRANCHISE

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 4 August 2021]

Although the Character of Hopalong Cassidy had Virtually Nothing in Common with the Author Clarence Mulford's Novels...

William Boyd and "Hoppy" Maintained one of the Most Popular and Long Running Character Features in Movie History...(66 Films & TV).

"Hoppy" in the Movies Did Not...Smoke, Drink, or Result to Violence Unless Provoked and the "Bad Guy" Drew or Punched First.

A Complete Opposite of Mulford's "Hoppy", A Grizzled, Tobacco Chewing, Ruffian.

Unrealistic to a Fault, but Not as Unrealistic as say Gene Autry, Roy Rogers or Other Kid's Heroes of the Day.

It's Not Easily Understood Why the Character was So Popular.

His Outfit was Black from Head to Toe, and sure was the Antithesis of Gene and Roy where Only the Bad-Guys Wore Black.

It was a Stunning Contrast to His Horse "Topper" an All-White Stallion.

Add to That Boyd's Hair was Completely Premature White.

These Things Certainly Helped the "Hoppy" Image.

Although Extremely Popular in His Initial Reincarnation with a Steely-Stare and an Edge,

"Hoppy's" Entrance is a Thrilling Descent Down a Steep Decline Aboard "Topper".

Boyd's "Hoppy" Became More and More Docile as the Character and the Film-Series Aged.

This First Entry, was Re-Titled "Hopalong Cassidy Enters" in Re-Release to Point Fans to the Origin,

is a Visual-Treat with Wide-Open Spaces and Horses Always Moving, Bucking, and Galloping.

The Plot Has Mystery Elements and George "Gabby" Hayes as "Uncle Ben"

Makes for a Sentimental and Emotional Touch with One-Scene Unforgettable.

For B-Western Fans...A Must See.

Excellent heart-warming first movie of the series

[chipe · 7/10 · 19 April 2015]

I thought this —the first Hoppy movie— was excellent and entertaining. It could have had more action and a better mystery-detective-like plot, but so what? It was rich in character exposition, plus the fine acting, scenery, etc. James Ellison was the best young Hoppy sidekick in my opinion. I also enjoyed the acting and dialog from Uncle Ben (Gabby Hayes), Buck Peters and Red Connors characters. I was touched by the qualities expressed by the whole Bar 20 family: honor, loyalty, friendship, love, respect, competence, etc. Best,of course, is William Boyd's acting/persona. There is no need to repeat plot here as it is done in other user reviews. Key memorable scenes were (1) Hoppy's first introduction to Johnny Nelson, who had only heard heroic tales about Hoppy and had resented them; and (2) Uncle Ben's almost mystical communication with Hoppy to relay clues about the rustlers.

Hoppy mellowed in time

[Flaming_star_69 · 10/10 · 30 November 2005]

It was interesting for me to see this first of the Hopalong Cassidy movies last night. I saw a distinctly different Hopalong than those later movies I have seen. This one had a hard look in his eye that was most menacing and at one point, he was about to draw his gun on his own man, which made for a completely different Hopalong than the one which emerged in time. He actually resembled men of the REAL OLD WEST instead of the watered-down, lip-stick sissy version most of Western characters in the movies had--such as Gene Autry.

I remember last year I got to see the very first episode of Bonanza--the TV Western series. I noticed the same thing there how the Cartwrights were hard, rough and even deadly (the way men were in the REAL WEST) and, having watched the series over several years, I noticed they too mellowed with time.

Otherwise, I certainly enjoyed this first issue of Hopalong Cassidy. He was certainly my HERO as a small boy of 5-6 back in 1953-1954 when I first started watching him on TV. And it was good to view this one.

I won't bother with the plot. Others have already done that. But the point I made is one that clearly stood out to me about this very first movie in the series.

The First in a Long Line of Hopalong Cassidy Movies

[springfieldrental · 7/10 · 30 May 2023]

William Boyd, a hugely popular actor during the silent film era, saw his career wilting in the early 1930s after a mix-up by a newspaper sent his reputation spiraling downwards. When he auditioned for Paramount Pictures' low-budgeted Western, August 1935 "Hop-Along Cassidy," the studio offered him the role as one of the ranch supervisors-but not the lead. Boyd knew his on-screen magnetic personality was perfect for the series' hero, and lobbied hard for the role as Bill Hop-Along Cassidy. The actor eventually beat out his competition, and the life-changing role became one of Hollywood's more feel-good stories in cinema.

Western movies had been relegated to 'Poverty Row" status ever since the spectacular failure of Raoul Walsh's 1930 "The Big Trail." The Grade B "program westerns" were quickly churned out with their low quality camerawork and acting, and played in largely rural theaters. Paramount Pictures wanted to elevate the genre by producing a series with upgraded storylines, higher production values and more polished acting. The studio eventually realized Boyd's past film experience was an asset to achieve its goals. At first the part was offered to James Gleason (not the comedian), but the actor had just signed a deal with RKO and was handcuffed. Once Boyd got the role, the series became a long-lasting fan favorite right from its premier, lasting well beyond going to the new medium of television in 1948. Hopalong Cassidy's programing is credited for making Westerns the most popular genre in the early days of TV.

Boyd first appeared in film in 1918, and was a favorite of director Cecil B. DeMille in his role as Simon in 1927's "The King of Kings." His lead in 1926's silent "The Volga Boatman," DeMille's personal favorite, solidified Boyd's reputation when cinema transitioned to talkies. But RKO cut him loose when its executives read a newspaper account alongside Boyd's picture that he was arrested on gambling and illegal alcohol charges. The editors mixed him up with another actor named William 'Stage" Boyd, who was the real culprit. Yet, when the paper published a correction, "The damage was already done," Boyd lamented. No studio wanted to touch him until 'Stage' Boyd died in 1935, coincidently the same year William earned the Cassidy role.

Boyd's portrayal of Hopalong didn't resemble the title character in Clarence Mulford's 1904 stories. The author's Western hero was rude, rough in speech, and constantly had a chip on his shoulder. The literary character sustained a bullet embedded in his leg during a gunfight, causing him to hop while he walked, earning the nickname 'Hopalong.' Boyd's 'Hopalong' on the screen was civil, friendly, and well-spoken. He consistently appeared on the scene whenever crooks were making honest people's lives miserable. Cassidy was accompanied by a younger man, Johnny, first played by James Ellison, who was always getting into trouble but had a yen for women in distress, along with a grizzled old man first played by actor George 'Gabby' Hayes.

Boyd played in 66 Hopalong Cassidy one-hour movies. When Hollywood studios phased out low-budget films by the time television became popular in 1948, they stopped producing Hopalong features (Boyd financed the final 12 episodes himself.). The actor, though, saw a market for those 66 Hopalong films, and mortgage everything he had, $350,000, to buy the entire catalogue from the studio. The unemployed actor Boyd approached NBC to see if the network was interested in playing some of his old Westerns. Looking for programming to fill its new medium, NBC agreed to air them for a nominal fee. A new generation of viewers grew to love the action-packed films which were shown on Sunday nights. These weekly Sunday evening one-hour Westerns became known as 'Hoppy Nights,' and Boyd emerged as one of TV's first stars, earning not only a fortune for his ownership of the series but he also received lucrative licensing contracts to market Hopalong merchandise.

In the inaugural debut of Hop-along (the only film with a hyphen in his name), Bill Cassidy works for the Bar 20 Ranch, which sees its cattle stolen one-by-one. At a nearby ranch, H2, its foreman, Jack Anthony (Kenneth Thomson), is a cattle rustler leading his gang to steal. He's blaming the Bar 20 Ranch employees for the loss of their cattle, and the two ranches soon become embroiled by Anthony's maneuvers. Writes film reviewer Laura Grieve, "All in all, it's a strong film which set a firm foundation for the many Hopalong Cassidy films and TV episodes to follow."

The character Hopalong Cassidy was nominated by the American Film Institute as one of movie's Heroes of All-Time.

Very good

[jefieldpsu · 10/10 · 27 February 2006]

I thought the movie had the "feel" of western life..the cattle grazing in the opener..the dust on the outfits (except Johnny's!)You could even see the dust flying in several scenes....good characters, except the foreman (just didn't fit)..Ellison excellent as Johnny..and Hayes, McGlynn as Red and Middleton as Buck--all good...how about the scene where Hoppy appears riding Topper (I guess it was Topper,then) down that steep hill? I like the silent film "leftovers", like Hoppy's steely glare and the gathering of the ranchers scene near the end...Just a very well-done, enjoyable film! This movie borrows plot elements from the book Hopalong Cassidy (1910)-- Meeker, the H2 spread, Thunder Mesa..to name a few. I'm still reading the book, so I don't know all the details..! Interesting note-- the two well-known western character actors--Boyd and Hayes-- are from Eastern locales: Marion, Ohio and Wellsville, NY, respectively. Once again--a top rating for this film! John Field

This film was good- but a long way from Great.

[kfo9494 · 6/10 · 19 August 2019]

For a low budget 1935 'B' western, this was not bad. In fact, with the nice editing and the outdoor scenes, this was actually a better filmed movie than some of the high end production companies were making at the time. But it was not one of the best, actually far from the fact.

I guess if this was the first time I had ever seen a Hopalong western, then perhaps it would be better outcome. But this first show was stiff at times. The actors had not gelled and look ill-at-ease reading the script. Hopalong was ready to hang someone without a trial, which is something that would never happen on later episodes of the series.

You can overlook the plot- and overlook the singing- but from William Boyd's almost mannequin appearance and the fact the leading lady appeared to have never acted before, things need improvement. And in later episodes, they will. They will become Saturday matinee movies with action, laughs and gunfire. And this offering was lacking two of the three.

Hopalong Cassidy enters, starts a B-flick series

[adrianovasconcelos · 7/10 · 27 March 2024]

Howard Bretherton directed this first Hop-a-Long Cassidy flick in a long series of more than 40, which ended in the 1940s but which TV brought back to life in the mid to late 1950s. This first film also goes by the title of HOPALONG CASSIDY ENTERS, and according to my late father, Cassidy was his, and other kids' joy on Saturday afternoons as the starter before the main film.

I was born in colonial Mozambique in 1957, and there was no TV there those days - so I missed Hop-a-Long Cassidy, Tom Mix, Gene Autry and the like. Now, I am glad that I have been able to watch some of these about 1-hour long flicks on Youtube.

This initial entry is one of the best - though, to be honest, I have always found William Boyd a rather mediocre actor - perhaps his distinctive black outfit explains his unusual popularity, because I do not find him physically a credible hero figure, either. George Hayes is the actor that I really look forward to watching , what with his accent, twists of lips and mouth, and unique laugh.

Here the problem has to do with the Bar 20 ranch, which is somehow served - owned? - by Cassidy, and in this case some neighbors, including cowardly villain Kenneth Thomson, are rustling cattle belonging to Uncle Ben, portrayed by the above mentioned, and immensely likable George Hayes.

Enjoyable oater, with handsome Ellison and pretty Paula Stone providing the love component. Strictly standard script and competent photography, especially of cattle on the move and a shootout in craggy cliffs. 7/10.