United Artists, released 18 June 1943, directed by Lesley Selander.CAST: William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jay Kirby, George Reeves, Gayle Lord, Earle Hodgins, Victor Jory, Douglas Fowley, Herb Rawlinson, Bob Mitchum. 67 minutes. (Available on an Echo Bridge DVD). This one starts most excitingly with a splendid chase after bad man, Bob Mitchum. After he's gunned down, however, the pace slackens considerably, only to pick up again for a spectacularly photographed chase climax. Gayle Lord makes the first of only two on-camera appearances. A small role followed in The Woman of the Town (also produced by her dad, Pop Sherman) in which she went by the name, Teddi Sherman - the handle she used (her real name was Theodora) for writing five or six movies and around forty or fifty TV eps for shows like The Rough Riders and Sea Hunt. Alas, Teddi has the femme lead in this one - and she is a most untalented actress. Were it not for her presence, Colt Comrades would be right up there with the best of the series. As it is, it's still must viewing for Mitchum fans!

Bruce Dern, to this day, has people who hate him because in one of his early roles "he killed John Wayne."Shot him in the back, in fact. Well, his character shot the John Wayne character.Robert Mitchum, in this early role as Dirk Mason in "Colt Comrades," also plays a murderous bad guy, but managed to overcome any aspersions cast upon him.Mitchum is just one of a splendid collection of superlative actors in this entry in Pop Sherman's Hopalong Cassidy series.William Boyd, who reached immense fame as Hoppy, was one fine actor, beginning in the silent days, where he was a favorite of Cecil B. DeMille.In fact, his short part in DeMille's "King of Kings" has always stood out in my memory as one of the highest high points in the film. Boyd accomplished a lot without words, just expression.After the disaster of another William Boyd's arrest, and our Boyd's photo being displayed in the story, his career took a nosedive. The story is he was so traumatized, his hair turned white.When the Hopalong Cassidy series was being readied, the story goes, he pleaded for the chance to play the lead, and, well, the rest is genuinely history.Hopalong Cassidy is one of the classic heroes of Hollywood, even though the cinema version is quite different -- surprise, surprise - from the book version.Boyd was, as I said, an excellent actor, and he became an excellent cowboy, and a good business man: He was smart enough to acquire the TV rights to his movies and apparently to the character, and became rich thereby. Deservedly, in my opinion.One reason I love to watch him: He had probably the greatest laugh ever recorded on film.In "Colt Comrades," a generic and pointless title, he gets a frequent chance to laugh with his partners and it helps make this already great B western even better.Here he is cast with another terribly under-rated actor in George Reeves, the excellent Victor Jory, a wonderful under-player of villains, and the great Douglas Fowley, of that distinctive voice.Also along is Earl Hodgins, a veteran of rascal roles, and Dewey Robinson, who is perfect as the bartender, and both are always fun to watch.The female lead, Teddi Sherman, then 19, had a really cute, little-girl voice, but with big-girl looks. She apparently did more writing ("Four Faces West," for example) than acting, but was very watchable in "Colt Comrades."There are a couple director errors in the big gun battle, but generally Lesley Selander was more than adequate, and the script also is of high quality, allowing superlative actors good dialogue with the good story.At YouTube it seems all the available versions of "Colt Comrades" are fuzzy and hard on the eyes, and some are also hard on the ears, so pick carefully. But do pick, somewhere if not YouTube, and enjoy. I highly recommend "Colt Comrades," with a good story, directing, scenery, and an outstanding and excellent cast.

Colt Comrades was one of the Hopalong Cassidy films where Robert Mitchum got his start. But Mitchum's part here is brief as he's killed while in the custody of US Marshal Cassidy. That was to silence him from telling what he knew about the Ben Cartwright of the area Victor Jory.Jory's got the biggest ranch but he wants it all and he's got the water rights for the whole valley with how he's dammed up the only stream. He's squeezing all the other ranches including the one where Hoppy, Johnny Travers and California are now partners. Earle Hodgins plays one of his rustic conman types when swindles California out of money for oil rights. He always adds something to any film he's in. Ironically the work that California and Hodgins do in drilling for oil starts the tables turning on Jory.A good film for both Robert Mitchum completists and the legion of old little partners that followed Hopalong Cassidy.

Of all the 66 Hopalong Cassidy films made, this one is probably the most common & easily available, especially before the US Television Office bought the rights to the films. You could find this one at K-Mart, drugstores, Amazon.com, everywhere. Why was this one so much more common that the other 65? Was it the best? Certainly not, it's probably around the middle of the group. The reason was undoubtedly its cast. Robert Mitchum (who got his start in Hoppy films & made seven of them, all in 1943) had probably his meatiest role here as a baddie. In addition, TV's Superman, George Reeves, also had a significant role in this film; he made four Hoppy films, all also in 1943). Then, for a little icing on the cake, you get Victor Jory (coming off his starring role as the title characters in the serials "The Green Archer" & "The Shadow") as a villain. The female "love interest" in this film, Lois Sherman (AKA "Teddi"), was not as pretty as most, & what acting ability she had was overshadowed by her squeaky voice (kind of like today's Rosie Perez). But it didn't matter, because she was producer Harry "Pop" Sherman's daughter. There's enough action to keep it interesting, & a plot that turns a couple of times. Jay Kirby, while not the best of the "Johnny/Lucky" sidekicks, could certainly act circles around Jimmy Rogers, who was to follow him in that sidekick role. Andy Clyde, as California, actually has a more significant role than usual, & his comedy doesn't get in the way of the plot (his character's actions actually fit in quite nicely). For readers who've followed my other Hoppy reviews on this website, the wardrobe forecast: good! (Hoppy wears his black outfit throughout this film). I rate it 7/10.