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.

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

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.

"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.