Number 31 of the 66-picture series (Zinman's numbering. Paramount's number is 37). In this one, Cassidy changes the color of his shirt from the traditional black to a light gray, similar to the fatigue uniform worn by the Texas Rangers. There's a new horse in this one. Boyd, of course, rides "Topper", but Hayden has a new mount in "Cooper" who replaces the palomino, "Banjo", who was unable to keep silent in front of the cameras.The reason there's so much dialogue in this one and that it's so slowly delivered, Sherman explains, is that he was experimenting in producing a movie which deaf people could lip read with no difficulty. It's also in this entry that Hopalong Cassidy meets up with "California" - and a very boring meeting it is too, running longer than five minutes. "Pop" Sherman once said that his formula for making the Hoppy movies was to "open big, forget about the middle, and come to a thrilling finish." That's certainly what happens here. After Hoppy teams up with "California", they join "Lucky" and then proceed to make Santa Carmen "a fine place for folks to live in". Fortunately, they do so via some thrilling action sequences - so thrilling indeed that the TV Censor has been at this film, mutilating at least four scenes. Russell Harlan's photography is well up to his usual high standard. Victor Young has written a music score for three or four of the action highlights, but the rest of the film has no music whatever! Lesley Selander's direction has occasional touches of inventiveness.

This Hoppalong Cassidy (William Boyd) film is well made and extremely typical of the genre. And, like most of the B-westerns I've enjoyed, it's not mired down with a lot of unnecessary and silly songs.The film begins with authorities in California begging the Texas governor to send a crack Ranger to their state to help them restore law and order. Surprisingly, Hoppy isn't interested in the job but his young friend Lucky does the job instead. Soon, however, Hoppy is pulled into California. And, he brings along a new sidekick--aptly named California. Together with Lucky, the trio work on restoring justice. And, as if VERY typical of the genre. there's a baddie who has a large group of hired guns who's intent on stealing the land of all the little guys.About the only unusual aspect of the film is that it's surprisingly violent for a B-western. As for the acting, Cassidy seems quite natural and the film is enjoyable throughout. Not a must-see but a decent little time-passer.

Well actually this film should be called Two Men From Texas because one of them is from California. For the rest of the Hopalong Cassidy feature film series Andy Clyde became William Boyd's third Mesquiteer sidekick as California Carlson and of course that's where he's from though he embellishes quite a bit his accomplishments.In fact Hoppy's first encounter with California has him as the cook for an outlaw gang. He first arrests him and then decides that he's harmless and is even a good material witness to a pair of outlaws whom he really wants played by western heavies Glenn Strange and Dick Curtis.Those two have fled to California where Hoppy's other sidekick Russell Hayden has been on loan from the Texas Rangers trying to clean up a gang headed by claim jumping Morris Ankrum. He's been dispossessing a lot of the residents off the Spanish land grants they hold title to. Of course all the bad guys fight all the good guys in the inevitable climax.Three Men From Texas is quite a bit bloodier in the climax than the normal run of Hopalong Cassidy films. A woman is shot and killed earlier, the love interest for Hayden and then later her father and Ankrum have a fight to the death of both. I'm surprised Paramount didn't soften this for their kid audience.Still it's a Cassidy feature that holds up well for today.

Although William Boyd's Hopalong Cassidy is a more mature cowboy then Roy Rogers or Gene Autry, this one is darker than usual. There's still the same humor (provided this time by Andy Clyde) as always, but the humor is much more somber than usual.There are fewer fight scenes then some, but the fight scenes are extremely well-done for a B-western. This is also one of the longest of the Hopalong movies.The reason I love this movie so much is because it is of refreshingly hight quality, the characters are consistent and 3-dimensional (unlike many B-westerns), and the story is unusually good. Just goes to show why Hopalong Cassidy is one of the best cowboy movie heroes there is.