Hopalong Cassidy, Vol. 7
Hopalong Cassidy DVDs

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The most outstanding series of westerns began in 1935 from Paramount Pictures under the guiding hand of producer Harry "Pop" Sherman...continued well into the '40s proved to be the most successful 'B' Westerns ever made...based on Clarence E. Mulford's stories, they strived in changing Cassidy's image, which was both original and influential...the hero, played by William Lawrence Boyd, was mature and generally rather inactive, and the plots also tended to inactivity until a sudden burst of climactic action in the last reel, usually a frantic chase backed by tension-building music.

In all, Boyd made sixty-six Hopalong Cassidy Westerns, early films included Uncle Ben and Windy Halliday, both played by veteran actor George "Gabby" Hayes...was a steady favorite as a hitchrack, was chosen five years in succession as one of the 10 best money-making Western sidekick stars...like most western comics, had his share of narrow escapes being thrown from his horse, burned by blanks...but that was all in a days work...his one-liners will never be forgotten..."You're dern tootin'"..."Never trust a female, they're pure poyzin"...or my all-time favorite ~ "Persnickgordy Women"...this crusty old-timer stole many a scene from John Wayne, Randolph Scott and yes even William Boyd.

In this Volume 7 we have five films of the following:

BORDER VIGILANTES (1941/62 mins/B&W)
Boyd (Hoppy), Andy Clyde (California Jack Carlson), Russell Hayden (Lucky Jenkins), Victor Jory, Morris Ankrum, Tom Tyler, Wally Wales (aka Hal Taliaferro), Britt Wood, Jack Rockwell
Hoppy discovers that the bad guys are led by the town boss, and so are the vigilantes...Lucky and California arrive posing as bad men...Hoppy sets up a silver shipment to trap the leader of all the trouble in town...gunmen look for Hoppy and Lucky is about to be strung up...what else can happen to the Bar 20 boys.

TWILIGHT ON THE TRAIL (1942/60 mins/B&W)
Boyd (Hoppy), Andy Clyde (California Jack Carlson), Brad King (Johnny Nelson), Jimmy Wakely, Jack Rockwell, Ton London, Wanda McKay
Bar 20 trio is called on to stop cattle rustling...Hoppy, Lucky and California are chasing cattle rustlers and a crooked foreman is the main trouble...Hoppy and California finally find the rustler's hideout they also find themselves prisoners...can they get free and bring the outlaws to justice, stayed tuned and find out.

TEXAS MASQUERADE (1943/59 mins/B&W)
Boyd (Hoppy), Andy Clyde (California Jack Carlson), Jimmy Rogers (Himself), Don Costello, Francis McDonald, John Merton, J. Farrell MacDonald, Russell Simpson
The Night Riders are out to scare the ranchers off their land...cause there is oil in them there hills...Hoppy assumes the identity of a wounded lawyer he found on the stage... Sam Nolan, the local territory badman knows Hoppy and when he arrives on the the scene...Masquerade comes to a sudden end and Hoppy is in deep trouble.

THE MARAUDERS (1947/64 mins/B&W)
Boyd (Hoppy), Andy Clyde (California Jack Carlson), Rand Brooks (Lucky Jenkins), Ian Wolfe, Earl Hodgins, Dorinda Clifton, Mary Newton,
Hoppy and his Bar 20 comrades take refuge in a church as a storm comes upon them...Riker arrives with his crew to tear the church down...Hoppy keeps them out, but then Riker surrounds the church and Hoppy and his friends find themselves prisoners...can Hoppy turn the tide on this one.

STRANGE GAMBLE (1948/60 mins/B&W)
Boyd (Hoppy), Andy Clyde (California Jack Carlson), Rand Brooks (Lucky Jenkins), Francis McDonald, James Craven, Elaine Riley, Robert Williams.
Hoppy investigates counterfeiting in the U.S. and Mexico as an agent for the federal government...the name "Mordigan" keeps coming up and he joins forces hoping to find the source of the bills....with the help of California and Lucky things start getting decidely more interesting...Hoppy keeps his cool as usual.

Hoppy's interaction with California Carlson (Andy Clyde) is always a shot in the arm with his down-to-earth humor and sentimentality, theses scenes are pure Americana! Boyd, with his silver hair, black clothes and white horse (Topper) rode into our lives and we've never been the same since...your children and grandchildren will enjoy this clean wholesome entertainment...Hoppy always wore two silver white handle six shooters, never drank or smoked, when the good guys always won and the moral to the story was fair-play...outstanding role model...gotta love it!

Another pick for "Pop" Sherman was a new sidekick for the Cassidy films...a newcomer Lucky Jenkins, played by Russell Hayden had his job cut out for him, with Boyd (as the hero) and Andy Clyde (California Carlson) for comedy, left the field of romance and action wide open, Hayden filled those "boots" perfectly.

William Boyd was my hero, this collection of five films are perfect, clear and give me hope for the future. Our youth should have such a hero to look up to today. Must mention the fact that I still miss one of my all-time-favorite sidekicks though, George "Gabby" Hayes, you're durn tootin'!

Paramount and Clarence E. Mulford's fictional western character Hopalong Cassidy comes to life through William Boyd as Hoppy, Andy Clyde as California and Russell Hayden as Lucky Jenkins with films from the late '30s...horse operas directed by Lesley Selander and George Archainbaud...some of the best hard riding and smokin' gunplay that ever came across the big screen from the Bar 20...just the way we like 'em.

Total Time: 305 mins (5 films) DVD ~ Platinum 21159 ~ (8/31/2004)