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I enjoy the Hopalong Cassidy B-westerns, though I am not so enamored with them that I won't admit that sometimes the plots are a bit predictable. This is especially true with "Hopalong Cassidy Returns".

When the story begins, Peg-leg comes into town making a ruckus....as he's just discovered a rich vein of gold in his mine. He's so loud about this strike that you KNOW sooner or later someone will kill him and take his mine before the old prospector can file his claim...which is exactly what happens. And, when Hoppy comes to town to investigate, it's not like he needs to be Nostradamus to realize that a guy named 'Blackie' is one of the folks behind the murder and stolen claim! To make it more obvious, Morris Akrum plays Blackie....and he ALWAYS is a bad guy when he appears in a Hopalong Cassidy flick....always. You might want to note that in this film, Akrum is inexplicably billed as 'Stephen Morris'...but it's obviously him. As for Blackie's confederate, it's also pretty obvious that the local madame, Lilli Marsh, is involved...as she files a claim for a big strike the day AFTER Peg-leg is killed!! It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes or Charlie Chan to figure out who's behind the murder!

This film is a bit unusual in that it is the only one of 66 Hopalong Cassidy films that features his brother, Buddy (William Janney), as one of his sidekicks...the other is Windy (Gabby Hayes), who was one of the sidekicks in the earlier Cassidy pictures. Why his brother never appeared in another film, I have no idea...but he was pretty much like Lucky or Jimmy...young, headstrong and kind of stupid...but brave when it counts.

So is this film any good despite being a bit predictable? Yes. I think one thing that really helped the film was how violent it was. While I wouldn't say it was grisly, it was more action-packed and featured some amazingly tough scenes...such as the guy in the wheelchair being drug to his death and the final showdown with Blackie. Gritty and exciting...and, of course, a bit predictable. But overall a very good film.

Hopalong Cassidy Returns has two unusual attributes for the series. For the one and only time in the series Hoppy had a younger brother as a sidekick played by William Janney. And for the one and only time Hoppy had a love interest. In this case, in spite of himself.

After prospector Irving Bacon and city editor of the town newspaper John Beck are killed, Gabby Hayes who's visiting the town of Mesa Grande sends for his old pal Hopalong Cassidy. Lawlessness has gotten completely out of hand in this city and its up to the cowboy hero to set things right.

On the way into town Hoppy saves the life of Evelyn Brent who's been thrown from her horse. The next time he meets her he finds she's the owner of the town saloon and the boss of a gang of outlaws who's been robbing and killing the prospectors in the vicinity. She's got a couple of nasty henchmen in Grant Richards and Morris Ankrum.

Hoppy's got three problems to deal with, his kid brother Janney is wanting to sow some wild oats, but there's a good girl in town played by Gail Sheridan who might be the answer there. There's the problem of lawlessness and the romantic problem with Evelyn Brent.

More her problem than is because she's in a quandary. Her brains say one thing, but her hormones say something else about William Boyd.

There's more than a passing resemblance to the plot of Destry Rides Again in Hopalong Cassidy Returns. The screen credits for this film say it is based on one of Hoppy creator Clarence Mulford's stories. The original novel that Destry Rides Again was written by Max Brand, so it's anybody's guess who might have copied from who, consciously or unconsciously.

If you've seen the James Stewart-Marlene Dietrich classic you know how Hopalong Cassidy Returns will end. Still it's an unusual entry in the series and not a bad one.

Apple-eating killers, great costumes for the female villain (a different, dazzling costume for almost every scene) and the impressive California Sierras make this Hopalong Cassidy adventure one of the best of the 60. It was so good in fact that Harry Sherman and his crew recycled the plot elements in another fairly good Hopalong titled, Wide Open Town. Although Hopalong Cassidy Returns is by far the better of the two, not only by virtue of being first, but also because more money was spent on the production and each had a different director: Nate Watt for HCR and Lesley Selander for WOT.

The dark-haired Miss Brent in satin and sequins plays well against the shimmering, silvery haired William Boyd. Their final scene is worth waiting for, if not for the emotional content then for the technical aspects of lighting and photography.

You won't see another like it in the series.

Ace Hoppy western, a little long on talk but with a number of good touches. Hoppy is summoned to a corrupt town after a gold prospector is murdered for his claim. In town he finds a number of sinister types, including a crafty saloon hostess, a mustachioed bad guy, and a tough gunslinger. Good thing Buddy (Janney) and Windy (Hayes) are there to help.

Wow, catch hostess Lila's frilly black gown-- looks like it may eat her head; also, looks like her whole wardrobe comes from Ming the Merciless. I love that opening face-off between Peg-leg and Windy for the Grouchy Old Geezer Championship. And catch Morris Ankrum as scary bad guy Blackie; I'm glad he converted to a lordly scientist so he could save 50's audiences from all those horrible space monsters (e.g. Rocketship XM {1950}).

Anyway, wait for the end when all the expected hard riding, fast guns, and open spaces fill the screen. Also, note the unusual relationship between Hoppy and good-bad girl Lila; it's got some depth to it. In fact, the 74-minutes is rather philosophical in places as the dialog suggests. Anyway, it's a little different Hoppy showing again what a fine actor he was, something not expected of the usual matinee hero.

(In Passing-- back in the 1950's Hoppy and Topper would ride in LA's New Years Day Rose Parade. He always made a point of waving to the kids and stopping in places to say 'Hi'. Boy, did that make kids like me feel special. Thanks Mr. Boyd.)

*Hopalong Cassidy Returns* is the seventh in the HC series, released in late 1936, and with William Janney (Buddy Cassidy) standing in for James Ellison (Johnny Nelson) as Hoppy's mischievous sidekick, in this case his own brother. William Boyd as Hoppy is back, this time as a new town Marshal bent on cleaning out corrupt saloon owner Lili Marsh. A number of the familiar early Cassidy 'heavies' are here; Joe Rickson, Ernie Adams, Morris Ankrum (appearing as Steven Morris), and Al St John. George 'Gabby' Hayes is back in yet another incarnation of the fuzzy headed 'Windy'. Practically all these early Hoppy films were tongue-in-cheek, and this one is no exception. Fast-paced action leading up to an exciting climax, with great fun having been had by all. Recommended!!