Three on the Trail

A while ago, most (if not all) of the old Hopalong Cassidy B-westerns were completely restored. The prints not only look good, but are complete, as during the 1950s many of the famous cowboys' films were hacked to pieces to make them fit TV time slots. Fortunately, William Boyd (Cassidy) kept copies of the original prints and his family released them to YouTube.

The plot to "Three on the Trail" is rather familiar. In Mesquite, a local baddie, Pecos Kane (Onslow Stevens), controls the local sheriff and he's behind all sorts of criminal activities...including rustling and holding up the stage. The film begins with Hoppy and his pals witnessing one such hold up. But, since the sheriff only does what Kane tells him, the good people of town seem unable to do anything to stop this reign of terror....that is, until Hoppy gets involved. And, naturally, his two sidekicks, Johnny and Windy, are there to help....well, at least Windy. As for Johnny, he's incredibly impulsive and stupid...and seems to be more a liability than asset in this story. Can dopey Johnny redeem himself and can Hoppy, once again, save the day?

This is all pretty standard stuff for a Cassidy western except for how pig-headed and annoying Johnny was...that seemed out of the ordinary and wasn't particularly an example of good writing! Still, the rest of the film is good and it's nice to once again see Gabby Hayes as Windy. Worth seeing but only about average for a Hopalong Cassidy flick...which is still slightly better than average for a B-western.