False Colors

A good 'Hoppy', as most of them are. A decent punch up between Hoppy & bad guy Bob Mitcham, didn't really take to new sidekick Jimmie Rogers, to me he looked like a young Jimmy Durante, complete with 'hooter'. Good old Andy Clyde was his usual amusing self, and the usual solid cast of characters both bad & good, plus quite a decent plot makes this an enjoyable oater all round!

Bud Lawton, one of Hoppy's young ranch hands, is ambushed and killed right after he has had a lawyer draw up a business agreement in which he names Hoppy, California and Jimmy as his full partners in his 2/3rds ownership of a ranch that he has just inherited from his estranged father. Hoppy and his sidekicks decide to visit the ranch and upon arrival discover that "Bud Lawton" has returned to the old homestead. The imposter has been hired to do the impersonation by a rat who wants the water rights which go with the property and hopes to get the property by having the imposter convince Lawton's sister to sell the ranch. Douglas Dumbrille as usual does a marvelous job playing the villain, Mark Foster. Of course if this movie is remembered at all by non-B western fans it's because of Robert Mitchum. And what a good job he does. I've seen an early John Wayne western and I can't say that I thought he was anything special but Mitchum does shine in this early film, especially in the poker playing scene and the subsequent barroom brawl with Hoppy. I like Andy Clyde as California but must agree with a previous reviewer that he kinda was asking to get hit after his inappropriate kibitzing at a poker game.

The first half is outdoors with some spectacularly moody vistas of the snow-covered Sierras. Just as impressive are those great shots of the many weird boulders covering the Alabama Hills. This is familiar territory for Hoppy and the boys, but it's never been more visually impressive.

There's some good action during this first part as Hoppy tries to prevent bad guy Foster (Dumbrille) from cheating a young brother and sister (Seidel & Drake) from their ranch inheritance. The second half moves indoors as Foster's scheme draws Hoppy and the boys out of the hills and into town. Too bad, in my little book, they couldn't keep this second half outdoors too.

It's a more notable cast than usual. Dumbrille, of course, is a veteran baddie from many an A-production, while hulking thugs Barcroft and Strange get rare speaking parts. Leading lady Drake would soon appear in that most nourish of noir classics, Detour (1945). But most notable is Bob Mitchum promoted into one of his first speaking parts—catch how well he acts with his eyes at the poker table. No wonder he was emerging from the crowd of cowboy extras. And for a minute, it looked like actor Seidel would be one of the few in Hollywood to get killed twice in the same movie!

There're the usual action staples-- some hard riding and a couple of really energetic fist-fights to keep things from getting too talky. I guess my only complaint concerns sidekick Jimmy Rogers. I agree with reviewer Don W that he's an inept presence, who unfortunately rather resembles a young Jimmy Durante. Wisely, the screenplay downplays his romance with the personality-plus Drake.

Anyway, the 60-minutes adds up for me as half-of-a-good Hoppy.

The cast just stand about talking for most of this lethargic Hopalong Cassidy western which even feels studio-bound outdoors.

It's distinguishing features are the fanciful plot device alluded to in my heading, the fact that for once the heroine's father died of natural causes before the bad guys get a chance to kill him. And that one of the bad guys is played by a young Bob Mitchum, roughly handled by Hopalong as a lesson in manners.

Although Hoppy appears dressed all in black throughout this film, it's not one of the better Hopalong Cassidy outings. Interesting highlights are a fight between Hoppy & Robert Mitchum (at one point William Boyd's stunt double is quite obvious), & Hoppy's shooting a gun out of Mitchum's hand. Hoppy always had two sidekicks. One was the scruffy oldtimer (first done to perfection by George "Gabby/Windy" Hayes & later played by Andy Clyde as "California"). The second sidekick was usually named "Johnny" or "Lucky." The "Johnnies" & the "Luckies" of the Hoppy films were often handsome young actors who had trouble acting. The idea was to give the women in the audience something to look at, & to provide a romantic interest when "Johnny" or "Lucky" fell for the heroine. "False Colors" makes me yearn for a Johnny or a Lucky, because the "Jimmy" (Rogers) in this film is neither attractive to look at, nor can he act. As a matter of fact, he's the worst actor of any junior sidekick in the Hoppy movies, and he appeared in several of them. Aside from having a famous dad (Will Rogers), why they needed this guy is beyond me! His attempts at providing a romantic interest are unintentionally laughable. I rate this 5/10.