Forty Thieves

If you love action, this episode is for you. Hopalong Cassidy is of course played by William Boyd, who does an impeccable job as usual. Outside of a few nice appearances by a few regular bad guys and California, there's not much to say about the acting which is fairly standard. The appearance of Andy Clyde as California Carlson is always a plus, but unfortunately Jimmy Rogers as "Deputy Jimmy Rogers" isn't one of Hoppy's better sidekicks. The story is also pretty standard fare.

In my mind, what sets this episode apart from many of the later Hoppy movies is the action. There are several gun and fistfights and Hoppy and company manage to dispatch of many of the "forty thieves" on camera. The final fight on the bridge scene is one of the better ones out of all 66 movies, and there's also a classic gunfight in the saloon along with other more standard gun play.

Overall, its fairly standard in most respects except for lots of action. The other elements prevent this from being up there with the very best, but it stands out among some of the weaker later episodes.

Set in Buffalo Buttes, the opening is exciting as the film starts with a gunfight on horseback. Hoppy starts off dressed all in black, which usually indicates a hit more than a miss, but then changes to a gentleman's outfit before changing back to black near the end. On the positive side, Earle Hodgins has a (too short) role as a drunk, California is in two real (not comic) fistfights, & gets beat up in both, & there are four gunfights. On the negative side, Jimmy Rogers appears as Hoppy's young sidekick & as always, he can't act (unless you consider "slouching" to be "acting"), is not handsome (as many of the young sidekicks were), & gets beat up in the one fist fight he engages in. Great scene: Hoppy puts guns in the holsters of the baddies, but they're afraid to use them; as Hoppy walks away from them, they shoot. Another great scene: a dozen men in a saloon advance at Hoppy all shooting; as he hides behind the bar, he shoots the lights out, then surprises them from the side of the bar. Despite these highlights, this was disappointing for Sherman's last Hoppy film. I rate it 5/10.

During the 1950s, the B-westerns of heroes like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and Hopalong Cassidy were hacked to pieces in order to fit them into a TV time slot. In some cases, these adulterated versions are the only ones we have left. Fortunately, William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy) was smart and kept original copies of his films. And, even more fortunately, these complete versions were posted to YouTube some time back....and they are in gorgeous condition and free to watch.

Douglass Dumbrille made a career out of playing bad guys and scum-bags. So when I saw that he was going to be in "Forty Thieves", I assumed that he'd be some evil boss who ultimately would get his comeuppance from Hoppy! This isn't much of a stretch.

When the story begins, Hoppy is running for re-election as sheriff. To his surprise, he sees an old enemy, Tad Hammond (Dumbrille) rides into town. Apparently, he's been paroled and as sheriff, Hoppy is now Hammond's parole officer! Well, neither Hoppy nor Hammond like this...and Hammond hatches a plan to get rid of Hoppy...at least as sheriff. This means convincing a weak boob to run...and Jerry Doyle is just such a boob! But to win the election, well, that takes a bit of trickery, as Hoppy is a popular guy and well liked by the good people of the town. So Hammond brings in a bunch of thugs to do whatever needs to be done to make sure Hopalong loses! What's next? See the film and find out for yourself.

Like all the Hopalong Cassidy films I've seen, this one features two sidekicks...usually one who is an old coot (Andy Clyde) and another who sings and does the romancing (Jimmy Rogers).

While the cheating in this film isn't exactly subtle, the film is clever and fun...like most Hopalong Cassidy films. Not among his best, but still enjoyable.

It's a pretty routine Hoppy until we get to that great suspension bridge. What an inspired piece of action, well staged and photographed. It's Hoppy and bad guy Hammond (Dumbrille) trying to stay on the life line high above the chasm, while knocking the other guy off. It's the movie's centerpiece, and I'm wondering if the tightrope was built for this film, or more likely, left over from a big-budget production. Either way, it's a visual treat.

Anyway, Hoppy's a sheriff mixed up in a crooked election master-minded by that fine arch- villain from many a costume epic, Douglas Dumbrille. To oust Hoppy, Hammond assembles forty thieves just like a frontier Ali Baba. Now Hoppy has his hands full, especially in the main street showdown. Not much hard riding or good scenery, however.

Several notable features. Screenplay is by ace writer Michael Wilson who later penned a number of prestige films, including Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). Watch for Kirk Allyn as Hammond's feckless sheriff. So how does the screen's first Superman become a "do nothing" sheriff! Speaking of feckless, poor Jimmy Rogers comes across like a big zero and even looks a little like a young jimmy Durante, of all people. Not so, the luscious looking Louise Currie. Too bad they gave her so little to do—just count her lines. Anyway, Bill Boyd is his usual great Hoppy, making the whole thing an entertaining 60 minutes

Douglass Dumbrille an outlaw who Hopalong Cassidy brought to justice once is out on parole and he's got himself a scheme to take out Hoppy as sheriff. He imports a gang of Forty Thieves to town and they run roughshod over the populace at election time. Believe it or not, the symbol of western law and order is defeated at the polls by Kirk Alyn who is a no good and weak gambler and is Dumbrille's stooge.

Of course these kind of crooked shenanigans might be good for the big city east and their political machines, but in the west they don't cotton to that sort of thing. In the end Hoppy with the help of sidekicks Jimmy Rogers and Andy Clyde get things righted and the real forces of law and order triumph.

With some of the commentary it makes Forty Thieves is one of the more interesting Hopalong Cassidy westerns made. The screenwriter Michael Wilson found himself blacklisted as a result of the HUAC hearings and I can see why some right wing yahoos might object to some of the content of this film.

I'd give it a look, it's quite interesting.