Hoppy Serves a Writ

I find this an excellent departure from the usual Hoppy routine. The dialog when Hoppy is checking into the hotel is worth the price of admission. Maybe it's just me but I find it side splitting, and a tad more adult than you'd expect from either a Hoppy movie or any movie made in 1943. William Boyd's personality is as winning as ever. Seeing Robert Mitchum's first film appearance is a hoot and George Reeves inclusion is welcome, as always. Both Mitchum and Reeves would be regulars in the Hoppy films for several years, alternating between the bad guy and the good guy. That's all I've got to say on this subject. I have to add some lines to get this to be accepted by IMDb.

Sheriff Hoppy has to find a way to bring the bad guys, headed by Tom Jordan, to justice in the Lone Star state. The problem is that they are hiding out beyond his jurisdiction, in Oklahoma.

Sufficiently entertaining Hoppy western that is sparse in action but has some good chase sequences and a good pace, plus the cast - Victor Jory, Robert Mitchum, Earl Hodgkins, George Reeves and of course our three protagonists- make this watchable. Watch out for that rough and tumble fight between Boyd and Jory in the saloon -one real wild fight.

Unlike the later Hoppy films, this one doesn't follow a mystery outline. We know who the baddie is from pretty near the beginning, & it's just a matter of catching him. Victor Jory (who had already starred in "The Shadow" & "The Green Archer" serials), is featured in this film. George Reeves (later TV's "Superman") has a small part. And Robert Mitchum has a short line. Jan Christy (the heroine) is prettier than most of the Hoppy heroines. Andy Clyde (as "California") gets a serious beating, & "Johnny" (Jay Kirby) doesn't act as silly as other Johnnies in this series. Sounds like it has a lot going for it, doesn't it? Not so, because there's little action aside from a couple of good fight scenes & about three gunfights. The plot is weak, & it's not helped by the fact that there's no mystery involved. Hoppy wears all black at the beginning & end of the film, & wears his rancher's outfit in the middle. It doesn't even have the usual dose of humor for a Hoppy film. I rate it only 5/10.

Check out Hoppy in an uptown suit of all things. As a sheriff in Texas he's after stage robbers and cattle rustlers who've escaped into Oklahoma Territory where he's got no authority. So he goes undercover in a suit as a cattle buyer along with his two buddies. But how can he get the baddies back to Texas where he can arrest them.

Solid if unexceptional entry in the series, notable mainly for its unusual supporting cast. This is the iconic Robert Mitchum's first flick. He's one of the baddies and has, by my count, two scenes where he speaks. It's not auspicious, but he's on his way. Then there's George Reeves, another of the baddies, with many more lines. Later he would star in the 1950's series Superman, and die violently in 1959 under highly suspicious circumstances. Lastly is Victor Jory, a superb villian from many 40's crime flicks. Too bad he doesn't have more scenes here to unnerve the audience with.

Anyway, there's lots of hard riding, a big final shootout, and maybe best a heckuva barroom brawl. I guess my only gripe is Clyde's California whose wild antics sometimes go over the top. But that's minor. What's major is that it's good Hoppy entetainment for front-row geezers like me and cowboy fans of all ages. And, oh yeah, before I forget: Catch that adult-level innuendo when Hoppy checks in to the hotel as Jones, to which the clerk responds by saying that a lot of couples check in under that same name! Some writer's sneaky inside joke, I guess.

The 26 year old Robert Mitchum made his screen debut in this film. I'm not too sure how good an actor he really is because he always seems to sound the same. The true test is when you compare him acting as an antagonist as opposed to a protagonist. He's a better protagonist because he's the consistent broad shouldered, tall American.