It's a show business legend how Bill Boyd had a miraculous comeback when television started showing his old Hopalong Cassidy films. Back in the early Fifties the whole country was Hoppy conscious. Boyd made out like a bandit with all the merchandising because he had invested his last dollar into buying the rights from producer Harry Sherman of all his old films.
Television wasn't too careful with what they did back in the day and to fit various program lengths and formats, the old Hoppy films got quite a butchering. But the public clamor for more of Hoppy resulted in this three year television series.
For the show, Boyd dropped his standard two companion format of one young cowboy and one grizzled old timer. Instead he got Edgar Buchanan who played Red Connors. As I remember back in the day Buchanan was one oafish sidekick, more laughs and trouble than Pancho gave the Cisco Kid. It was Buchanan's first venture into series television, later on he became famous as Uncle Joe on Petticoat Junction.
There was also a lot of voice over narration by Boyd. He was a United States Marshal and his job as foreman of the Bar 20 ranch had also gone by the boards. But he was the same white knight on the white charger of the plains.
