Lumberjack

From start to finish, it's an action filled Hoppy programmer. There's more flying fists among the scores of cowboys than any movie I think I've seen. So what if the combat's not too convincing, after all it is a matinee oater. I just hope the guys were well paid.

So can Hoppy save the deserving farm settlers from the greedy land barons who want the rich forrest area for their own. It's a more involved plot than most, what with all the land ownership technicalities in the background.

Happily, most filming is done in the scenic Sierras that furnishes a rugged backdrop to all the action. And catch goofus Andy Clyde's duking it out with the tough old broads - won't see anything like that in A-movies of the time.

All in all, Hoppy gets less screentime than usual but is his usual attention-getting self. And note actress Hall as the nervy Julie. Her demanding role as owner of the disputed land amounts to a lot more than the usual oater eye-candy. And she does so well, she could qualify for big-time flicks. Anyway, see what you think.

Lastly, looks to me like the producers popped for a bigger budget than usual, what with all the location shots and bigger cast of mainly good actors. So, catch up with Hoppy and funster Clyde if you can. Meanwhile, Ride 'em, cowboy!

Although Hoppy wears a plaid shirt & a white hat (usually a sign of a lesser Hoppy movie, as opposed to his wearing an all black outfit), there's quite a bit to like in this film. It's filmed in the "High Sierras" per the credits, & redwood trees are seen (does anyone out there know if redwoods are indeed found in the High Sierras?). There are lots of good fight scenes with Hoppy & California as participants. Maybe the best part of the film is that Jimmy Rogers (my least favorite of Hoppy's young sidekicks) is sent on a mission to get Buck Peters, & thankfully is absent for 10+ minutes of film! Unusual for a Hopalong Cassidy movie, California is actually very helpful in three situations. William Boyd (apparently without stunt double) is active in fights, running, riding hard, & climbing down a fifty foot log wall (this with cuts, of course). The ending matches a standard serial thriller for excitement & lack of realism! Despite all these interesting aspects, the film falls short of a real good western, & lacks the good humor that Hoppy films were known for. I rate it 6/10.

Lumberjack starts with the killing of a newlywed husband on his wedding day minutes after exchanging vows with Ellen Hall who is niece of Buck Peters played by Herbert Rawlinson foreman of the Bar 20 ranch. And Rawlinson saw the one of the killers. Hopalong Cassidy gave chase and got the other one.

The bad guys who are Douglass Dumbrille, Hal Taliaferro, and Francis McDonald are a real trio of bottom feeders who had hoped to acquire this land at public auction. The fact that Hall is now the heir spoils their plans. The other thing was doing their evil deed to someone acquainted with Hopalong Cassidy. That brings Bill Boyd and sidekicks in to straighten the situation which they inevitably do.

The land Hall has is rich in timber and that's why these guys want it so bad. Hoppy becomes her logging foreman in order to save the day.

Andy Clyde as California Carlson get a little romance himself in this film with Ethel Wales who is Rawlinson's sister and Hall's aunt. A lot of the situations here are pretty funny, especially when parson Earl Hodgins almost marries the two.

Lots of good action in Lumberjack in an unusual setting for a western.

Julie's husband has been murdered and land agents want her to sign away her property rights. Hoppy warns against this but she does so anyway. It looks as though she will be unable to deliver the timber called for in her agreement. Hoppy has to make the lumber deal happened and solve the murder.

I like timberjack westerns and here, a Hopalong Cassidy western, is a good example of the genre, and the usual scheming villains and their murderous henchman. Consequently you get an entertaining entry with good scenery and rousing action, especially at the end.

This is one of the better Hopalong Cassidy movies. The plot, concerning the usual unscrupulous varmints, is served well by the lumber industry setting. Not your usual plot for a B-movie Western. Also contains better-than-average dialogue for the genre, plus the usual action scenes.