The Marauders

"The Marauders" (aka "King of the Range") marks a milestone for me...it's the 66th out of 66 Hopalong Cassidy films that I have seen. And, fortunately, it also is very original and is very much unlike the other 65!

When the story begins, Hoppy, California and Lucky just finished driving a herd to market. On their way back to the Bar 20 Ranch, a storm comes upon them quickly...and the trio take refuge in a church in a ghost town. However, their slumber is disrupted when two ladies arrive. They then learn that there are three folks living in this town...making it a mostly ghost town! Susan then tells the men that the town became abandoned after all sorts of strange things and deaths occurred...and most everyone ran instead of facing whatever forces were behind it. Soon after, some nasty men arrive and start tearing the church down...until Hoppy stops them. What's next? Well, these nasty galoots are NOT finished and soon they attack the barricaded folks inside the place! What's next??

This is among the most unusual films from the franchise I have seen and practically the entire story takes place inside the church. The only problem is that one of the characters is a bit transparent....and it's pretty easy to guess that they are hiding something. But this is a minor problem in an otherwise unusual and engaging B-western.