Hopalong Cassidy - Rustlers' Valley / Texas Trail

Rating:
Summary: "Hoppy's Westerns were the most successful in 1936"
Review: Image Entertainment was given the nod for another installment of Paramount Pictures leading Western hero "Hopalong Cassidy" (William Boyd) ~ our silver-haired, black clothes wrangler and his white horse (Topper) rode into our lives and we've never been the same since ~ your children and your grandchildren will enjoy this clean wholesome fun ~ when the good guys always won, good guys hat never fell off in a fist-fight and the moral to the story was fair-play.

Let's take a look at the first feature on this double bill ~ "Rustlers' Valley", fictional western character of Clarence E. Mulford comes to life through the realistic performances of Boyd, George "Gabby" Hayes (Windy Halliday), Russell Hayden (Lucky Jenkins), Morris Ankrum, Lee J. Cobb and Ted Adams ~ as Hoppy strives to clear Lucky from a bank robbery and is dead set on finding out who the true guilty parties are ~ it won't be easy, but as all of know from the git-go, Hoppy will prevail and there will be plenty of action coming our way ~ so tighten up those cinches and get ready to ride.

Second feature "Texas Trail", featuring basically the same three heroes Boyd, Hayes and Hayden with a stalwart backup cast of Judith Allen, Karl Hackett, Alexander Cross and Billy King ~ horses are needed for the Army and Hoppy is singled out as a rustler ~ doesn't look good for our favorite buckaroo ~ but never fear with the help of Gabby and Lucky things can only get better for Hoppy ~ the ending of this film is uplifting, as Hoppy and the Bar-20 wranglers join the Roosevelt Rough Riders.

Both films were beautifully remastered and restored, released through Image Entertainment which has a great track record ~ Hopalong Cassidy films were always first class and the early years had some of the best of the best ~ they need to be out there for all of us who love and looked up to Hoppy ~ top-notch film-making, outstanding directing from Nate Watt and David Selman ~ Boyd gave his character life, his word was his bond ~ Hoppy never quit on a friend in need, always giving the other fellow an even break ~ this was the way of the early West ~ the code he lived by, they'll never be another Hopalong Cassidy or Hoppy as his friends knew him...gotta love it!

Total Time: 61 Mins (Rustlers Valley-1937)
60 Mins (Texas Trail-1937) ~ Image 1832 ~ (12/10/2002)