Harry Jacobs Movies

Returning to the scenic splendor of Lone Pine's Alabama Hills, Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) tries to help retired entomology professor Alonzo Larson (Joel Friedkin) and his daughter Anne (Elaine Riley), who have purchased a seemingly worthless piece of land, The Paradise Ranch. Larson has paid crooked land agent Bentley (Kenneth MacDonald) $5000 for the arid range but when Hoppy discovers the possible presence of silver on the property, Bentley and his cohort Gerald Waite (Cliff Clark), the town banker, try to null and void the sale in a rather violent manner. False Paradise was the 11th of 12 Hopalong Cassidy Westerns produced by William Boyd for United Artists release. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In 1939's Days of Jesse James, the title character was played by Don "Red" Barry, with official star Roy Rogers carrying the brunt of the plotline. Two years later, Rogers was cast as ol' Jesse himself in Republic's Jesse James at Bay. Since Jesse is herein depicted as a "good guy", whose train-robbery rampage is motivated by the chicanery of a crooked railroad executive, someone else would have to handle the film's villainy. That someone was also Roy Rogers, cast as Jesse's lookalike, a local outlaw named Clint Burns. Typical of the anachronisms festooning the script of Jesse James at Bay is the presence of not one but two female newspaper reporters, played by Gale Storm and Sally Payne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Eschewing action in favor of humor, this Hopalong Cassidy series entry has the usually black-clad hero (William Boyd) changing into dude apparel in order to investigate what ails the town of Del Oro, NM. Aligning himself with the ramshackle medicine show of Doc Rufus Bates (Earl Hodgins), proprietor, Hoppy quickly learns that everyone's favorite old lady, Ma Burton (Marjorie Rambeau), is in reality the ruthless leader of a gang of mine robbers. Convincing Ma that he is a former convict, Hoppy enlists the gang in a scheme to rob the Gardner silver mine but the plan goes awry when Ma overhears Hoppy's rookie sidekick, Lucky Jenkins (Russell Hayden), spill the beans to Paula (Bernadene Hayes), Doc's daughter. After escaping a fire at the mine, Hoppy and Lucky manage to bring both Ma and her henchmen to justice. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Young Buffalo Bill was one of a brief series of Roy Rogers "historical westerns" of the early 1940s. Per the title, Rogers plays the youthful Bill Cody, here depicted as an assistant land surveyor in old New Mexico. The villains plot to get their hands on valuable mineral deposits in the region, and to that end enlist the aid of a hostile Indian tribe. But Young Buffalo Bill saves the day, with a bit of assistance from the ever-on-time US Cavalry. George "Gabby" Hayes is around for his traditional comedy relief, while the aristocratic Spanish-American heroine is played by winsome Pauline Moore, Republic's "answer" to Margaret Sullavan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the tradtion of producer Harry Sherman's earlier Zane Grey westerns for Paramount, Heritage of the Desert features an essentially non-western star in the lead. Donald Woods plays John Abbott an eastern man-about-town who heads west to claim an inheritance. Crooked attorney Henry Holderance (C. Henry Gordon) contrives to have Abbott shot down before he ever arrives at his destination, but Abbott survives his wounds thanks to the tender ministrations of Miriam Naab (Evelyn Venable), daughter of friendly rancher Andrew Naab (Robert Barrat). Realizing that he's going to have to toughen himself up to survive in the west, Abbott does so, eventually paying Holderance back for his treachery. Heritage of the Desert was previously filmed in 1924, with Bebe Daniels, Ernest Torrence, Noah Beery and Lloyd Hughes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) once again embarks on a mild romance with a mature woman in this average Western filmed at Lone Pine, CA. The woman in question is one Mary Joyce (Charlotte Wynters), who calls herself a widow. But there is a husband lurking in the background, Smokey Bob Joslin (Russell Hopton), an escaped jailbird Mary would rather forget. Joslin is in cahoots with a gang of cattle rustlers and it is up to Hoppy and his two sidekicks, Lucky Jenkins (Russell Hayden) and Windy (George "Gabby" Hayes), to take care of business before Mary's young son, Joey (Sonny Bupp), learns the demoralizing truth about his ne'er-do-well father. As a nod to the then so popular singing cowboy Westerns, Renegade Trail features two songs, "Lazy Rolls the Rio Grande" and "Hi That, Stranger," both written by Foster Carling and Phil Ohlman and performed by Eddie Dean and the King's Men quartet. This was the final Hopalong Cassidy entry to feature George "Gabby" Hayes, who left the series over a contract dispute. Hayes was eventually replaced with veteran slapstick comic Andy Clyde. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

When Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) and his pals Windy (George "Gabby" Hayes) and Lucky (Russell Hayden) come across teacher June Lake (Evelyn Venable) and her little schoolhouse of students (played by members of the St. Brendan Boys' Choir), they decide to help further the cause of education until a group of lowlife rustlers show up. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the long-running western series, Hoppy and his pals must journey to Mexico after receiving a summons. Upon arrival, they realize that it was fake and that a good friend has been mysteriously murdered. They solve the puzzle with the assistance of the killer's feisty sister and a band of helpful caballeros. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A pageant-like Rex Beach story was the source of the 1937 western The Barrier. Leo Carrillo is top-billed, but the main character is half-breed girl Jean Parker. Actually, Parker is a full-blooded white woman; she has been raised to believe that she is of mixed blood by Robert H. Barrat, who has spent the better part of his life seeking revenge against Parker's mother. When the girl falls for army officer James Ellison, she despairs, believing that the laws against miscegenation will never permit her to marry the man she loves. The Barrier was produced by Harry Sherman, of Hopalong Cassidy fame, and directed by frequent "Hoppy" contributor Lesley Selander. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An above-average "Hopalong Cassidy" series entry, Borderland has Hoppy (William Boyd) going undercover as a bandit in a tough Mexican border town in order to trap a notorious bandit known only as The Fox. Not even sidekicks Johnny Nelson (James Ellison) and Windy (George "Gabby" Hayes) are in on the scheme, concocted jointly by Mexican Army Colonel Gonzales (Trevor Bardette) and Texas Ranger Major Stafford (Earle Hodgins). Lodging with widowed Grace Rand (Nora Lane) and her small daughter, Molly (Charlene Wyatt), both of whom he abuses in order to protect his cover, Hoppy learns that The Fox (Stephen Morris aka Morris Ankrum) is himself performing a bit of masquerade, in this case as a halfwit known as Loco. Windy, however, innocently spills the beans and is promptly kidnapped along with Molly. Chased by Hoppy, who is himself tailed by the villain's henchmen, Gonzales' troops, and a wounded Johnny Nelson, The Fox (alias Loco) escapes to his secret hideaway, a cabin stocked with dynamite. There, Hoppy catches up with him and in an exciting finale keeps the master villain at bay until help arrives. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In the second of producer Harry Sherman's Hopalong Cassidy Westerns, Deputy Sheriff Cassidy (William Boyd) promises El Toro (William Farnum), a retired Mexican outlaw, that he will search for the old man's grandson, missing after a gang of outlaws robbed and murdered the child's parents. With the help of young sidekick Johnny Nelson (James Ellison) and saloon girl Dolores (Joan Woodbury), Hoppy goes undercover as an outlaw in order to infiltrate the gang, which is headed by crooked saloon owner Big Henry (Addison Richards). Dolores is murdered for her efforts, and when Cassidy is forced to kill one of the gang members (Frank Shannon), Big Henry suspects foul play. Johnny, who has found little Pablo (George Mari) wandering in the woods, is wounded by yet another of Big Henry's henchmen (Paul Fix). The latter reports back to his boss, who fears that the child may implicate him in the murders of his parents and quickly plans a trap for Hoppy. There is the inevitable climactic shootout, during which Old Spike (George "Gabby" Hayes), a bartender in Henry's saloon, prudently switches sides and is mortally wounded as a result. Only Big Henry himself escapes the melee, but the villain is hunted down and killed by Hoppy. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Filmed in two weeks at Red Rock Canyon and Lone Pine, California, Hop-Along Cassidy was the opener of one of the best -- and most fondly remembered -- B-Western series of all time. Former silent screen star William Boyd regained his lost fame playing the prematurely gray, black-clad hero of pulp-writer Clarence E. Mulford's Bar 20 stories, with young Paramount contract player James Ellison as handsome sidekick Johnny Nelson and Charles Middleton (in a surprisingly low-key performance) as Cassidy's old friend, Buck Peters. Bill Cassidy arrives at the Bar-20 ranch in the middle of a range war with the neighboring Meeker spread. Old man Meeker (Robert Warwick) has been driving his cattle onto Bar-20 land for water against Buck's wishes. Cattle begin to disappear from both ranches and a couple of Meeker cowboys are shot. Meeker blames the Bar-20 crew but his daughter Mary (Paula Stone), who is in love with Johnny Nelson, believes in their innocence. Looking out for the headstrong Johnny, Cassidy is shot in the leg, thus acquiring his famous nickname of "Hop-Along." Bar-20 oldtimer Uncle Ben (George "Gabby" Hayes) discovers that cattle from both ranches have their brands altered and the two ranches band together to trap a vicious gang of rustlers lead by Meeker's unscrupulous foreman Pecos Jack Anthony (Kenneth Thomson). In the ensuing war, Uncle Ben is killed by Anthony but "Hop-Along" manages to catch the killer, whom he drives off a cliff to his death. With the Dance of the Furies from Gluck's Orfeo et Euridice underscoring the climactic ride, Hop-Along Cassidy proved a fast-paced, well-acted opener to the series. George "Gabby" Hayes, whose contribution to this success was vital, returned in the next entry, The Eagle's Brood (1935), as as a bartender, finally finding his true place in the "Hopalong Cassidy" oeuvre as Windy, Hopalong's grizzled old windbag of a sidekick, in the third film, Bar 20 Rides Again. Producer Sherman left Paramount in 1942 in favor of United Artists where the "Hopalong" series continued to flourish until 1948. Boyd then bought the rights to the films and re-edited them for television. The 1949-1951 Hopalong Cassidy series was so popular that Boyd filmed 52 new half-hour episodes for the 1952-1954 seasons. Hop-Along Cassidy, the initial "Hopalong" feature, is usually shown today under its re-release title, Hopalong Cassidy Enters. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Loretta Young, who became known almost exclusively for playing sweet, wholesome roles, is kind of a shocker in this romantic drama as Letty Strong, an unwed mother who survives by living life as a grifter and the next thing to a prostitute -- all for the good of her son Mickey (Jackie Kelk), who, not yet 10 years old, is turning into a street hustler every bit as devious and untrustworthy as she is. Then, one day, he's skating on the street and gets hit by a milk truck, which happens to be driven by Malcolm Trevor (Cary Grant), the owner of the dairy, who was spot-checking his operation. Letty and Mickey try to take Malcolm for a hefty sum in court until their case is blown out of the water, but Malcolm also finds himself appalled by the kind of life that Letty is setting up for the boy. He gets her to agree to let Mickey move in with him and his wife Alice ($Marion Burns), at their estate outside the city. And after some extremely rough patches, Mickey begins to see that there's more to being a boy -- or becoming a man -- than what you can steal or cheat off the next guy. But Letty isn't about to let her son get away that easily, or let Malcolm get away with taking him from her, even if he is right. She tries to wreck Malcolm's home and marriage, all to get her son back and take revenge on him in the process. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide