Hopalong the Film Legend

Few actors embody a character so well that their image becomes synonymous with that character. At least five men have played James Bond or donned the batsuit as Batman, a dozen actors have played Tarzan of the Apes, and many women have played Charlie’s Angels, and more than three have portrayed Catwoman. While these characters were cycled through many talented actors, William Boyd was Hopalong Cassidy.

Boyd began making Hopalong Cassidy movies in the 1930s. By the end of his career he had starred in 66 films as Hoppy. Hopalong Cassidy the movie in 1935 marked his debut as Hoppy and the character’s transition into a hero for all ages in his audience. It was directed by Howard Bretherton and written by Hoppy creator Clarence Mulford with additional dialogue by Harrison Jacobs. In the film, a ranch foreman tries to start a war pitting two cattlemen against each other. With the help of Hopalong Cassidy, the warring cattlemen join together to fight the outlaws.

Most of the Hoppy films were produced independently and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Wanting to pursue other projects, Harry Sherman quit producing the Hopalong Cassidy films in 1944. Not wanting the series to end, Boyd mortgaged most things he owned to buy the character rights from Mulford and continue making the films. In 1946 the feature The Devil’s Playground was the first Hoppy film in a year and Boyd’s first turn at production. Directed by George Archainbaud with original screenplay by Ted Wilson, the movie carried the tagline “Hoppy Rides Again” and it was the perfect phrase to follow the character’s absence. In The Devil’s Playground, Hopalong Cassidy finds a wounded girl and after announcing the find is told by Judge Morton that he is her father. But, Hoppy soon discovers that the Judge is lying and is only interested in the girl for the stolen gold she is trying to find and return. In the exciting movie, he tries to save the girl, return the gold to its owner, and gets trapped by the Judge and his men.

In 1948, Boyd starred in one of his final Hopalong Cassidy films, Borrowed Trouble. Directed again by George Archainbaud, it was written by Charles Belden. Borrowed Trouble finds Hoppy and the boys finishing a trail drive and coming back to town to a conflict between a teacher and a saloon owner. When the teacher protests the building of a saloon near her schoolhouse she is kidnapped. The always noble Hoppy gets a clue to where she is and goes to save her.

There’s plenty more to learn about William Boyd and Hopalong Cassidy in the new biography Hopalong Cassidy – An American Legend. Co-authored by his widow Grace Bradley Boyd and Michael Cochran, it is published by Gemstone Publishing. Find out more about Boyd’s film career, the ups and downs in front of the camera and behind the scenes.