From 1935 to 1948, 66 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

films were produced featuring the character

Hopalong Cassidy Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of short stories and novels based on the character. Mulford portrayed the character as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking. He was ...

, played in all the films by actor William Boyd. The films were at the time collectively known as "Hoppies". In the films, Hopalong, or "Hoppy", and his white horse, Topper, travel through the

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while dispensing justice, usually with two companions: one young and trouble-prone with a weakness for

damsels in distress The damsel in distress is a recurring narrative device in which one or more men must rescue a woman who has either been kidnapped or placed in general peril. Kinship, love, or lust (or a combination of those) gives the male protagonist the motiv ...

, the other older, comically awkward and outspoken. The juvenile lead was successively played by

James Ellison James Ellison may refer to: * James O. Ellison (1929–2014), U.S. federal judge * James T. Ellison (1862–1920s), New York gangster *James Ellison (actor) (1910–1993), American film actor *James Ellison (footballer, born 1901) (1901–1958), En ...

Russell Hayden Russell "Lucky" Hayden (born Hayden Michael "Pate" Lucid; June 12, 1912 – June 9, 1981) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his portrayal as Lucky Jenkins in Paramount's popular Hopalong Cassidy film series. Ear ...

George Reeves George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 – June 16, 1959) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series '' Adventures of Superman'' (1952–1958). His death at age 45 from a g ...

Rand Brooks Arlington Rand Brooks Jr. (September 21, 1918 – September 1, 2003) was an American film and television actor. Early life Brooks was born in Wright City, Missouri. He was the son of Arlington Rand Brooks, a farmer. His mother and he moved ...

, and Jimmy Rogers. George Hayes (later to become known as "Gabby" Hayes) originally played Cassidy's grizzled sidekick, Windy Halliday. After Hayes left the series because of a salary dispute with producer

Harry Sherman Harry "Pop" Sherman was an American film producer known for his work in the Western genre during the 1930s and 1940s. He introduced the character Hopalong Cassidy to the silver screen, and is the father of screenwriter Teddi Sherman. Biograph ...

, he was replaced by the comedian Britt Wood as Speedy McGinnis and finally by the veteran film comedian Andy Clyde as California Carlson. Clyde, the most durable of the sidekicks, remained with the series until it ended. A few actors of future prominence appeared in Cassidy films, notably

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

, who appeared in seven films at the beginning of his career.

List of films

Produced by Harry Sherman for Paramount Pictures

Produced by Harry Sherman for United Artists

Produced by William Boyd for United Artists

Home media

After Boyd's death, his company devoted to Hopalong Cassidy, U.S. Television Office, retained control of Cassidy films but, by the mid-1960s, had withdrawn them from television and sales in home movie markets. This remained the situation until the mid-1990s, after many Cassidy fans had died, when the company made available to The Western Channel a package series of restored and cleaned negative-based prints of the films to cable TV. These remained available on that channel until 2000, when they were again withdrawn. On June 16, 2009, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment released the Hopalong Cassidy Ultimate Collector's Edition, which included all 66 theatrical films on 14 DVDs, packed into a facsimile Hopalong Cassidy tin lunchbox.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopalong Cassidy Films Film series introduced in 1935 American film series American Western (genre) films