Hopalong Cassidy (film series)

From 1935 to 1948, 66 American Western films were produced featuring the character Hopalong Cassidy, played in all the films by actor William Boyd.[1] The films were at the time collectively known as "Hoppies". In the films, Hopalong, or "Hoppy", and his white horse, Topper, travel through the Old West while dispensing justice, usually with two companions: one young and trouble-prone with a weakness for damsels in distress, the other older, comically awkward and outspoken.[2]

The juvenile lead was successively played by James Ellison, Russell Hayden, Jay Kirby, George Reeves, Rand Brooks, and Jimmy Rogers.[3] 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, 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, who appeared in seven films at the beginning of his career.

List of films

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Produced by Harry Sherman for Paramount Pictures

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Produced by Harry Sherman for United Artists

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Produced by William Boyd for United Artists

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Home media

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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devoted to Hopalong Cassidy, U.S. Television Office, retained control of Cassidy films but, by the mid-1960s, had withdrawn them from television and sales in home movie markets.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 These remained available on that channel until 2000, when they were again withdrawn.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.

As of the present, FilmRise distributes the Cassidy films for YouTube under license from U.S. Television Office, which remains the copyright holder for the franchise.

References

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  1. ^ "William Boyd". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  2. ^ "William Boyd & Hopalong Cassidy", B-Westerns
  3. ^ "Movies" – via NYTimes.com.
  4. ^ Hop-Along Cassidy at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  5. ^ The Eagle's Brood at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  6. ^ Bar 20 Rides Again at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  7. ^ Call of the Prairie at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  8. ^ Three on the Trail at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  9. ^ Heart of the West at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  10. ^ Hopalong Cassidy Returns at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  11. ^ Trail Dust at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  12. ^ Borderland at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  13. ^ Hills of Old Wyoming at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  14. ^ North of the Rio Grande at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  15. ^ Rustlers' Valley at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  16. ^ Hopalong Rides Again at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  17. ^ Texas Trail at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  18. ^ Partners of the Plains at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  19. ^ Cassidy of Bar 20 at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  20. ^ Heart of Arizona at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  21. ^ Bar 20 Justice at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  22. ^ Pride of the West at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  23. ^ In Old Mexico at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  24. ^ The Frontiersmen at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  25. ^ Sunset Trail at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  26. ^ Silver on the Sage at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  27. ^ Renegade Trail at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  28. ^ Range War at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  29. ^ Law of the Pampas at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  30. ^ Santa Fe Marshal at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  31. ^ The Showdown at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  32. ^ Hidden Gold at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  33. ^ Stagecoach War at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  34. ^ Three Men from Texas at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  35. ^ Doomed Caravan at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  36. ^ In Old Colorado at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  37. ^ Border Vigilantes at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  38. ^ Pirates on Horseback at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  39. ^ Wide Open Town at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  40. ^ Riders of the Timberline at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  41. ^ Stick to Your Guns at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  42. ^ Twilight on the Trail at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  43. ^ Outlaws of the Desert at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  44. ^ Secret of the Wasteland at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  45. ^ Lost Canyon at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  46. ^ Undercover Man at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  47. ^ Hoppy Serves a Writ at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  48. ^ Border Patrol at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  49. ^ Leather Burners at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  50. ^ Colt Comrades at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  51. ^ Bar 20 at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  52. ^ False Colors at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  53. ^ Riders of the Deadline at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  54. ^ Texas Masquerade at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  55. ^ Lumberjack at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  56. ^ Mystery Man at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  57. ^ Forty Thieves at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  58. ^ The Devil's Playground at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  59. ^ Fool's Gold at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  60. ^ Unexpected Guest at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  61. ^ Dangerous Venture at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  62. ^ The Marauders at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  63. ^ Hoppy's Holiday at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  64. ^ Silent Conflict at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  65. ^ The Dead Don't Dream at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  66. ^ Sinister Journey at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  67. ^ Borrowed Trouble at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  68. ^ False Paradise at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  69. ^ Strange Gamble at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata