Bar 20 Justice (1938)
Hoppy's friend Dennis owns a rich gold mine. Frazier who owns the adjoining mine and wants the Dennis mine, has Dennis killed. Hoppy steps in to take over running the Dennis mine and learns Frazier's men sneak into and work the Dennis mine at night. Hoppy captures one of Frazier's men only to be captured in return by Frazier and left to die in a burning building.
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A brilliant film that helped define a genre
It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.
There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
Poor Hoppy. You would think the guy would deserve a vacation and he's taking some time away from the Bar 20 to go on a trip to New York. Central Park, Barnum's Museum, and Delmonico's, all that the Big Apple had to offer then. But an appeal from Gwen Gaze the new owner of a mine to look into the death of her father and Hoppy can't turn her down. In fact she's got a bit of a thing for that gallant knight of the plains.What's happening is that a neighboring mine owner has tunneled into Gaze's mine and has been pilfering large amounts of ore. That's a dirty little secret he wants to keep. But Bill Boyd smells it out and he concocts a plan to catch them in the act.Part of it is for Gabby Hayes to put on a deaf act as a night watchman. It's a pretty funny bit, worth seeing the film for.Plus a nice action filled shootout at the end. All you could desire from a Hopalong Cassidy film.
Hoppy is on his way to New York for a vacation. However, there's trouble at a mine owned by the widow of a friend of his, so it's up to him, Gabby Hayes and Russell Hayden to sort out matters in this, the 19th of the long-running series.The regulars are in their usual form in this one, with Gabby Hayes particularly amusing, but Gwen Gaze as the widow is poor in her line readings and it is up to the usually stolid William Boyd to go even quieter in his scenes with her to avoid overwhelming her. For the rest, it is a typically well produced effort, with decent camera-work. Fans of the series will have a fine time and newcomers to B westerns will find it amusing.