Borrowed Trouble

Some time ago, the old Hopalong Cassidy films were fully restored to original length and with lovely pristine prints. Fortunately, they were then uploaded to YouTube...where you can see these films for free. I strongly recommend it, as the Cassidy films are at least the equals of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.

"Borrowed Trouble" is a very, very unusual installment in the Hopalong Cassidy series. While I really wanted to score it 7.5, I'll round up to 8...because it did dare to be so very different. This is a great thing, as it's one of the last films in the series and instead of just retreading old plots, this one is wholly original...and quite funny.

Hoppy and his two pals arrive in town. Then, something strange happens....the local school teacher begins throwing apples through the windows of the saloon that is smack next to her school! She's tossing apples because the saloon owner promised to build elsewhere...but the noise and crowd inside make teaching the kids difficult to say the least. Hoppy sees this and tries his best to mediate...but to no avail. Soon, the teacher is kidnapped...and all the signs point to this saloon-keeper. What's next? See the film.

I love the slow, leisurely pace of this one. I also loved seeing California trying to fill in for the teacher...even though he practically knows nothing! Very clever and with an amazingly violent finale where the teacher herself delivers some justice! Well worth your time.