Fool's Gold

When the story begins, Hopalong is meeting with his friend, the Colonel. The Colonel is upset because his hot-headed son is AWOL from the military after striking an officer! He asks Hoppy to investigate and see if he can bring the young man back to face the consequences of his actions.

The trail for the AWOL officer leads to Twin Buttes. And, along the way, Hoppy meets the Professor...a guy who is just buggy about bugs*. But he's a guy who isn't exactly who he appears to be...and the town turns out to be infested with all sorts of thieves, cutthroats and jerk-faces. After getting bashed over the heard and nearly killed, you wonder why Hoppy keeps trying...especially when the Colonel's son is so resistant to listening to common sense!

So is it any good? Yes. But this is no surprise as most of the Cassidy films are better than the typical B-westerns of the day. Plus, the lovely locations shooting in Lone Pine, California (where the vast majority of his films were made) is grand. Enjoyable and reasonably original. My only complaint, and it's minor, is that you really don't feel as if the son is worth saving! He is pretty dopey!



*Oddly enough, this is the THIRD Cassidy film I've seen with a professor who loves bugs!!