Mystery Man (1944)

Hoppy's ranch is threatened by rustlers. Hoppy and the gang oblige as usual.

Director:

George Archainbaud

Writers:

J. Benton Cheney (screenplay), Clarence E. Mulford (based on characters created by)

Stars:

William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jimmy Rogers

Cast

Complete credited cast:
William Boyd	...	Hopalong Cassidy
Andy Clyde	...	California Carlson
Jimmy Rogers	...	Jimmy Rogers
Don Costello	...	Bud Trilling
Eleanor Stewart	...	Diane Newhall
Francis McDonald	...	Bert Rogan
Forrest Taylor	...	Sheriff Sam Newhall
Jack Rockwell	...	Marshal Ted Blane
John Merton	...	Bill
Pierce Lyden	...	Red
Bob Burns	...	Tom Hanlon
Ozie Waters	...	Singing Ranch Hand Tex

Storyline

After Hoppy helps round up the Trilling gang, Trilling breaks his men out of jail and they rustle the Bar 20 herd for revenge. When Hoppy gets the herd back, Trilling posing as a Marshal not only gets the herd again, he gets the Sheriff to jail the Bar 20 gang. Getting help from the Sheriff's daughter, Hoppy and pals start out once more after Trilling.

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Plot Keywords:

b movie | hopalong cassidy series | b western | actor shares last name with character | actor shares first and last name with character | 

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Taglines:

Stagecoach holdups, bank robberies and cattle rustling terrorized the West until Hoppy started a fight to the last shot...and won! (original three-sheet poster)

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 May 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bandoleiro Misterioso

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Harry Sherman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min 54 min (edited TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was completed in mid-1943, and bears a 1943 copyright statement on the title card, but was not released until almost a year later, in May 1944.

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Connections

Follows Leather Burners (1943)

User Reviews

Hoppy Impersonated!

It's a fascinating comment on "B" Westerns, and possibly on films in general, that one of the reviews on this site plugs this simple Western film as one the "better Hoppy films," while one of the other five cites it as "lesser Hoppy." Both reviewers are right, of course, and each took the time to comment from separate viewpoints. In a world as big as the Wild West, there should be plenty of room for both opinions. Too bad the world isn't so big any more!

Black-clad, cool-headed Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) must track down lawbreakers and get the guys in the slammer--and wouldn't it be a surprise to all of us if he failed to do so? Most Hoppy films have a distinguishing hallmark, and perhaps this one's is a Movable Herd and the men who move it.

Mystery Man is a low-key, genial cowboy movie with only one song tossed in for good measure, and the sheriff's daughter picking on whatever attractions Hoppy's second- hand man has to offer. For action fans, there is a good deal of gun-play behind boulders and dust-raising in Lone Pine, and' as is often the case, the cinematography by Russell Harlan is a major bonus point, taking what could show as dull chases and enhancing California desert landscape with background mountain majesties and banks of clouds. Harlan turns the ordinary into memorable--lucky us!