I hate to complain. I actually like the Hoppy films a lot, mainly for William Boyd's appealing personality and acting, the good production values, and the fine outdoor location scenery. I'll make two complaints, though. One, I find the comic sidekicks (other than Gabby Hayes) grating. Here, California Carlson got on nerves with his never-ending chatter. Same goes for the double talk routine of the cook. The other thing that bothers me is the slender, chancy, coincidental thin reeds of the mystery-solving. In this movie, there are two main forces arrayed against each other, each accusing the other of rustling their cattle and other misdeeds. Hoppy, for some good reasons, thinks a third party is guilty. And he thinks, for no real good reason, a member of that party is an insider at Ma Woods ranch. Ma Woods had blabbed all over town that Cassidy was coming with money to buy her cattle so anyone could have heard of this. Then, the first night Cassidy spends at Ma's ranch, one of the bad guys happens to sneak out in the middle of the night, and Hoppy decides to follow him. To me it seems difficult to follow a horseman over wide open plains and not be detected. Likewise, to me it seems impossible for Hoppy and friend to scale a mountainous peak to subdue a lookout, and the lookout does not hear or see the guys. And so it goes.
Review of In Old Colorado
