Hop-a-Long Cassidy Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Hop-a-Long Cassidy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 25, 2025

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Hopalong Cassidy: The Legacy Collection Volume One from ClassicFlix.

William Boyd had already had a rather significant and successful career as both a matinee idol and leading man by the time the Hopalong Cassidy films came along, but even so, the long running film franchise (and, later, television series) absolutely cemented Boyd's cinematic persona as virtually indistinguishable from the (in the original version at least) irascible cowboy created by Clarence E. Mulford. The Hopalong Cassidy series was a huge money maker for Paramount for around five or six years beginning in 1935, attracting such consistent box office returns that these so-called "B" movies were often exhibited at emporia that would otherwise have thumbed their nose at such "lowbrow" fare. The series continued at United Artists for several more years after leaving Paramount, first under the imprimatur of original producer Harry Sherman, but then Boyd himself, and Boyd's "management" of the series and subsequent smart rights acquisitions meant Boyd was able to also exploit the character on both radio and in one of the first "smash hit" television series to hit the airwaves in 1949. Kind of interestingly, the series may have actually given birth to two firmly cemented screen personae, in that frequent sidekick George Hayes, who ultimately recurred as a character named Windy Halliday, later matriculated over to Republic Pictures playing much the same character there in a slew of westerns under the (mandated) new name of "Gabby" Hayes. ClassicFlix, which has already offered collectors Blu-ray releases devoted to The Little Rascals and The Abbott and Costello Show, is now evidently embarking on a new set of releases devoted to this western icon, and considering the fact that there were 66 Hopalong Cassidy features made over the course of a decade and a half or so, this could be a rather extended set of discs. This premiere release offers the first three Hopalong Cassidy films, when certain aspects of the character and his cohort were still being developed.

With an understanding that none of the Hopalong Cassidy "B" movies approached the grandeur of, say, a typical John Ford outing, what's notable about this series from the get go is some of its outstanding location photography, albeit here in California rather than Ford's beloved Utah. The story here is admittedly old hat (no Hoppy head ware pun intended), with nefarious scheming rustlers pitting ranchers against each other, but with Hoppy of course coming to the rescue. Per the series traditional formulation, love interest was left to supporting acolyte Johnny Nelson (Jimmy Ellison) and Mary Meeker (Paula Stone), with comedy relief coming courtesy of Uncle Ben (George Hayes). Lovers of the Flash Gordon serials will delight in seeing none other than Ming the Merciless (i.e., Charles Middleton) in western garb and riding a horse as one of the villains.

Hop-a-Long Cassidy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hop-a-Long Cassidy is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of ClassicFlix with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. The only film in this set that ClassicFlix offers some prefatory text about is The Eagle's Brood, but their website mentions that the bulk of these restorations were culled from a variety of sources, "including negatives and fine grains". I'd rate this as arguably a bit less clear and well detailed than Bar 20 Rides Again, but certainly in much better shape than the evidently less well curated The Eagle's Brood. While there are occasional age related issues here, they're actually rather miniscule for the most part, and the often gorgeous location cinematography is presented here with generally consistent contrast and some appealing detail levels, at least in close-ups. Grain resolves without any issues. My score is 4.25.

Hop-a-Long Cassidy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Hop-a-Long Cassidy features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track that can't escape the vagaries of its recording era. The high end is a little brash, something that's probably most apparent in some of the blaring brass scoring, and there's pretty noticeable hiss throughout the presentation. Still, dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly and sound effects like galloping horse hooves or gunshots reverberate decently, if not amazingly. Optional English subtitles are available.

Hop-a-Long Cassidy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Since this is in essence a triple feature on one disc, there are both film specific supplements as well as some that are more generalist in nature.

• Audio Commentary by film historian Ed Hulse on Hop-Along Cassidy can be accessed either under the Bonus Features menu or the Play menu for this film.


• Audio Commentary by film historian Toby Roan on Bar 20 Rides Again can be accessed either under the Bonus Features menu or the Play menu for this film.


• William Boyd - Becoming Hopalong Cassidy (HD; 32:33) is a really excellent overview of Boyd's early career and ultimate metamorphosis into Hopalong.


• Hopalong in Hoppyland (HD; 9:29) is an archival newsreel type short documenting Boyd's pre-Disneyland amusement park.


• Bonus Reels (HD; 7:03) are snippets culled from the Hopalong Cassidy Film Archive. These have no sound.


• The Eagle's Brood Original Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:14)


• Image Gallery (HD; 2:17)

The insert sleeve features an inner print with plot synopses and key art.

Hop-a-Long Cassidy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some aspects of what became the Hopalong Cassidy template weren't quite formulated in this first outing, but the film has a straightforward narrative, and Boyd is an affable winning presence throughout. Technical merits are generally solid, and ClassicFlix has assembled some very enjoyable supplements for this release. Recommended.