Western Wednesdays: Law of the Pampas (1939)

     Law of the Pampas was released on November 3rd, 1939. Directed by Nate Watt and written by Harrison Jacobs it is the 26th film in the Hopalong Cassidy series. In it Hoppy (William Boyd) and Lucky (Russell Hayden) head to Argentina to deliver a herd of cattle to a rancher named Señor Valdez (Pedro de Cordoba) and stumble upon a plot by Valdez son-in-law Merritt (Sidney Blackmer) to steal his ranch.

     Merritt has long been plotting to eliminate Valdez and his family, making himself the sole heir of his estate. He's already done away with his wife and brother-in-law, making their deaths appear as tragic accidents of course. Though he manages to fool Valdez, Hoppy is much too clever to be taken in and, by the end, smokes the villain out, leading to the inevitable action-packed climax. Along the way theirs a lot of intrigue with an overgenerous sprinkling of comic relief.

     The mystery angle is the movie's chief asset, as it's a little light on the action. It's a little slow as a result but Watt makes up for it with the climax, a thrilling chase followed by an crackling fight, on horseback, with the Hoppy and the gauchos facing off against Merritt's men. Hoppy even uses a boleadoras, the South American throwing weapon whose use was explained to Cassidy earlier in the film (Chekov would be proud). Russell Harlan's cinematography is great as usual here. One shot, a low angle with the horses stampeding toward the camera, is particularly effective. The score was written by Victor Young (Shane) along with John Leipold, one of the composers to contribute to the Oscar winning score for Stagecoach. It's a good score, with a Latin flavor appropriate to the setting.

     With the departure of Gabby Hayes, Sidney Toler (one time Charlie Chan) supplies the comic relief as Valdez moody foreman Fernando Ramirez. He's no Windy Halliday but as b-western comic relief goes, he's not too bad. Sidney Blackmer, unsurprisingly, does a good job as the heavy. Glenn Strange (later to play Butch Cavendish in The Lone Ranger) and Eddie Dean (famous crooner) both appear as his henchmen. Pedro de Cordoba is in fine form as Señor Valdez, putting in a truly sympathetic portrayal. As in many Hopalong Cassidy films, Hoppy befriends a young boy and becomes something of a mentor to him, in this case Jo Jo La Savio's Ernesto, Valdez's orphaned grandson. Steffi Duna doubles as bad girl and ingénue as Chiquita, Ernesto's niece, who Merritt manipulates with the promise of marriage. Russell Hayden's Lucky, a more affable fellow then the hot-heated James Ellison, though equally impetuous, is the subject of her feminine wiles along with Hoppy himself, who of course is having none of it. Hayden was a production assistant on the Hoppy films before he joined the cast, and he does a fine job in front of the camera. Boyd is, of course, great as ever in the lead role, exuding that easy confidence and forthright disposition that made the character his own.

     Though it's a little listless in places, Law of the Pampas is still a solid B-western. It's really remarkable how consistent in quality these Hopalong Cassidy movies were, even 26 movies in.

Score: 7/10