Good story, Not enough for a whole film

As Good As It Gets

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The acting in this movie is really good.

A stand-out Hoppy. There's lots of Lone Pine scenery including the neolithic Alabama Hills. Those rock spires are made for ambushes, and they get a good workout here. Lots of hard riding too, with some gunplay and flying fists. I was hoping for a broad-shoulder championship between Adams (Mitchum) and Lin (Reeves)—that would have been some bout. Actually, Hoppy shares a lot of time with an outstanding cast that includes movie great Mitchum in one of his early roles, Superman's Reeves whose mysterious death is still debated, along with premier bad guy Jory, carnival barker Hodgins, and comic relief Clyde. Almost all the scenes are on location except for a few courtyard studio set-ups. My only gripe is with the convoluted plot, but you can probably follow it better than I could. Two take-aways from the oater-- If you fall into a well, don't ask Tom (Hodgins) to help you out, and if you know a mule named Molly, be sure to bring your guitar. Enjoy!

Robert Mitchum who got his start in movies in the Hopalong Cassidy series usually played outlaws in his appearances. But in Bar 20 Mitchum plays an earnest but rather thickheaded and proud young bridegroom who just cannot believe the obvious. The obvious being that his best friend and best man Victory Jory is trying to rob and swindle him.Bar 20 finds Hoppy and his sidekicks George Reeves and Andy Clyde on a trip to Betty Blythe's ranch to buy some cattle and Hoppy's carrying a wad of cash. Our heroes as it happens rescue Blythe and her daughter Dustine Farnum from a stagecoach holdup though the outlaws get away with her expensive engagement ring.Later on Hoppy and the sidekicks are robbed of the cash. It's a rather complex series of events that convinces Hoppy that Jory is the one behind it. But no one can convince Mitchum that Hoppy and his sidekicks aren't the bad guys. Apparently the reputation that Hopalong Cassidy has in the west counts for nothing. I'm sure the kids in 1943 who saw this on Saturday afternoon thought Mitchum was the stupidest guy alive.George Reeves did many Cassidy features himself, but this was his one and only shot at being a regular sidekick. I wonder why Harry Sherman didn't use him further in that role.A bit more plot than usual distinguishes Bar 20 from the usual Cassidy films. But I'm sure the kids liked it as will you.

This is one of the better Hoppy movies, with a clever, intricate plot. It is also unusual in that Steve Reeves (TV's Superman) and Robert Mitchum (who went on to super star status), both of whom had minor (mainly outlaw) parts in earlier Hoppy movies, have meaty co-starring roles here.***Some spoilers. *** The plot revolves around Mitchum's stolen jewels that are worth about $10,000, but the thieves, led by Victor Jory, will take a $3000 ransom for them. Both good-guy Hoppy and bad-guy Jory have an interest in helping Mitchum raise the $3000 to get the jewels back. Hoppy has $4000 cash to buy 100 head of cattle for the Bar 20 Ranch. The cattle are owned by Mitchum's fiancé' who will end up with the jewels as a wedding gift, so $3000 could be used to ransom the jewels. On the other hand, Jory wants to buy some of Mitchum's land, the proceeds of which would ransom the jewels.Hoppy's $4000 is stolen by Jory's gang, and $3000 of it is given to Mitchum by Jory as part of the land deal mentioned above. Mitchum then takes the $3000 to meet the outlaws and ransom the jewels back. In some complicated maneuvers, Hoppy goes along to help, and he recovers both the money and the jewels. But Jory has poisoned Mitchum's mind into believing that Hoppy is the jewel thief. You'll have to see the movie to see how Hoppy convinces Mitchum that Jory is the bad guy and how Hoppy captures the bad guys.

"Bar 20" was the name of the ranch that Hoppy and the boys worked for. In this entry its hardly mentioned except in passing. As was the case in many series westerns, the title had little or nothing to do with the plot.The story has Hoppy (William Boyd) and his two sidekicks Andy Clyde and George Reeves on a cattle buying trip but becoming embroiled in a series of holdups for which they are ultimately blamed. It seems that chief villain Victor Jory and his gang (including Douglas Fowley and Francis McDonald) are plotting to cheat young rancher Robert Mitchum out of his land and ruin his marriage plans with fiance Dustine Farnum. Well Hoppy and the boys manage to sort things out and bring the villains to justice by the final reel as we knew they would.The Hopalong Cassidy series had been going since 1935. The high quality of the Harry (Pop) Sherman produced pictures had been maintained putting it way ahead of other series westerns of the day. Boyd was not your typical "B" western hero. He was middle aged with white hair which gave him an air of respect and maturity lacking in other "B" western heroes of the day. The films were also blessed with good supporting casts and great locations.George Reeves, who would go on to play TV's Superman, makes his only appearance in the series as Hoppy's sidekick, although he had played other parts in other Hoppy films. Robert Mitchum in one of his first substantial roles, was about to emerge as a major star in "A" budget films. I am not aware if heroine Dustine Farnum was any relation to the silent film star Dustin Farnum.A solid entry in the series. A good early performance from Mitchum.