the audience applauded

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Looks like producer Sherman was aiming for a change of pace. He got it, but not very successfully. Shifting the action abruptly to the desert sands of Arabia and guys in long robes takes some getting used to. Then again, because of the costuming, it's sometimes hard to tell who's who among the natives. Worse, somebody was ill-advised to slip a robe over Hoppy and put his gun-belt over that. It does look silly compared with what we're used to. Of course, the locale may change, but the idea of good guys and bad guys remains the same. So does Clyde's comedy relief and King's romancing of the spunky girl (Phillips). Still, there are compensations. The abundant location shots from Lone Pine and nearby desert sands make for some fine eye candy. In fact, some of the horseback shots against the sky are almost striking. Too bad these are interspersed with clumsy studio exteriors that immediately shout 'movie'. Looks like Sherman popped for a lot of extras for the battle scenes and the crowded Arab bazaar. So it's likely the budget was bigger than usual for an oater. And shouldn't overlook slinky actress Deste (Marie). She's an eye-catching presence in an otherwise brief career. Too bad. All in all, the exotic package doesn't work out that well, but does remain a decent try.

William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy), Brad King (Johnny Nelson), Andy Clyde (California), Jean Phillips (Susan Grant),Forrest Stanley (Charles Grant), Nina Guilbert (Mrs Jane Grant), Luli Deste (Marie Karitza), Alberto Morin (Nickie Karitza), George Woolsley (major), Duncan Renaldo (Sheik Suleiman), Jean Del Val (Faran El Kalar), Mickey Eissa (Salim), Jamiel Hasson (Ali), George J. Lewis (Yussuf).Director: HOWARD BRETHERTON. Screenplay: J. Benton Cheney, Bernard McConville. Based on characters created by Clarence E. Mulford. Photography: Russell Harlan. Supervising film editor: Sherman A. Rose. Film editor: Carrol Lewis. Art director: Ralph Berger. Music composed by John Leipold, directed by Irvin Talbot. Assistant director: Glenn Cook. Associate producer: Lewis J. Rachmil. Producer: Harry Sherman.Copyright 3 December 1941 by Paramount Pictures, Inc. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 1 November 1941. Australian release: 9 April 1942. 7 reels. 6,014 feet. 66 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Journeying to Arabia to purchase horses, Hoppy and his pals thwart a kidnapping plot.NOTES: Number 40 of the 66-picture series.COMMENT: Beyond its curious setting — Arabia — this entry has little to commend it, outside of: (1) a few nice compositions on desert locations (thanks, Russell Harlan); (2) an appealing heroine (Jean Phillips); and (3) an interesting villain (Duncan Renaldo, of all people). Despite the promising setting, the script manages to work in little action, a scarcity made more noticeable by the plodding pace set by ho-hum director, Howard Bretherton.

I'm a big Hoppy fan & like everything Hoppy's ever been in, except for this film. The previous reviewer (who stated that this is the worst of the Hoppy films) is correct. There's much more bad about it than what's good about it. I don't care for the "exotic" Arabian locales, I like my westerns to be set in the American west. Seeing William Boyd dressed in Arabic robes made him seem somewhat ridiculous! I prefer Hoppy in his all- black outfit (translation= "ready to take care of business"), but here he wore a gray shirt with black pants & hat, then got into the robes, & that just doesn't do it for me! Here are the positive points of this film: it starts out in Gila-Bend, which is nice; Hoppy identifies himself as a "county Deputy Sheriff"; California gets to ride Topper for a few minutes while Hoppy is breaking in a horse. That's it, even the comedy from California is weak. On the negative side, we have: the clothes issue (above), the absurdity of traveling to Arabia with Topper in tow (& I assume his side-kicks' horses as well), the very slow pace, the unexciting action sequences (3 gunfights, but apparently no one is even so much as wounded in any of them), the song by Brad King (although he's far from the worst of Hoppy's young sidekicks, see Jay Kirby & Jimmy Rogers for that "honor"), & the miscasting of Duncan Renaldo (TV's "Cisco Kid," who I like a lot) as an Arabic Sheik (whose Spanish accent creeps through at times, although he was "educated inEngland"!). There's really not much to recommend here. As of this writing, imdb voters gave it a 7+ rating, which makes it one of the higher rated Hoppy movies. That's hard to believe, because there's 65 other Hoppy movies out there that are better than this one! This is the only film of Hoppy's that I'd rate below a 5/10, & I give it a 3/10.

While this is probably a poor picture relative to others made at the same time, it has a great deal of sociological and historical value. U.S. citizens at the time knew little more about Saudi Arabia than they do today, and the perspectives are demeaning and arrogant. Their tribal cultures are seen through the concept of native American tribes. However, there are some good comic moments.