The Eagle's Brood (1935)

Paramount. 10 October 1935, Howard Bretherton. Screenplay by Doris Schroeder and Harrison Jacobs. Based on the 1931 novel, Hop-along Cassidy and the Eagle's Brood, by Clarence Edward Mulford. William Boyd, Jimmy Ellison, William Farnum, Addison Richards, George Hayes, Joan Woodbury, Frank Shannon, Dorothy Revier, Paul Fix, Al Lydell, John Merton. 59 minutes. (Available on an excellent Passport or Platinum Disc or Echo Bridge and also a VintageFilmBuff DVD). In this one, Bill Boyd is referred to as "Bill Cassidy" rather than Hopalong. It's a minor entry with all the action saved for the last reel - and pretty tame action it is too! True, there are some attractive location exteriors and one or two deft touches in Bretherton's direction. And Joan Woodbury dances to the Sam H, Stept (music) and Sidney Mitchell (lyrics) song, "Free With Love".

The trio is only a duo in this second Hopalong Cassidy western The Eagle's Brood. Also Hoppy who is now a deputy sheriff resigns on a point of honor. Behavior expected of a cowboy hero.Legendary Mexican bandit El Toro played by Franklyn Farnum is spotted on this side of the border. Farnum is on a mission, to find and rescue his grandson George Mori who was left alive after his parents are killed when they are robbed of gold he was shipping.Farnum finds Hoppy all right, stuck in quicksand and sinking fast. Who could blame Hoppy for not following through on his apprehension after El Toro pulls him out. Instead he takes on El Toro's mission to find the little kid. The outlaws who killed the parents also want the kid to eliminate a witness.As I said it's only a duo here, Bill Boyd and his young sidekick James Ellison. Gabby Hayes is here, minus his beard and sporting a handlebar mustache. He's bartender for head villain Addison Richard at Richard's saloon.The Eagle's Brood proves if nothing else Hoppy is a man of honor.

Pablo Chavez watches his parents killed by a band of outlaws who are after the elder Chavez' gold. Pablo runs away from the scene of the murder to get help and runs into Dolores, a dancer in the town's saloon, who hides Pablo in her cabin, and then goes to town for help from her boss, Big Henry, but when she arrives, she overhears that Big Henry was responsible for the Chavez murders. Dolores hides Pablo in a more secluded place and writes a letter to Pablo's grandfather, Pedro, who lives across the Mexican border as a notorious bandit known as El Toro,who rides to the saloon where Dolores works, En route he saves the life of Hopalong Cassidy (a county deputy), who was searching for the outlaw. El Toro begs Hoppy to let him go after his grandson, but Hoppy won't let the outlaw go across the US border. Instead, Hoppy agrees to go after the boy himself and rides (with fellow deputy Johnny Nelson, who have both turned in their badges) to meet with Dolores. Meanwhile, Big Henry learns that Pablo is still alive and can recognize the bandits and that Dolores is hiding him. Dolores is killed by Big Henry, right after promising Hoppy information on the boys' whereabouts. Hoppy gets a job as one of Big Henry's gun hands, thinking he can prevent Big Henry from making anymore attempts against Pablo, but the outlaws believe that Hoppy might be double crossing Big Henry and decide to take him out. A very gritty entry in the Hoppy series, with the character being less noble and more meaner than in the subsequent entries. Farnum is excellent as the former outlaw El Toro, evoking a lot of sympathy from the audience. Hayes gives another great performance as Big Henry's bartender who is trying to help Hoppy, behind his boss' back. Bretherton creates loads of action and suspense in this worthy entry. Many nuances Hoppy shows in the film (buying drinks for the ladies, rolling a cigarette, and his stern disposition) would disappear in the later films in the series. Rating, based on B westerns, 8.

"The Eagles Brood" was the second feature in the long running Hopalong Cassidy series produced by Harry "Pop" Sherman. Directed by Howard Bretherton, it gives us some spectacular outdoor photography and several exciting action sequences including the good guys riding to the rescue in the nick of time at the film's climax.The story opens with the notorious Mexican bandit El Toro's son and his wife being brutally murdered. Their young son hides and is taken in by saloon girl Dolores (Nana Martin aka Joan Woodbury). El Toro (William Farnum) vows revenge and sets out to find his grandson. Along the way he rescues "Bill" Cassidy (William Boyd) from quicksand. Cassidy then offers to find the grandson in payment for El Toro's saving of his life.Cassidy and his pal Johnny Nelson (Jimmy Ellison) set out to find the murderers. Dolores meanwhile, is the girl friend of the head bad guy Big Henry (Addison Richards) and learns that it was his men who murdered El Toro's son and his wife. Big Henry finds out that the grandson is alive and has witnessed the crime. So he and his gang which includes Frank Shannon, Paul Fix and John Merton, also search for the missing youngster.Big Henry learns that Dolores is harboring the child and in a scene unusual for a series western, murders her in cold blood. Cassidy in the mean time, finds the boy and shields him from the outlaws. A shootout ensues followed by the aforementioned ride to the rescue and concludes with a cliffside fight to the finish between Cassidy and Big Henry.Boyd was still playing the lead character with a rough edge. He is called "Bill" throughout except for one instance where Ellison calls him "Hoppy". Heck, Hoppy even has an eye for the ladies in this one. George "Gabby" Hayes had not yet settled into his Windy Halliday character. He played several character roles in the early films of the series, much as he had done in the John Wayne Lone Star series. Here, he plays a good bad guy Spike, Big Henry's bartender who spends most of the picture trying to roll a cigarette. Hayes doesn't have his tell tale whiskers in this one, only a drooping moustache with short hair.This is a good action packed series western which maintained its excellent production values throughout. The Hopalong Cassidy series was in my opinion, the best "B" series ever made.