THREE ON THE TRAIL (BAR 20 THREE)
(director: Howard Bretherton; screenwriters: Vernon Smith/Doris Schroeder/from the book Bar 20 Three by Doris Schroeder; cinematographer: Archie Stout; editor: Edward Schroeder ; music: Charles Sargent; cast: William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy), George “Gabby” Hayes (Windy), Onslow Stevens (Pecos Kane), Jimmy Ellison (Johnny Nelson), Muriel Evans (Mary Stevens), Lita Cortez(Conchita), William Duncan(Buck Peters), Clara Kimball Young (Rose Peters), Ted Adams (Jim Trask), Clyde King (J. P. Ridley), Ernie Adams (Idaho), John St. Polis (Sheriff Sam Corwin), Jack Rutherford (Lewis); Runtime: 66; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Harry Sherman; Paramount; 1936-B/W)
“Only for those with a yen for these Old-fashioned Westerns.“
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
An action-packed B Western typical of the period. Director Howard Bretherton (“Triggerman”/”The Story of Life”) keeps it moving. It’s based on the novel by Doris Schroeder entitled Bar 20 Three, while the screenplay is written by Schroeder and Vernon Smith. In the Old West frontier, saloon chorus girls from Denver come by stagecoach to Mesquite. Also on the stage is a woman school teacher, Mary Stevens (Muriel Evans), from New England. Since the teaching job is bogus, Hoppy Cassidy (William Boyd) gets his young partner Johnny Nelson (Jimmy Ellison) to bring her to the Bar 29 Ranch to keep her away from the clutching criminal saloon keeper Pecos Kane (Onslow Stevens). The weakling crooked sheriff (John St. Polis) is working with Kane to rob stagecoaches, rustle cattle and take over the ranch of a wealthy naive Englishman ( Clyde King). With the help of sidekicks Johnny and Windy (Gabby Hayes) and the cowboys from the Bar 20, which Hoppy co-owns with Buck Peters (William Duncan), the good guys stop the bad guys and young Johnny and Mary plan to get hitched. It seemed things worked out well for everyone even if there were no school children in town to run a school. Only for those with a yen for these Old-fashioned Westerns.
REVIEWED ON 5/5/2018 GRADE: B- https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/