The second of William Boyd's self-produced "Hopalong Cassidy" films, Fool's Gold maintains the standards set by the first (Devil's Playground), though it's a step down from the vintage Cassidy films of the late 1930s-early 1940s. Once again, Hoppy (Boyd) is teamed with California Carson (Andy Clyde) and Lucky Jenkins (Rand Brooks). Our three heroes try to help Hoppy's old army buddy, whose son has been keeping company with a gang of crooks. Posing as a disgraced army captain, Cassidy infiltrates the gang and tries to save the boy from himself-if he can avoid detective by The Professor (Robert Emmet Keane), erudite leader of the criminals. Originally released at 63 minutes, Fool's Gold was cut to 54 minutes for its TV release, through the simple expedient of lopping off the entire first reel!
