Trail Dust on AllMovie

Trail Dust was the eighth entry in the 66-film "Hopalong Cassidy" series. William Boyd, of course, is Hoppy, while his sidekicks Johnny and Windy are portrayed respectively by James Ellison and Gabby Hayes. This time the story is motivated by a huge cattle drive, some of which is lifted from such silent epics as North of 36, but much of which was specially staged for this film. The villains are members of a cattlemen's cartel who conspire to kill off the herds of their less-prosperous competitors. But Hoppy and his chums deliver the cows and bulls on time, and even round up the baddies for the benefit of The Law. At 77 minutes, Trail Dust was the longest "Hopalong Cassidy" to date -- but it would soon be eclipsed by the 82-minute Borderland.