A FICTIONAL COWBOY HERO ONLY OR A SMART BUSINESSMAN? A PERSONAL MEMORY AND EXPERIENCE WITH THE FILMS OF HOPALONG CASSIDY. 

Heroes as models were needed among young boys in Norway after the Second World War when we played  games. We did not have many toys at the time. A visit to a public library was a must to stimulate imagination and to get as far as possible away from daily life demands, pressure and a boring school. Hopalong Cassidy gave us all we needed. He had a white, nice horse. He was brillant. He never lost any fight. He was a winner in all life situations. Above all: He differed from the boring parents to whom we had to pay attention to all day long – and a boring teacher too! Hopalong Cassidy was the man we all needed. But how to get hold of equipments designed for the fictional cowboy? Norway was still a nation of sailors in 1954 even if many had given up the work and life as a sailor. My father was not among those who managed to settle ashore. Once a sailor, always a sailor. This meant that I got what I wanted from the sea captain who paid the famliy a visit twice a year. I didn’t care as long as he could support me with materials which were impossible to buy in Norway. Personnally, I was more a fan of Roy Rogers that Hopalong Cassidy. I will return to the subject in another paper. So, back to the white –haired Hopalong Cassidy whose horse was named , Hopper. What is the main reason to bring up this subject at all, you may ask? A good question. As a researcher I make use of different  sources for my papers. Old movies are included on my list of sources, not only books. Besides ,I talked to a younger generation about  the lost heroes of the boys born during the Second World War and after the war. Are my old heroes still alive? Do you know Roy Rogers, Hopalog Cassidy, Gene Autry,the tales of the Texas Rangers and some others too? No is the direct answer I got. No. We do know them at all and we do not care either. Thank you. The next question I asked myself was: What was the reasons for the immense admiration for the American fictional cowboys? We had a feeling that a cowboy was not like those we admired. They were never dirty. The shirts were alway nice and clean. No dirt in the face. They had guns which were decorated. The horse was a good looking horse.

It was an advantage making contact with other boys of ten years of age when I put on my Roy Rogers guns and walked the street. I had no problem. They all understood the importance of having equipments of Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy. I had a wristwatch signed by Hopalong,  too. But the explanation of the interest for the American heroes was also a result of an active business  administration made to keep up the interest. We had few toys. We had the movies. We went once  a week to view a movie. The films of Hopalong Cassidy were popular.

THE FILMS AS A SOURCE FOR STUDIES OF THE PAST

The films were called ” Hoopies”. The sixty-six Hopalong Cassidy pictures were made by independent producers who released the films through the studios. The films were popular. Even if the movies were popular, actions were taken to stop the production in 1944. William Boyd who portrayed the cowboy hero, wanted to keep the film production going. He bought the character rights and the backlogs of the movies. William Boyd resumed the production in 1946. In 1948 westerns in general were phased out but the new media television wanted to make use of old films. The films of Hopalong Cassidy became a success on TV. But we did not have any television transmissions in Norway before 1960. We had to go to the movies to watch the fictional cowboy hero who was created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford.

CLARENCE E. MULFORD

Clarence E. Mulford was born in 1883 and died in 1956. He created the cowboy Hopalong Cassidy. But he did not make the man as nice as we find him in the movies. Mulford portrayed him as rude, dangerous and rough-talking. The character was transformed into a nice, clean-cut-on –screen hero by the movie actor William Boyd. About twenty-three novels of Hopalong Cassidy were published between 1909 and 1941.

Clarence E. Muldford wrote also nonfiction books about the West, the outdoors, and motoring.

The characters he created were drawn from an extensive library  research.

ROBERT MITCHUM

The American actor Robert Mitchum appeared in seven of the Cassidy films at the beginning of his career.He was hired to play the villain in the movies during 1942 and 1943. Robert Mitchum was born in 1917 and died in 1997. He was an actor, composer, author and singer. He is number 23 on the American Film Institute’s list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time.

OSLO 1954

In 1954 William Boyd paid a visit to Oslo because of the immense popularity of the Hopalong Cassidy films. He arrived at Fornebu airport situated close to Oslo . He was greeted by a lot of his young fans. The event was reported on film by the Norwegian ” Filmavisen”, ” Norsk Filmrevy”. My friends and I went weekly to the cinema called, ” Jarlen Kino ” or ” Jarlen Cinema” situated in Oslo in a suburb called Kampen. We loved the cinema. In Norwegian the cinema was also called ” Jalla” or ” Likkista”. ” Jarlen Kino” was built in year 1938 and closed in 1988.

To fresh up my memories of the time, I viewed the film made by ”Filmavisen” of the visit to Oslo by William Boyd and the movie, Texas Masquerade(1943), which was released as a home movie(VHS) in 1989. The film deals with businessmen who forced ranchowners to sell the ranches because oil had been found on the ranches. The rich and the powerfull men against the weak ranchowners is the theme of the film. Hopalong Cassidy supports the weak part of the fight against businessmen who are always wearing nice suits and are called bandits! I am surprised to see how bad the quality of the shooting was of the cowboys. None of the cowboys could find the targets at all. But for boys of the age of 10 to- it was good actions and a lot of horse riding. Hopalong was always the winner . The film is made in black and white. The film was directed by George Archainbaud. The duration of the film is 61 min.

OSLO 1956-THE SPIDER

” Edderkoppen” was a famous revue theatre in Oslo. ” The Spider ” set up a revue in year 1956. On the programme, a short, funny play called ” The School – Sketch” was to be found. ” Skolesketsjen” is the Norwegain title of the sketch. Two famous actors performed : Leif Juster and Ernst Diesen. The main content of the funny play is the new official writing of the Norwegian language. The teacher is played by Leif Juster and the pupil is played by Ernst Diesen. The year is 1956. Hopalong Cassidy is still a popular character in Norway. The naugthy pupil  tells the teacher that his friends have a nickname for the teacher. What do they call me, asked the teacher? We call you, Hopalong Cassidy was the answer. The teacher is flattered. Then he asked for the reason of a such nickname? Because you look like his horse (Hopper) was the naughty answer from the pupil!

Viewing the play today without knowing anything about the American cowboy mentioned is not good for a correct understanding of the time and importance of Hopalong Cassidy.

 

HOPALOG CASSIDY AS AN OBJECT FOR COMMECIAL INTERESTS

The introduction of television in USA made the films popular. Both radio and television started to broadcast  the  stories of Hopalong Cassidy. Products were manufactured as Hopalon Cassidy products like childeren’s dinnerware, pillows, roller skates, soap, wristwatches, jacknives and boots.

I have listened to a christimas song  again and again without knowing that the song is an advertisement for boots of Hopalong Cassidy. Next time you hear the classic song:” It’s Beginning  to Look A Lot like Christmas ” ,pay attention to a reference to to Hopalong boots as a holiday gift desired by children.

Comic  books, comic strips and novels about  Hopalong Cassidy were published too.

DVD RELEASE

Echo Bridge Home Entertainment released in 2009 the Hopalong Cassidy Ulitimate Collection’s Edition. Sixty-six films were copied to fourteen DVDs. Timeless Media Group released , Hopalong Cassidy: The Complete Television Series ,on DVD in 2011.

Few of the mentioned films have been presented on television in Norway. TV in USA made it possible to reuse the old films to a new audience, but not in Norway. But we can buy the DVDs if we want. The old hero is not gone, not fading away, but reborn due to the new technology.The moral of the films is: Fight against those who want to exploit poor people. Hopalong Cassidy’s mission is to support the weak, the wounded, and  poor people against businessmen wearing elegant suits. I think we need him even more today supporting  poor people.

 

 

 

 

               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A FICTIONAL COWBOY HERO ONLY OR A SMART BUSINESSMAN? A PERSONAL MEMORY AND EXPERIENCE WITH THE FILMS OF HOPALONG CASSIDY.

Heroes as models were needed among young boys in Norway after the Second World War when we payed  games. We did not have many toys at the time. A visit to a public library was a must to stimulate imagination and to get as far as possible away from daily life demands, pressure and a boring school. Hopalong Cassidy gave us all we needed. He had a white, nice horse. He was brillant. He never lost any fight. He was a winner in all life situations. Above all: He differed from the boring parents to whom we had to pay attention to all day long – and a boring teacher too! Hopalong Cassidy was the man we all needed. But how to get hold of equipments designed for the fictional cowboy? Norway was still a nation of sailors in 1954 even if many had given up the work and life as a sailor. My father was not among those who managed to settle ashore. Once a sailor, always a sailor. This meant that I got what I wanted from the sea captain who paid the famliy a visit twice a year. I didn’t care as long as he could support me with materials which were impossible to buy in Norway. Personnally, I was more a fan of Roy Rogers that Hopalong Cassidy. I will return to the subject in another paper. So, back to the white –haired Hopalong Cassidy whose horse was named , Hopper. What is the main reason to bring up this subject at all, you may ask? A good question. As a researcher I make use of different  sources for my papers. Old movies are included on my list of sources, not only books. Besides ,I talked to a younger generation about  the lost heroes of the boys born during the Second World War and after the war. Are my old heroes still alive? Do you know Roy Rogers, Hopalog Cassidy, Gene Autry,the tales of the Texas Rangers and some others too? No is the direct answer I got. No. We do know them at all and we do not care either. Thank you. The next question I asked myself was: What was the reasons for the immense admiration for the American fictional cowboys? We had a feeling that a cowboy was not like those we admired. They were never dirty. The shirts were alway nice and clean. No dirt in the face. They had guns which were decorated. The horse was a good looking horse.

It was an advantage making contact with other boys of ten years of age when I put on my Roy Rogers guns and walked the street. I had no problem. They all understood the importance of having equipments of Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy. I had wristwatch signed by Hopalong,  too. But the explaination of the interest for the America heroes was also a result of a massive business  administration made to keep up the interest. We had few toys. We had the movies. We went once  a week to view a movie. The films of Hopalong Cassidy were popular.

THE FILMS AS A SOURCE FOR STUDIES OF THE PAST

The films were called ” Hoopies”. The sixty-six Hopalong Cassidy pictures were made by independent producers who released the films through the studios. The films were popular. Even if the movies were popular, actions were taken to stop the production in 1944. William Boyd who portrayed the cowboy hero, wanted to keep the film production going. He bought the character rights and the backlogs of the movies. William Boyd resumed the production in 1946. In 1948 westerns in general were phased out but the new media television wanted to make use of old films. The films of Hopalong Cassidy became a success on TV. But we did not have any television transmissions in Norway before 1960. We had to go to the movies to watch the fictional cowboy hero who was created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford.

CLARENCE E. MULFORD

Clarence E. Mulford was born in 1883 and died in 1956. He created the cowboy Hopalong Cassidy. But he did not make the man as nice as we find him in the movies. Mulford portrayed him as rude, dangerous and rough-talking. The character was transformed into a nice, clean-cut-on –screen hero by the movie actor William Boyd. About twenty-three novels of Hopalong Cassidy were published between 1909 and 1941.

Clarence E. Muldford wrote also nonfiction books about the West, the outdoors, and motoring.

The characters he created were drawn from an extensive library  research.

ROBERT MITCHUM

The American actor Robert Mitchum appeared in seven of the Cassidy films at the beginning of his career.He was hired to play the villain in the movies during 1942 and 1943. Robert Mitchum was born in 1917 and died in 1997. He was an actor, composer, author and singer. He is number 23 on the American Film Institute’s list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time.

OSLO 1954

In 1954 William Boyd paid a visit to Oslo because of the immense popularity of the Hopalong Cassidy films. He arrived at Fornebu airport situated close to Oslo . He was greeted by a lot of his young fans. The event was reported on film by the Norwegian ” Filmavisen”, ” Norsk Filmrevy”. My friends and I went weekly to the cinema called, ” Jarlen Kino ” or ” Jarlen Cinema” situated in Oslo in a suburb called Kampen. We loved the cinema. In Norwegian the cinema was also called ” Jalla” or ” Likkista”. ” Jarlen Kino” was built in year 1938 and closed in 1988. To fresh up my memories of the time, I viewed the film made by ”Filmavisen” of the visit to Oslo by William Boyd and the movie, Texas Masquerade, which was released as a home movie(VHS) in 1989. The film deals with businessmen who forced ranchowners to sell the ranches because oil had been found on the ranches. The rich and the powerfull men against the weak ranchowners is the theme of the film. Hopalong Cassidy supports the weak part of the fight against businessmen who are always wearing nice suits and are called bandits! I am surprised to see how bad the quality of the shooting was of the cowboys. None of the cowboys could find the targets at all. But for boys of the age of 10 to- it was good actions and a lot of horseriding. Hopalong was always the winner . The film is made in black and white. The film was directed by George Archainbaud. The duration of the film is 61 min.

OSLO 1956-THE SPIDER

” Edderkoppen” was a famous revue theatre in Oslo. ” The Spider ” set up a revue in year 1956. On the programme, a short, funny play called ” The School – Sketch” was to be found. ” Skolesketsjen” is the Norwegain title of the sketch. Two famous actors performed : Leif Juster and Ernst Diesen. The main content of the funny play is the new official writing of the Norwegian language. The teacher is played by Leif Juster and the pupil is played by Ernest Diesen. The year is 1956. Hopalong Cassidy is still a popular character in Norway. The naugthy pupil  tells the teacher that his friends have a nickname for the teacher. What do they call me, ask the teacher? We call you, Hopalong Cassidy was the answer. The teacher is flatted. But he asked for the reason of a such nickname? Because you look like his horse (Hopper) was the naughty answer from the pupil!

Viewing the play to-day without knowing anything about the America cowboy mentioned is not good for a correct understanding of the time and importance of Hopalong Cassidy.

 

HOPALOG CASSIDY AS AN OBJECT FOR COMMECIAL INTERESTS

The introduction of television in USA made the films popular. Both radio and television started to broadcast  the  stories of Hopalong Cassidy. Products were manufactured as Hopalon Cassidy products like childeren’s dinnerware, pillows, roller skates, soap, wristwatches, jacknives and boots.

I have listened to a christimas song  again and again without knowing that the song is an advertisment for boots of Hopalong Cassidy. Next time you hear the classic song:” It’s Beginning  to Look A Lot Christmas ” ,pay attention to a reference to to Hopalong boots as a holiday gift desired by children.

Comic  books, comic strips and novels about  Hopalong Cassidy were published too.

DVD RELEASE

Echo Bridge Home Entertainment released in 2009 the Hopalong Cassidy Ulitimate Collection’s Edition. Sixty-six films were copied to fourteen DVDs. Timeless Media Group released , Hopalong Cassidy: The Complete Television Series ,on DVD in 2011.

Few of the mentioned films have been presented on television in Norway. TV in USA made it possible to reuse the old films to a new audience, but not in Norway. But we can buy the DVDs if we want. The old hero is not gone, not fading away, but reborn due to the new technology.The moral of the films is: Fight against those who want to exploit poor people. Hopalong Cassidy’s mission is to support the weak, the wounded, and  poor people against businessmen wearing elegant suits. I think we need him even more today supporting  poor people.