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Hop-Along Cassidy

1935 film by Howard Bretherton

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 20, 2026
Entity authorityQ280997
Source-derived summary

Hop-Along Cassidy (reissued as Hopalong Cassidy Enters) is a 1935 American Western film that features the character Hop-Along Cassidy created by writer Clarence E. Mulford. This is the first of 66 Hopalong Cassidy films produced between 1935 and 1948 and all starring William Boyd in the title role. William Boyd was originally offered the role of Buck Peters, the ranch foreman, but he decided to take the role of Hop-Along instead.

Plot

A ranch foreman tries to start a range war by playing two cattlemen against each other whilst helping a gang rustle their cattle. Each of the cattlemen blames the other for stealing their cattle. Hop-Along Cassidy, played by William Boyd, having been shot in an earlier gunfight, (which results in his trademark hop), uses an altered cowhide brand to discover the real rustlers. The cattlemen join forces with Hop-Along to bring the rustlers to justice.

Cast

William Boyd - Bill "Hop-Along" Cassidy

James Ellison - Johnny Nelson

Paula Stone - Mary Meeker

George Hayes - Uncle Ben

Kenneth Thomson - "Pecos" Jack Anthony

Frank McGlynn Jr.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Hop-Along Cassidy” as 1935 film by Howard Bretherton. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Hop-Along, Cassidy and film.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1935, 1948—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1935-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Hop-Along, Cassidy and film providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Hop-Along Cassidy”, the useful work is to connect “1935 film by Howard Bretherton” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q280997. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1935 and 1948.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Hop-Along Cassidy”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Hop-Along Cassidy primary sources, Hop-Along Cassidy archive and Hop-Along research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hop-Along Cassidy”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Hop-Along Cassidy” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.