Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

CAST (in United Artists Press Sheet order): William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy), Andy Clyde (California Carlson), Jimmy Rogers (himself), Herbert Rawlinson (Buck Peters), Ellen Hall (Julie Peters), Ethel Wales (Abbey), Douglass Dumbrille (Keefer), Francis McDonald (Fenwick), John Whitney (Jordan), Hal Taliaferro (Taggart), Henry Wills (Slade), Charles Morton (Big Joe), Frances Morris (Mrs Williams), Jack Rockwell (sheriff), Bob Burns (justice). UNLISTED PLAYERS: Hank Worden, Pierce Lyden (lumberjacks), Earle Hodgins (parson), Bill Nestell (tough guy), and "Topper".Director: LESLEY SELANDER. Screenplay: Norman Houston, Barry Shipton. Based on characters created by Clarence E. Mulford. Photography: Russell Harlan. Supervising film editor: Carroll Lewis. Film editor: Fred W. Berger. Music director: Irvin Talbot. Songs by Forrest Johnson and Ozzie Waters. Art director: Ralph Berger. Set decorator: Emile Kuri. Sound recording: Jack Noyes, William H. Lynch. Associate producer: Lewis J. Rachmil. Producer: Harry Sherman. A Harry A. Sherman Production. Copyright 24 March 1944 by United Artists Productions, Inc. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 28 April 1944. Australian release: Not recorded. 5,811 feet. 64 minutes.SYNOPSIS (from UA's press sheet): "Hoppy makes a gallant effort to help Julie, daughter of his boss, the owner of the famous Bar-20 Ranch, who has eloped against her father's wishes. He is too late to stop the wedding, and arrives just in time to see Julie's husband murdered… Julie is stubborn and refuses Hoppy's aid… But Hoppy steadfastly sticks around."NOTES: Number 53 (according to Harry Sherman) of the 66-picture Hopalong Cassidy series.Supposedly, the movie debut of Ellen Hall. Actually she appeared in six films previous to this. Her real debut was in "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930). Or maybe that was a different Ellen Hall?COMMENT: According to UA publicity, Hopalong Cassidy is a "popular amateur sleuth". That's certainly news to me. I always thought he was a real cowboy knight who rode to the rescue of fair damsels (in this case, Ellen Hall). Still, whatever Hoppy may be, "Lumberjack" rates as a passable enough entry in the series, featuring striking cinematography in the High Sierras by ace cameraman Russell Harlan. Unfortunately, a reasonably suspenseful screenplay and competent acting are undermined by laboriously unfunny, time-wasting comic relief. One guess as to who figures as the chief culprit in this department. You guessed right: Mr. Clyde!

Lumberjack starts with the killing of a newlywed husband on his wedding day minutes after exchanging vows with Ellen Hall who is niece of Buck Peters played by Herbert Rawlinson foreman of the Bar 20 ranch. And Rawlinson saw the one of the killers. Hopalong Cassidy gave chase and got the other one.The bad guys who are Douglass Dumbrille, Hal Taliaferro, and Francis McDonald are a real trio of bottom feeders who had hoped to acquire this land at public auction. The fact that Hall is now the heir spoils their plans. The other thing was doing their evil deed to someone acquainted with Hopalong Cassidy. That brings Bill Boyd and sidekicks in to straighten the situation which they inevitably do.The land Hall has is rich in timber and that's why these guys want it so bad. Hoppy becomes her logging foreman in order to save the day.Andy Clyde as California Carlson get a little romance himself in this film with Ethel Wales who is Rawlinson's sister and Hall's aunt. A lot of the situations here are pretty funny, especially when parson Earl Hodgins almost marries the two.Lots of good action in Lumberjack in an unusual setting for a western.

Although Hoppy wears a plaid shirt & a white hat (usually a sign of a lesser Hoppy movie, as opposed to his wearing an all black outfit), there's quite a bit to like in this film. It's filmed in the "High Sierras" per the credits, & redwood trees are seen (does anyone out there know if redwoods are indeed found in the High Sierras?). There are lots of good fight scenes with Hoppy & California as participants. Maybe the best part of the film is that Jimmy Rogers (my least favorite of Hoppy's young sidekicks) is sent on a mission to get Buck Peters, & thankfully is absent for 10+ minutes of film! Unusual for a Hopalong Cassidy movie, California is actually very helpful in three situations. William Boyd (apparently without stunt double) is active in fights, running, riding hard, & climbing down a fifty foot log wall (this with cuts, of course). The ending matches a standard serial thriller for excitement & lack of realism! Despite all these interesting aspects, the film falls short of a real good western, & lacks the good humor that Hoppy films were known for. I rate it 6/10.

This is one of the better Hopalong Cassidy movies. The plot, concerning the usual unscrupulous varmints, is served well by the lumber industry setting. Not your usual plot for a B-movie Western. Also contains better-than-average dialogue for the genre, plus the usual action scenes.