 With action and suspense out of the Old West comes the most famous hero of them all, Hopalong Cassidy, starring William Boyd. The ring of the silver spurs harrows the most amazing man ever to ride the prairies of the early West, Hopalong Cassidy, the same hoppy you cheer in motion pictures, and the same California you've laughed at a million times. Raw courage and quick shooting have built a legend around this famous hero. Hopalong is a name to be feared, respected and admired, for this great cowboy rides the trails of adventure and excitement. William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy and Andy Clyde as California. Well, Hoppy, what about our story? We call this one the cold country. All the icy bitterness of the North had come looking across the Dakotas, and the town of Lode Hill was being sealed off by the worst blizzard of the winter. Even at that you felt you could find excitement if you went looking for it. Lode Hill had been a sleepy place last time I'd seen it, but that was before the gold strike. Now it had 10,000 people, quite a few saloons, and a hotel with a fancy heating stove in the lobby. This is where I'd taken a stand, within a few inches of that stove, where I could turn myself slowly, like a hen on a spit. Some weather we should have stayed in Arizona. Come on over here, California, solid comfort. You still want to see loop rangers? I want to see them. That's the reason we came north, isn't it? Then you'd better forget the solid comfort and come out into the fresh air with me. You found Luke? That's right, but he's in some kind of trouble, and he's fixing to pull out of town. In this storm, where is he? Livery's table, just down the street. He was saddling up when I left him. Come on, we'd better get over there in a hurry. Oh, boy. Oh, take it easy. You! All right, stay where you are there. Myra, you've got no idea how close you came to being... I know, but I had to see you. Joey Edmund says you're leaving and that you want to take in Nettie. That's right. Luke, don't leave. I've got to go, Myra. I've hung around too long now. But I'm grateful to you for coming here. Luke, Jane was my sister, but I know what she was like. She was that way with all of us, cruel, unfair. She's dead, Myra. I don't want to talk about it. Luke, don't go. Stay here and fight it out. I've thought it all over. Who's there? What do you expect, your lopiered lobo? California and Hoppy. Oh, it's great to see you. Ah, that goes double, but... Oh, excuse me, Myra. Myra, this is Apollon Cassidy in his pal, California. My sister-in-law, Myra McKenna. Howdy. Hello. That's a pleasure. And maybe you can tell me why Luke wants to hold up in a livery stable. The kind of weather we're having, this place doesn't fit for anything but storing ice. I'm not going to be here long. I'm heading out. Ah, that's great. All the way back in Arizona, I hear about my pal Luke striking it rich with a goldmine. So I write up here to congratulate him. And he won't even stick around for a celebration. I have to go, Hoppy. I don't have a choice. California says you're in some kind of trouble. He called it. I thought you might like to talk about it. Not much to say. My wife is dead. Happened last night, somebody shot her. Any minute, now they're going to tag me for it. But you didn't do it, Luke. Who knows that? Who'll believe it? I believe it, Luke. Me too. You can't run out on a thing like this, Luke. It's just like saying you're guilty. If I stay, I won't have to say I'm guilty. There'll be others who'll say it. Yell it, scream it. I got enemies around here. We all have enemies. And we have friends. It's a stacked deck, Hoppy. Me and Jane, we had a bad fight yesterday right in front of a lot of people. The only chance I've got is to get out of here fast. I'm just waiting for Joey Edmonds to bring the boy. Nettie, you don't mean you're going to take him with you. I'm not leaving him here. Not for people to tell him his daddy killed his mother. Oh, Luke. Luke, listen to me. You're a grown man. You can take care of yourself. You might last out on the plains in this weather, but a six-year-old boy... It's no use, Hoppy. I've made up my mind. I'm leaving here with Nettie tonight. Get that door shut! Give me time, Belu. Give me time. Sot makes a piano sound as though he played it with his feet. What do you expect out here, Grand Opera? I told you before, Drag. Don't ride me like that. Any news from the coroner's jury? Still arguing. Fools. She was murdered and he did it. When I get through with public opinion... Public opinion won't do you much good if Granger ain't here to stand trial. What do you mean? Just talk to young Shafter. Seems to have it that Granger's taking his kid and skipping town. Why didn't you tell me this before? Where is he? Shafter's stable. He's waiting there for Joey Edmunds to bring the kid to him. Well, move. Take some of the boys. Get over there. What do we do? Burn them down? You leave him alone. I'm gonna see that stiff-necked reformer go to trial. I'm gonna see him convicted for his wife's murder and I'm gonna see him hang for it. So? What do we do? Leave him alone. He just got the kid. That'll keep Granger in town. We return to Hoppillong Cassidy and the cold country. In Shafter's livery stable, Hoppy and Myra McKenna are still talking to Luke Granger, urging him to give up the idea of leaving town. Stay here, Luke. Let California and I get all your friends together. Stay in trial and come out clean. That's the only way to do it. He's so right, Luke. You have to think of Nettie as well as yourself. Think. It's all I've done is think. You ought to know I don't water run. Everything I've ever worked for is in this town. And the kid. How do you think I feel about yanking him away from everything he knows and cares for? I've been doing so much thinking I'm just about local. But where would you go? What would you... What was that? Don't try anything, any of you. Get Max and Charlie in here. Okay, Drake. Sounds as though you brought along quite a crowd. I don't need a crowd. Any sound of that kid out there? No sign yet, Drake. Kid, what's that about a kid? Take it easy, Granger. You just want your boy, that's all. Oh, no, you... I told you to take it easy, Granger. Find anything else and I'll blast your other hand. Luke, is it bad? Nothing I can't handle here. Let me wrap it up with a scarf. Who is this fellow, Luke? Drag Moorley. Works for Parkwell Luke. Drag Moorley. That's right. I'm known around here. Oh, you're known far and wide. Rapid man with a pistol. And if you're smart, you'll keep that in mind. I think there's someone coming out, Drag. Might be the kid. Good. Everything else working out just right. You're too sure of yourself, Moorley. Yeah? How'd you make that out? It's pretty dark in here. And even though you got the drop on the... You can't see everything. My, you... There he's gone. You shot it right out of his hand, coffee. Hold it, Moorley. Go for that other pistol and I'll put the next slug in your chest. You scare me to death. Just don't try anything. Was that the boy, Luke? No, it must have been someone passing by. Who are you, anyway? The name is Cassidy. Hop along, Cassidy. Cassidy, huh? That's a big name. Too bad we had a meeting here. But there'll be other days. What do you want from me now? You can leave. Just make sure you stay away. And tell Baloo that from now on we'll be ready for any move he makes. You don't think that's gonna bother Baloo, do you? You'll hear from us again. Come on, Ed. How's the hand, Luke? Oh, I've had worse. If you still feel you want to pull out, I'll go with you. You might need help with the boy. I imagine California will come, too. Well, you know I will. Maybe I've changed my mind about leaving. Maybe I figure out a stay and make a fight of it. Oh, Luke, I could cry. Gotta wipe my glasses. They're all fogged up again. Could be a lot better for the boy, Luke. All right. I'll stay. I'll go looking for Bat Kingman right now. Bat Kingman? Tell him, Marshal. I've given myself up. Well, Mr. Kingman? Never thought I'd see the dad have to shut a cell door on Luke Ranger. I'm glad he turned himself in. Makes it a lot easier for me. How about the boy? I'll take care of Neddy. He'll never hear a breath of this if I can help it. Jane was my sister, but she never brought anything but trial and tribulation to Luke. Tell me something, Marshal. Why should Bart Baloo hate Luke as much as he seems to? Baloo heads the gambling element here. Luke loved this town long before gold was ever found and he wanted it kept clean. He's been the head of a reform movement we started recently. Oh, that's it. I've been urging Luke to stay here and face it. Now I'm beginning to wonder what kind of trial he'll get. I don't know, Cassidy. I don't know. Where are you going, Hoppy? To see Bart Baloo. Might be worthwhile having a talk with him. Hello, Baloo. Well, it isn't Hop along, Cassidy. Deal his choice here, Cassidy. Not this time. Just wanted a word with you. Go ahead. I happen to be a friend of Luke Granger's. From what I hear, he's going to need all the friends he can find. I'm interested in seeing he gets a fair trial. Aren't we all? Oh, I've passed, gentlemen. I'm interested enough to make it rather personal. Yeah? Why tell me all this? I ran into a palier a while ago. Dragged morally. Oh, yeah. Shot a pistol out of his hand, didn't you? In the dark. I might have been lucky. Then why not congratulate yourself and fade out of the picture? Meaning, uh... You can't always depend on darkness when you run up against drag morally. That's probably sound advice. Sure you won't draw cards? No, I'm kind of tired. I kind of just get to the hotel and turn in. You're in luck. Storm's just about over. See you later, Baloo. It's a rough town, Cassidy. Take care of yourself. We're cold out here, uh, waiting. Let's go get some rest. Gonna be a long hike back to the hotel through the snow. Baloo was right, though. He said the storm was over. Yeah? Uh, what else did he have to say? Told me to take care of myself. Well, now weren't that nice of him. There's something funny... About what? That saloon. Yeah? Doesn't seem to be doing much business tonight. Ain't nothing funny about that, not with this kind of weather. The weather was a lot worse last night and the place was rocking. Uh, yes, that's right, but, uh... Yeah, there's a couple lanterns bobbing up and down with the feed store and three or four more moving around near the hotel. Lanterns? Oh, now I see them. And there's another bunch coming in from the other end of town. Well, the more light the better. Might stop there. California. Hey, get down. What do you think you're doing? That's saloon. No wonder it didn't have many customers. Huh? Look, more lanterns. Sure, but what? It's a mob gathering. Come on, we got a fight on our hands to save Luke Ranger from being lynched. Now returning to Hopalong, Cassidy, and his story, the cold country. The site of a lynch mob gathering on the streets of Lode Hill has sent Hopi and California speeding to the jail, where Luke Ranger awaits his trial as the killer of his wife. I wasn't gonna let you in at first, Cassidy, then I recognized your voice. You must know about that mob then. Yes, I've known about it for the last hour. All I can do is wait for him to get here. This is the time when being a peace officer grates a man's hair. I don't envy a marshal. What about deputies? I had two of them here. The other one has a broken leg. Here they come. How's Luke taking it? Oh, he's worried about his boy more than anything else. I think he's innocent, Marshal. We've got to save him. Ever seen a lynch mob in action before, Cassidy? A few times. Were they stopped? Sometimes. Well, I've never seen one stopped. This time I got the job at trial. They're gonna start batting at that door in a minute. That's right. By the time they break in here, there'll be no stopping them. Somebody's got to go out there and talk to them. It won't work, Cassidy, but now they're all out of their heads. It's a lust for killing. They're not up to the door yet. Pull it open a little. Wait a second. What for? I'm going out there. Luke Granger deserves a hearing, and I'm gonna see to it that he gets it. Well, Hoppy, no. Man, you'd be committing suicide. That's my problem. Come on, Marshal, open up. Hey, now wait a second. Pulling a gun in the law. You're going crazy, Hoppy. Luke's gonna get his chance. Take his keys, California. Open the door. Hold it, Marshal. Now the bars. But Cassidy! Save it for later, Marshal. Get the door shut. Look who's here, man. It's the Hoppillong Cassidy. What's the matter, Cassidy? Get cold feet in there. Now, if that Granger's feet are colder... What do you want to do, Cassidy? Make a speech? You seem to be doing all right, Morley. Morley always did have a gift again. All right, Cassidy. What do you want? I've been thinking that you men aren't here for any barn dance, not with Morley doing the calling. We're here to hang Luke Granger for the murder of his wife. That's right. And if any of his friends object, we'll string them up too. So you're the voice of the people, are you, Morley? Never mind that. Just get out of the way. What's your stake in this, Morley? And don't say justice. From one of Bart Beleu's men, that'll just draw a laugh. He's got you there, Morley! That's our big Cassidy with our gun in your hand. Thanks for reminding me of that, Morley. I'll put it away. I'm warning you, Cassidy. Get out of the picture before it's too late. You men, you're not all Beleu's hired hands, are you? He doesn't control that much of this town, does he? Beleu would like to see Luke Granger out of the way and you all know why. That's why Morley's here running the show. Is there one man here who actually saw Luke Granger shoot his wife? Cassidy, I'm giving you ten seconds. Ten seconds to ease out of here. You stick a rattle in and I'm throwing down on you. How about it, men? You'd hate to hang Granger and then find out later he was innocent, wouldn't you? Think you'd ever be able to get a good night's sleep? Think you'd ever be able to face his little boy? How about it? Maybe this fella's right. That's all for you, Cassidy. I'm shutting your mouth as of now. I wish you wouldn't try him, Morley. This is where your string runs. What is he doing? Beleu. Somebody, go... Beleu. He's down. That fella beat him to the drum. Sorry, Morley. This time it was your string. He's dead. Morley's dead. Yes, men, and don't you think that's enough killing? Let's wait this thing out. Let's give Luke Granger a fair trial. Well, Cassidy, you did it. I wouldn't have thought it possible. The mob's all broken up, Poppy. Most of them gone home. Luke's like Luke's gonna be safe. For a while anyway, unless Beleu starts something new. I don't think Beleu will try anything else. You have a hard time arousing another crud. Just the same. We're gonna do any lasting good for Luke. We'd better be finding out something about his wife's death. Where was she found, Marshall? Right outside their home. Know who found her? I did. You did? I'm afraid I don't know you, or do I? Well, this is Joey Edmonds, Cassidy, one of Luke Granger's best friends. Glad to make friends with you, Cassidy. Thanks, and I'm glad to meet you. Luke's wife was shot, wasn't she? That's right. Anyone find the bullet? Don't believe anyone thought to look. I guess that's the way of it. Mind if I take a look, Marshall? You could make it legal by deputizing me. You practically deputized yourself, didn't you, Hoppy? All you need to make it complete is the badge. Talk about being cold. How long are we gonna stay here, Hoppy? All night? Move that lantern over this way a little. Must be two o'clock in the morning, and here we are out in the snow looking for spent bullets. Just one bullet, California. A little more with the lantern. I ain't never been so cold in all my life. And you and your hands and knees in the snow, Hoppy, you're gonna catch your death. A little more. I got it up against the porch right now. Look, stuck in the post. That is a bullet, certainly is. Let me get it with this knife. There. Well, I'll be turned, but now you've got it. What are you gonna do with it? Take another look at it. It's a 38. Right. Now, how many fellas you know carry 38s? Not very many, maybe two or three. Which should narrow down our problem some. Come on, California, let's head for the hotel and some sleep. Morning, Miss McKenna. Morning, Mr. Cassidy. Nice having all the snow shoveled off the walks, isn't it? Yes. Here, let me help you with a few of those bundles. Thank you. Just a few things from the store. Wait, you don't have to take all of them? I kind of wanted to talk to you about Luke and some of Luke's friends. Well, you just come on inside. Here we are. You can set that bag of feed right here on the porch, if you will. I'll take it around back later. I'll carry it around for you right now. I'll sure be obliged. I'll go on through the house. I'll see you later, then. Miss McKenna. I'm all right. You sure? What happened? He stepped out of the parlor right after I closed the door, shooting the place to pieces. Who? Where? He's gone now. He went through that window at the end of the hall. Luke. It was Luke. There's the empty cell. Some of that mob must have worked on the window bars last evening while we were busy out front. Luke just kept quiet about it, then pushed his way out during the night. It just doesn't make sense. Why would he have given himself up in the first place? Don't look to me for the answer. Poor Luke must have gone plumb loco. You'd be the same way, Joey Edmonds, if you'd been through what he has. He must have come to the house because he wanted little Neddy. When he couldn't find him, he... Well, I can't blame him, that's all. Where was the boy? I was out to the store. I'd left him with Sarah Claiborne up the hill. Looks like Joey's right. Luke's gone loco. We got him cornered, Matt. Luke Granger. Where? Loft over Van Nair's forge. He's gonna make a fight of it. He's crazy mad. Says we'll never take him alive. At times like these, I'd rather be punching cows again. Marshall, do me a favor. Hold off on Luke for a while. You mean talk to him? Think that'll do any good? Don't talk to him. Just don't do anything. It's just a hunch, but I've got something I'd like to work on. It'll only take a little while, and it might save Luke Granger's life. What are you doing? Well, I guess I've been doing a little breaking and entering, Miss McKenna. Had no idea you were at home. No. You thought I was with everyone else, didn't you? You thought, ah! That gun! Just found it in your dresser here. A .38 with three bullets fired. And it was a .38 that killed your sister. Are you sure of yourself, Miss McKenna? You shouldn't have kept it around. You're insane. Why would I want to kill my sister? Partly because you hated her, but mostly because you wanted to get control of young Nettie. But Luke out of the way, that would have meant controlling the mine and the money. Drop that gun, Cassidy. So you're in on a two, Marshall. Makes quite a picture. Goed Luke in to break and jail, make people think he's gone loco, then shoot him down like a mad dog. Don't move. This is a .45 I've got on. You're not a .38. Which means I'll have to use Miss McKenna's a shield. Can't shoot now, can you, Marshall? No, but I can beat the life out of you. I'm losing all that killing. Grab my gun. Get the .38. Ah, sorry, Marshall. I just can't break. That's all, Miss McKenna. Let go of me. Sorry, the Marshall's all through, and so are you. To hop along Cassidy and the cold country. How do you feel, Luke? Not good. Gonna take me a long time before I feel good again. Maybe you ought to bring young Ned in and ride the Santa Fe with California and me. Might help you forget. I thought I had friends in this town. Thought I had friends. You do have friends, Luke. Plenty of them. With just a few bad ones for after you and moving too fast for other people to keep up with them. Maybe you're right, Happy. You always good taught me into seeing things your way. But it's a darn good thing you came here to pay me a visit. A darn good thing. Ah, either way, Happy, how would you ever get around to figuring that woman was behind all this? I know there was that bullet, but that wouldn't point to no female. I figured it was Miss McKenna because she tried to get away with a lie. Lie? Yeah. When she tried to make out that Luke had gone berserk, she said she saw him climbing out the window of her house. She claimed she closed the front door, and then he stepped into the hall shooting up the place. Don't see how that makes her out to a liar. You weren't in the house, was you? I didn't have to be in the house. She just couldn't have recognized Luke under those conditions, that's all. Can't prove it by me. She couldn't have seen him because she wears spectacles. She'd been outdoors where it was cold, and she stepped into a warm house. From the second she closed that door, she couldn't have recognized an elephant in that hall. And those specks of hers were still fogged up as she stood there telling me about it. We'll see you with us, won't you?