The Eagle's Brood (1935) William Boyd, James Ellison, William Farnum , George 'Gabby' Hayes Movie Review

The Eagle's Brood (1935)   3/53/53/53/53/5


George 'Gabby' Hayes in The Eagle's Brood (1935)

Hoppy Helps a Bandit

Hop-a-long Cassidy (William Boyd) finds himself in an unusual circumstances having gone after notorious bandit El Toro (William Farnum) only to find himself owing the bandit for saving his life. And El Toro has the perfect way for Hoppy to pay him back as his grandson has gone in to hiding because he witnessed some outlaws murder his parents and steal some gold and he could identify the killers. So with the help of young deputy Johnny Nelson (James Ellison) and bartender Spike (George 'Gabby' Hayes) they set about finding his grandson and returning home safe whilst also bringing down the robbers at the same time.

"The Eagle's Brood" certainly has a handful of interesting elements; we have Hoppy actually helping a bandit out of honour for saving his life, we have James Ellison as a young deputy who seems to believe shouting makes you sound passionate. But the biggest thing will be the sight of Gabby Hayes with no beard and tidy hair, I will admit I did a double take and had to make sure that the actor with that familiar voice was Gabby Hayes.

But whilst "The Eagle's Brood" has some interesting elements it is a mod 30s Hopalong Cassidy movie and when it comes to the action, bad guys and drama it is all incredibly typical. As such you know along the way some thing will rile up Hoppy, he will stare down a bad guy, pretend to be something he isn't and by the time the credits role will have restored order etc etc.

What this all boils down to is that "The Eagle's Brood" is entertaining enough if you are a fan of old westerns but it is one more memorable for the clean cut look of Gabby Hayes rather than for the story.


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