My review title quotation related to an incident near the end of the film. Windy(George Hayes), who was the surprise engineer of a locomotive, jumped off onto the embankment just after Hoppy had switched the path of the locomotive onto a siding of unknown destination. Strangely, it soon led to a dead end, just before the locomotive went over a cliff!?, presumably which Windy didn't know about. At first, Hoppy and Lucky assumed Windy died in the crash. But, then he spoke up from down the embankment. He had landed in the middle of a patch of prickly pear cactus, spread-eagled. He wanted them to help him out. It was also assumed that the other person on the train : the criminal Lone Wolf had died in this crash. But, they apparently failed to make sure that he didn't also jump from the train in time. It was important to be sure he was dead, also being the head of the local bank and general store. Incidentally, it's quite amazing that the locomotive got that far and fast with nobody tending the fire box!? It's also quite amazing that 2 sets of riders: one following the other, and both trying to catch the train, both got way ahead of the train, when they started after it! Their horses must have been exhausted! .......... Prior to this incident, Windy got an impromptu job as the piano man in Ace Crowder's saloon.(He seemed to have many talents). One Bull O'Hara(Walter Long) demanded that he play some Irish tunes, and Crowder backed up this demand. First, he played "The Wearing of the Green", later "When Irish Eyes are Smiling". The saloon girl Annie(Bernadine Hayes) sang both, sometimes with the patrons joining in. She struck up a flirtation with Hoppy. In the midst of this, Hoppy shot a bottle out of Windy's hand, presumably to show what a good shot he was, but mighty dangerous.........Ace Crowder, owner of the saloon, is the leader of an outlaw gang(a very common occurrence in these serial westerns), although this doesn't seem to be common knowledge. He works in conjunction with the Lone Wolf. In the Wolf's legitimate roles, he is known as Henry Stoneham, and appears to be a cultured, square dealing man, making him seem an unlikely candidate for being the Lone Wolf.........Hoppy arrives in town at the request of Lucky, who witnessed the shooting death of Hoppy's brother : Buddy. He definitely saw that the culprit was the deputy sheriff Jim Plunkett, acting on orders from the Lone Wolf, who had previously winged Buddy. But, Stoneham(The Lone Wolf), who was presiding at the trial, ruled that the evidence was insufficient to convict Plunkett. Thus, Lucky called for Hoppy, who was elsewhere. Hoppy wanted to give the impression that he was a man to be reckoned with. Thus, he arrived with the name Wild Bill Dynamite Magroo. Plunkett was instructed to gun down Magroo. But, they met briefly at Buddy's house. Each fired, and it was Magroo's shot that hit it's target. Stoneham called in Magroo to discuss things, including his rumored heist of much gold from a train the night before. That was true, although he planned to return the gold to the railroad. Hoppy noticed that Stoneham had an unusual ring on his finger that he had seen when stuck up by the Lone Wolf(a disguised Stoneham), thus confirming his suspicion that Stoneham was the Lone Eagle. He lunged at the Wolf, but an unseen man at the door winged Hoppy, giving the Wolf the chance to stick Hoppy up, and tie him to a chair. The Wolf finds out that Magroo is actually Hoppy. Not clear why he didn't shoot Hoppy there, instead of leaving him there after he cleaned out the safe that contained both his money and Crowder's money. He made Windy agree to take over the locomotive outside so that the 2 would be the only people on the train. The Wolf kept his gun pointed at Windy continuously. Apparently, the Wolf's goal was to get across the state line with his money. Soon, Crowder discovered what The Wolf was up to, and called his gang together to give chase. Then, Lucky arrived with a posse, looking for Hoppy. Anne didn't know where Hoppy was then, and told him to chase Crowder's gang. A little later she discovered Hoppy, who was getting out of his ropes, and told him what was going on. Hoppy hightailed it after Lucky's group, catching up, then leading the posse to attack Crowder's gang, capturing them. Meanwhile, the winged Lucky fell off his horse near the track switch, then got his foot stuck between converging tracks, so why Hoppy send the locomotive on the siding. I've already related the rest of the story.......Annie was sorry to see Hoppy depart, with his 2 friends. For once it wasn't Lucky who got attached to the leading lady.....See it at YouTube
2 out of 3 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink