Hoppy and his pal Lucky head to South America to look after a herd of cattle sold by Cassidy's boss to an Argentine rancher. Villain Ralph Merritt wants to get his mitts on that cattle, and he's not above hiring the scum of the earth to do his bidding. Fortunately, Hoppy, Lucky and their new Latin American buddy Don Fernando make short work of the bad guys in an outsized barroom brawl.
Long Summary:
Señor José Valdez, a wealthy Argentinian cattle rancher, comes to the Bar 20 ranch to buy a herd of prize cattle. At the ranch, Valdez meets Hopalong Cassidy and tells him about a series of tragic accidents that have befallen the Valdez family, resulting in the death of Don José's son and daughter. When Valdez's moody son-in-law, Ralph Merritt, opposes the purchase of the Bar 20 cattle, Hoppy becomes suspicious and agrees to accompany the herd to Argentina and learns that Don José's son died not by his own hand but was shot by a colt 44 Both deaths happened in Merritt's absence. When Hoppy sees Merritt embracing the dance hall girl Chiquita and overhears him plotting with the killer Slim, he links Merritt to the deaths. Merritt, realizing that Hoppy is a danger, he plans to kill the cowboy and then raid the Valdez ranch to eliminate the old man and Ernesto, thus making himself the sole heir to the Valdez empire. Merritt's plans go awry, however, when Hoppy gets the drop on him and Chiquita discovers that he has been duplicitous in his promise of marriage. As Chiquita rides to the ranch to warn Lucky and Don José of the raid, Hoppy rounds up the loyal gauchos and organizes them into a posse to defend the ranch...
1939 American Western film directed by Nate Watt and written by Harrison Jacobs. The film stars William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Sidney Toler, Steffi Duna, Sidney Blackmer, Pedro de Cordoba and William Duncan. The film was released on November 3, 1939, by Paramount Pictures. Hungarian-born Steffi Duna plays a convincing Argentine senorita and Sidney Toler plays a comic character. Contrary to previously published reports, David Niven does not appear in Law of the Pampas, unbilled or otherwise.
