In case you don't know, the Argentine Pampas is a famous region for grazing livestock and growing crops. However, in this film, the scenic region near Lone Pine, CA, serves as a stand in for the real thing........ The Bar 20 sells some prime cattle to Argentine Jose Valdez, for breeding. Hoppy finds reason to return with Jose to his estancia in the Pampas. Lucky(Russel Hayden) accompanies Hoppy. There, Hoppy becomes more suspicious of Jose's brother in law: Merritt, who didn't act friendly at the Bar 20, suggesting to Jose to look at other herds..........Hoppy learns of the mysterious deaths of Jose's son and 2 daughters, one of whom was married to Merritt. Jose shows Hoppy his son's gun, said to have killed him. He also shows Hoppy the slug extracted from the body. Hoppy exclaims that the 44-40 slug is too large to have been shot from that pistol! .........Eventually, it dawns to Hoppy that all the victims were potential heirs to the estancia., ahead of Merritt. That left only Jose himself and his young grandson: Ernesto, ahead of Merritt in the line of inheritance. Thus, Hoppy was keen on substantiating his hunch that Merritt was behind these deaths, before the last 2 fell as victims. ........Merritt has a number of accomplices, the most important being Slim Schultz: his hatchet man. Merritt always arranged to be far away when these deaths occurred, thus eliminating him personally as a suspect. It was clear that Slim was an American, not a Mexican. Hoppy found a poster offering a reward for Slim's capture, he charged with murder..........Merritt currently has a girlfriend in the sexy café entertainer Chiquita(Steffi Duna, born a Hungarian but looking ethnic). She has hopes of marrying Merritt and eventually becoming the mistress of Jose's estancia. She will often figure in the subsequent proceedings, either on Merritt's or Hoppy's side. ........An amusing incident happens when Merritt tells Chiquita to try to find out what Hoppy knows about his plans, which he may have overheard. She rides her horse, until she sees Hoppy in the distance. Then, she feigns her horse suddenly becoming a runaway, which draws Hoppy. He rescues her, but she then fakes a faint. Hoppy carries her to an irrigation ditch, where he suddenly drops her, indicating he knew she was faking. In thrashing around, Chiquita accidentally trips Hoppy, and he ends up taking a bath too. After Hoppy leaves, Lucky shows up and helps Chiquita out of her predicament. She offers to show her dancing at the café, and he accepts. We see her dancing, then one of Merrill's men tries to make a scene. After Hoppy arrives, more hostility. Hoppy starts off a fisticuff, which accelerates after most of the lights are knocked out. Jose's live in, humorous Fernando, joined in on Hoppy's side, which prevails... .......Later, Chiquita approaches Hoppy, and tries to flirt with him. But, instead, he declares that Merritt has no intention of marrying her. Later, she tells Lucky that Hoppy won't respond to her overtures because she is a mere café girl. Lucky tells her to look around for a Colt 44(Would she recognize such?). When she meets Merritt, he tells her to send a note to Hoppy to meet in a place out of town, and she will tell him about a Colt 44 gun. Hoppy falls for it, but is suspicious. Thus, hides in the nearby weeds, until Merritt, Slim and Curly show up. Hoppy hears them talking, then sticks them up. But, soon, Chiquita arrives, and sticks Hoppy up. Then a curious sequence occurs. Merritt tells Chiquita to drop her gun. Sensing that this may usher in a change of loyalty for Chiquita, Hoppy tells his take on Merritt's plans. She stops to think, then gallops off toward the hacienda, with Merritt et al. chasing her. While the others are distracted, Hoppy socks Merrill's bunch and disappears into the grass, finding his horse, and gallops off to tell the gauchos to ride with him.(So, why didn't Merrill have Hoppy killed during the brief time after Chiquita had stuck up Hoppy? Also, why did Chiquita change her mind about Hoppy after he told Merrill's plan? Surely, Merrill must have told her his plans at some point.) After, Chiquita arrives at the hacienda, Jose and Ernesto are put in a wagon, along with Chiquita and Lucky, with Fernando driving. They drive off, not long before Merritt's bunch arrive and follow them. Then , Hoppy's bunch soon arrive, and are directed to follow Merrill's bunch. I will stop my summery here, except to say that Merrill dies from a distinctive gaucho weapon(I won't say what).
Review of Law of the Pampas
