They were the heroes of my childhood: The "B" western stars like Bill Boyd, John Wayne, Gene Autry, Tim Holt, Johnny Mack Brown, Wild Bill Elliott, Charles Starrett and Roy Rogers. They're all represented by some of their most interesting movies in this book.

I was lucky. There were two cinemas in my neighborhood, and one of them usually presented a "B" western (along with three serials and two cartoons) as a Saturday matinee attraction. I loved William Boyd best, so here I present a selection of his most exciting films covered in detail, plus a complete index to all 66 movies in the series that ran from 1935 through 1948.

What are the best Hoppy films? Well, I'd nominate "North of the Rio Grande" as my number one choice, followed by "Stagecoach War", "Hidden Gold", "Partners of the Plains", "Santa Fe Marshal" and "Texas Trail". They're all detailed in this book, along with quite a few others.

Adding to the luster from the "B" corral in this book are many "A" features including the best of the best: "Winchester '73", "My Darling Clementine", "When the Daltons Rode" and "How the West Was Won".