There were two William Boyds acting in Hollywood during the silent era. The first was a young man from Tulsa, Oklahoma who would enjoy star billing and roles with some of the best directors and actors of the silent era. The second, known as William “Stage” Boyd was a stage actor who had a minor career and was absent from the screen for most of the 1920’s.
William Boyd arrived in Hollywood from Tulsa in 1919. He began work as an extra at Paramount and slowly made his way into larger roles. Watch for him in the background of Don’t Change Your Wife (1920) (look for the young naval officer in the crowd of men admiring Gloria Swanson's new bathing suit about halfway into the film) and in a slightly larger part as an affronted dinner guest in The Affairs of Anatol (1921), both directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
Tall and blue-eyed with prematurely gray hair that photographed blond, Boyd had the good looks and easy-going charm that silent movie audiences loved. DeMille took notice of him and gave him his first large part: the second male lead in The Road to Yesterday (1925). The following year, Boyd was the star of DeMille’s Russian Revolution epic The Volga Boatman. It was an enormous success and Boyd’s status as a star was assured.
Boyd continued to work for Paramount through the silent era. He specialized in comedies and adventure films including Eve’s Leaves, The Yankee Clipper,Two Arabian Knights, and Dress Parade. In 1929, he was loaned to D.W. Griffith for the part-talkie Lady of the Pavements.
Boyd with Elinor Fair in The Volga Boatman, his breakout role.
Sound movies were not an obstacle to Boyd’s career. While his early sound roles were somewhat hampered by a combination poor sound equipment, nervousness and the last traces of a Southern accent, he quickly adapted. All-American boys and brisk adventures were just as popular in sound films as they were in silents and Boyd was offered a generous contract with RKO. Then everything fell apart.
The second William Boyd had returned to motion pictures. He added the moniker “Stage” to avoid confusion and emphasize his theatrical experience. In 1931, he was involved in an alcohol-fueled scandal that landed him in the newspapers complete with pictures.
There was a problem: the newspaper used pictures of the wrong William Boyd. By the time the mistake was discovered, the damage had already been done. Invoking a morals clause, RKO cancelled Boyd’s contract and for the next few years he was trapped in poverty row productions.
Boyd and Leatrice Joy banter in the delightful Eve's Leaves
In 1935, producer Harry Sherman was looking to cast a lead for a planned series of westerns to be distributed by Paramount. Boyd was initially offered a supporting role but he decided that he wanted to be the lead: Hopalong Cassidy.
Sixty-six feature films and numerous television appearances later, Boyd’s Hoppy had become a cultural phenomenon. A combination of savvy business decisions and the growing power of television created a mania for all things Hoppy. Boyd retired from motion pictures in 1954 but continued to make personal appearances. He died in 1972.
Commentary
Unfortunately for movie fans William Boyds are still confused to this day. Numerous film sites and reference works mix up their filmographies. On screen, though, there is no comparison. Like George O’Brien and Billy Haines, Boyd had a casual, breezy manner on the screen that made his characters endearing.
Boyd with Mary Astor in Two Arabian Knights
He needed it, too. While being a DeMille leading man was prestigious, the fact remained that DeMille films were often ridiculously plotted. In Boyd’s first major role in The Road to Yesterday, he plays an English cavalier reincarnated as a two-fisted American minister who falls in love with a flapper. Boyd not only keeps his dignity in a pretty silly role, he also steals the show from leading man Joseph Schildkraut.
The Volga Boatman is an odd film, especially to modern viewers. Lots of DeMille histrionics combined with a simple-minded view of the complexities of the Russian Revolution. Boyd is the titular character, a serf and communist who falls in love with an aristocrat. The film is marred by flat attempts at humor and a flabby scenario. Boyd, though, is first-rate and the romance (both on and off-screen) with Elinor Fair has palpable chemistry.
Boyd’s best silent roles were in comedies and action movies. He is the bewildered object of Leatrice Joy’s affection in Eve’s Leaves, a daring ship’s captain in The Yankee Clipper, and an adventurous doughboy in the buddy adventure-comedy Two Arabian Knights. While not illustrious dramas, his movies are fun, fast-paced and upbeat. Hoppy is what Boyd is best known for, his silent work is also worth a look.