Hoppy, Lucky and California arrive at the the Last Chance Inn for Lucky's wedding only to find that his finance Mary's Uncle, a local mine owner, has disappeared from his room at the Hotel. As Hoppy's suspicions arise he sets out to her uncle's mine only to find him dead. Hoppy soon becomes involved in a series of unexplained disappearances and murders.
This is another movie where Hoppy forsakes the iconic black clad gunfighter outfit and sports his gentleman's western suit attire, which usually means a lot more talking and a lot less action. That's the case here. Dead Men Don't Dream plays out more like a western styled spooky house murder mystery which was a popular theme at the time. It really bears little resemblance in style and content to the earlier Harry Sherman produced Hoppy's. This is a shame because none of the other B-western cowboys of the day had quite as much of a no nonsense, hard edge to them as Boyd did in his earlier films. Here Hoppy is scripted more like an Agatha Christie inspired detective.
Dead Men Don't Dream is one of the last dozen Hoppy movies produced by Boyd himself. The Boyd produced post WWII Hoppy's are an unusual bunch and have a budget meter is running feel to them. Some of it could have been attributed increasing production costs but some could be attributed to Boyd himself. It seemed like Boyd was always searching for a less expensive type movie to make and apparently found it in this script. If your looking for a classic Hopalong Cassidy movie this one isn't it. If you enjoy the idea of the cowboy murder mystery angle it's done better in Gene Autry's Rim of the Canyon.
All in all a pretty Lukewarm Hoppy flick.