Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

From my favorite movies..

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

In Old Arizona, produced and directed in 1928, was the first talkie Western. As the media was new, the film sounds a bit creaky. But there is no need to delve into the various indoor or outdoor sounds, like the frying of ham and eggs or the gramophone music or the mooing of cows or the funny jackass braying scene. One does notice – again because of the new media – overacting. Such exaggeration was generally needed – or was thought to be needed – in silent films to convey to the audience what the actor felt or thought. Directors even demanded it. So we should not be too harsh on the brave filmmakers that made the significant movie transition to talkies in the late 1920s.The title of the movie is rather curious as the events occur only 30 years before it was made. There are references to the upcoming Spanish-American War (1898) and, early in the film, several soldiers sing, "Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)," a song popular in the 1890s. The US frontier officially ended in 1890, so one would think that the movie events in Arizona would have transpired decades earlier. But an 1898 Western is fine enough, as some areas were still wild. There is more talk than the action associated with Westerns, with the story really focusing on three people. But the finale is certainly unexpected unless one read the 1907 short story by O. Henry; that author's stories were known for their surprise endings.Warner Baxter as the Cisco Kid won the Academy Award for Best Actor. But note that his role is not the "Robin Hood of the Old West" (Duncan Renaldo) of the 1950s TV series. Unlike Renaldo, the Kid here is harsh and unforgiving, although he is charming and is not a heartless murderer. He is somewhat the gentleman robber: when he holds up a stagecoach, he refuses to takes money from the passengers. Dorothy Burgess as the dithering and provocative Tonia Maria plays an alluring love interest for any man. Edmund Lowe, who looks like and has the mannerisms of an Irish Sergeant (Mickey Dunn), is supposed to have a New York accent ("Who is that goil?"). Then there are the typical stereotypes that lingered in Hollywood films for many decades (and still do). The Italian barber (Henry Armetta) is exuberant and a bit of a buffoon. The barber likes his women just plain "a-fat," not pleasingly plump.Despite the film's showing its old age with its creakiness and slow pace for a Western, it is still historically important. So it is recommended for film and history buffs, and for the curious.

In Old Arizona (1928) ** 1/2 (out of 4) A rather landmark film was the first all sound Western and it was also the first film to do sound outdoors. Another thing worth noting is that actor Warner Baxter would pick up the Best Actor Oscar for his performance as The Cisco Kid. Thirdly, director Raoul Walsh was originally set to star and direct but his automobile wreck, which cost him his eye, forced him to leave production for several months. As for the film itself, The Cisco Kid (Baxter) is romancing his lovely lady (Dorothy Burgess) while a government man (Edmund Lowe) is out tracking him down. Soon a love triangle forms and one person will have to go. Several review I read had me somewhat nervous about this film but it turned out to be a lot better than I expected. There are many problems and, like with many early sound pictures, the filmmakers spend more time showing everyone talking that they forget to do much else. The entire film is pretty much all talk with very few action scenes. This gets a little tiresome after a while but the ending is certain effective but of course I won't spoil it for you. The early sound techniques are also quite weak as is the cinematography, which seems more like something you'd see in 1900 rather than 1928 but then again they were shooting outdoors with sound for the first time so the camera didn't move much. What really works are the performances by Baxter and Lowe. Baxter of course won an Oscar but this isn't anywhere near his greatest role or performance but he's quite fun. I viewed this film via TCM during their Mexican Heritage month where they had a guest speaker talking about a good point, which is that future Mexican roles, in regards to their speech, all borrowed from this film, which pretty much started the stereotype. I was also impressed with Lowe who was quite charming. In the end this is a historically important film that all film buffs should at least check out once but repeat viewings would be pushing it.

IN OLD ARIZONA (Fox, 1928/29), directed by Irving Cummings and Raoul Walsh, marks the new beginning in motion picture history as the first all-talking western and the first with sound to be use actual location scenes to take advantage of the great outdoors rather than using indoor shots with rear projection passing for exteriors. With silent films still essential at the time of its release (January 1929), novelties such as this hearing actors speaking their lines rather than reading what they're saying through the use of inter-titles would soon put the silent films out to pasture. While not the first motion picture about the Cisco Kid, this was the start of a long series of westerns featuring the bandito as originated in O. Henry's short story, "The Caballero's Way," from which this movie was based. Anyone familiar with the 1950s TV series, "The Cisco Kid" starring Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo, and expecting IN OLD ARIZONA to have Cisco and his sidekick Pancho saving the day, would be disappointed mainly because this Cisco Kid is more true to O'Henry's creation than the future films and television incarnations. The Cisco Kid is a bandit who works very much alone, being one step ahead of anyone out to claim their reward on his capture, dead or alive. "Oh Cisco! No Pancho!" The story gets underway with passengers boarding the Gila Tombstone Stagecoach bound for its destination. This scene is followed by the introduction of the Cisco Kid (Warner Baxter) taking the wanted poster sign from a tree bearing his name with a $5,000 price on his head. After holding up the stagecoach, he goes on his way. Sergeant Mickey Dunn (Edmund Lowe) is assigned by his Commandant (Roy Stewart) to capture this bandit. During his mission, Mickey finds time flirting with various tough bar women, namely Tonia (Dorothy Burgess), who's not only Cisco's girl but girlfriend to every cowboy in town. Wanting to collect the reward on Cisco's capture, Tonia sets a trap on him, but Cisco has other plans for her once he discovers her true "loyalty" towards him.IN OLD ARIZONA looks like a western, plays like a western, in fact, is a western, but doesn't have the pace more commonly found in westerns of subsequent eras. Being a primitive talkie, that's to be expected. The only musical backdrop presented is during opening credits and exit music, each to the fine and beautiful theme song, "My Tonia." Aside from the Cisco Kid serenading to Tonia, there are others singing to the tune to "Bicycle Built for Two," while Edmund Lowe's vocalizes "The Bowery" For this first western with sound, the audio use of church bells, the mooing of cows, the hoofs of running horses and gunshots appear to be more essential and beneficial than the action itself, which may be the reason why IN OLD ARIZONA is hardly revived, regardless of its then popularity and Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. It's only known commercial television presentation was on a Hartford, Connecticut station, WFSB, Channel 3, in 1974.As much as the Cisco Kid could have been enacted by natural born Hispanic actors as Antonio Moreno or Gilbert Roland (who later enacted the role in the 1940s), for example, the part went to Warner Baxter (his talking film debut), who won an best actor Academy Award for it. Baxter's accent and Mexican attire are believable, character acceptable, for that his achievement in a role not true to his background shows more effort than having an natural-born Mexican playing a Mexican. Whenever Baxter's Cisco is off screen for long intervals, and Mickey Dunn's involvement with saloon girls (one claiming "all men are bums"), taking too much screen time, the pace slows down considerably. Although Lowe's character weakens the film somewhat, especially with his portrayal being more to the liking of Sergeant Quirt, the role he originated so well in WHAT PRICE GLORY? (Fox, 1926), yet without Victor McLaglen as his counterpart, it misses something. Lowe does have a scene worth nothing, however, set in the barber shop where he is playing dice and conversing with barber Guiseppi (Henry Armetta) about wanting to meet up with the Cisco Kid, unaware that Cisco is sitting close by in the barber's chair with his face covered with a towel. Dunn and Cisco become acquainted before going on their separate ways. When Dunn discovers he shook hands with the man he's out to arrest, the noise made by a donkey is sounded behind him, making him feel like a "jack ass." Dorothy Burgess (in movie debut), is fine as Tonia, whose performance makes one wonder how WHAT PRICE GLORY heroine Dolores Del Rio might have succeeded as the Mexican saloon girl if given to her, and a chance to be reunited with Edmund Lowe on screen again? Soledad Jimenez and J. Farrell MacDonald appear unbilled in smaller roles. Baxter reprized his role in THE CISCO KID (Fox, 1931) and again in THE RETURN OF THE CISCO KID (20th-Fox, 1939), which started the cycle of "Cisco Kid" program westerns with Cesar Romero taking over the role afterword's. After the series expired by 1942, the Cisco Kid was resurrected again in a whole new series for Monogram (1945-1948) and United Artists (1949-50) featuring Gilbert Roland and later Duncan Renaldo, who carried on his Cisco portrayal to television.Having been fortunate to acquire a 2005 DVD copy of IN OLD ARIZONA is assuring to know that this western antique is readily available for film and western enthusiasts to view and study the movie that helped advance the career of Warner Baxter in an unlikely role as The Cisco Kid. (***)

"In Old Arizona" was made in 1928 at a time when sound was still a novelty in films. As such you can see in this film sequences that purely demonstrate sound but add nothing to the story. For example, in the opening scene after the stagecoach leaves, the camera moves to a mariachi band that appears out of nowhere to play a song, and later a scene begins with a quartet warbling a little ditty before moving over to the principle characters.The story centers on the Cisco Kid (Warner Baxter) who is a likable rogue who robs stagecoaches (but not the passengers) and has a price on his head of $5,000. It seems that everyone knows the kid on sight except the town barber. His girlfriend Tonia Maria (Dorothy Burgess) is an obvious pre-production code prostitute, who "entertains" him when he is not robbing stagecoaches.The army is asked to do something about all of the robberies. They send Sgt. Mickey Dunn (Edmund Lowe) to investigate. Along the way he meets Tonia Maria who seduces him (off screen of course) and the two plot to capture the Kid and claim the reward. Naturally the Kid uncovers the plot and prepares a surprise for the sergeant and his unfaithful girlfriend.This film is rather dated when watched today. It is over talkative and has just awful acting in many of the supporting roles, particularly the actor who plays the stagecoach driver. But you have to remember that this was the first year of sound movies. Director Raoul Walsh used outdoor microphones for the first time in a major studio production. You'll notice a few "silent spots" in the out door scenes.The three leads are OK but the Mexican "accents" of Baxter and Burgess are laughable. Actually as hard to believe as it was, Baxter won the 1929 Academy Award for his role. Walsh was supposed to play the Lowe part but lost an eye in an accident about this time.J. Farrell MacDonald appears early in the film as an Irish stagecoach passenger.