In Old Arizona

In Old Arizona
Several years ago I found a source for In Old Arizona on VHS. It was a copy of a copy of a......... well , you get the idea.

It was in pretty poor shape. But, it was also the only resource

I could find for this movie.

This movie is not one of Warner Baxter's best movies. But, it is

historically interesting as being the very first talking western and the first appearance of the Cisco Kid. And he's a bad guy in this one too. And overall, I have to give it five stars for the fact that it was new technology and also interesting to see actors that came from the silent era learning to adapt to speaking a part as well as acting it. I am greatful to Fox for taking this movie out of mothballs and restoring it. It is not perfect but, considering the version I had previously, it is pretty near it. Well worth adding to a movie collector's collection.

The Caballero's Way
Set in the late 1890s and featuring Warner Baxter in his Oscar winning role as the Cisco Kid, IN OLD ARIZONA is oddly entertaining. One of the first all-talking movies, its primitive sound recording techniques make it a pretty static `action' western. Although some scenes were shot outdoors - impressively catching the actors' voices without boom mikes showing at the top of the screen - most of the action takes place indoors, if action we can call it, while the actors sit real close to each other and talk loud and slow in interminable dialogues. Missing is the normal musical scoring and under-scoring, although many scenes open and close with picturesque cowboys, pianists, and caballeros singing or strumming an old-timey standard. This odd entertainment will appeal to you if you want to see how films went about figuring out what to do now that they finally had a sound track.

IN OLD ARIZONA is taken from O. Henry's short story "The Caballero's Way." It's a story that's...

the bowery boys meet the cisco kid
this is probably the highest ranking anyone will ever give this film, but i genuinely enjoyed it. warner baxter creates the role of the cisco kid, adapted from an o. henry short story, and it owes more to o. henry than to zane grey; the dialog is punctuated with tough "noo yawk" street lingo of a century ago, and the denouement is pure irony. and incidentally, there is a hilarious exchange between the two lead cowboys where they compare the size of their respective guns. is this for everyone? by no means. but if you are a westerns buff, and are willing to take a look into a different time and a different mindset, give this a try.

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