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In Old Arizona
USA 1928
produced by Winfield Sheehan for Fox Film
directed by Raoul Walsh, Irving Cummings
starring Warner Baxter, Edmund Lowe, Dorothy Burgess, Soledad Jiménez, James A. Marcus, Alphonse Ethier, Henry Armetta, Edward Peil sr, James Bradbury jr, Joe Brown, Frank Campeau, John Webb Dillion, Jim Farley, Pat Hartigan, Ivan Linow, Tom London, Helen Lynch, J. Farrell MacDonald, Duke Martin, Frank Nelson, Bob Roper, Lola Salvi, Tom Santschi, Evelyn Selbie, Tom Smith, Roy Stewart, Charles Sullivan, Blackjack Ward, Fred Warren
screenplay by Tom Barry, based on the story The Caballero's Way by O. Henry
Cisco Kid, Cisco Kid (Warner Baxter)
review by Mike Haberfelner
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After notorious outlaw Cisco Kid (Warner Baxter) has held up yet
another stagecoach and relieved it of another bankroll, the army tasks
Sergeant Mickey Dunn (Edmund Lowe) to finally bring him to justice, and
Dunn sure is the right man for the job, as he's not only a master shot, he
also has enough street smart to go up against a man like Cisco. Because
Cisco isn't just a brute, he's a very charming and likeable character able
to mingle with the locals on their turf - and he has a weakness, Tonia
(Dorothy Burgess), on whom he spends much of his loot, not seeing (or not
wanting to see) that Tonia's a flirty one, more likely than not to cheat
on him when he's out of town. And Dunn arrives in Tonia's favourite dive
when Cisco's out of town once again, and she tries her charms on him.
Knowing who she is, he plays hard to get, which makes her all the more
determined to "get" him, as now her female pride is at stake -
and of course, she succeeds eventually ... to then find out that Dunn's
after Cisco. She feels betrayed and tells Dunn so, but he persuades her to
help him, promising to spend the reward money on her - and Tonia likes
money. So the two devise a plan where Tonia is to send Dunn a message upon
Cisco's return so Dunn can shoot Cisco dead. Thing is, Cisco learns about
their plan, intercepts Tonia's letter and instead sends Dunn another
letter signed as Tonia claiming that Cisco will try to make a getaway in
Tonia's clothes - and Dunn falls for it and ultimately kills Tonia after
letting Cisco (whom he thought to be Tonia) escape in plain sight ... In
Old Arizona was a big milestone in its day and age, being the first
all-talking, sound-on-film feature, the first major Western to be shot as
a talkie, and the first talkie shot outdoors - and all of this
unfortunately limits the film's quality somewhat, as back when, sound
cameras were still bulky machines, so the cinematography is mostly very
static, the film is a bit too talky as everything else was more difficult
to shoot, and the actors, schooled mostly in silent movies, hadn't yet
adapted to a more restrained acting style preferable in sound cinema.
Also, all music is done pretty much on-screen as musical performances of
sort, rather jarring the film's story than supporting it. That's not at
all to say In Old Arizona is without its merits though, it's an
exciting game of cat and mouse in an Old West setting that somehow blurs
the lines between right and wrong a bit (what with the manipulative Dunn
vs the charming and relatable Cisco) with a very cynical yet fitting
ending. And within the limitations of the equipment, it's actually very
nicely filmed. Still, it's more interesting for its historical importance
than intrinsic qualities - but it did give Warner Baxter his signature
role as Cisco
Kid, which he would repeat 4 more times until 1939. Now
while Raoul Walsh receives an on-screen directing credit (together with
Irving Cummings), his involvement with the film is debatable, as during
shooting, Walsh - who was to also play Cisco
Kid, had an accident (a jackrabbit smashing to his car's
windscreen) that cost him an eye and forced him to drop out of In Old
Arizona. How much (if any) of the film was shot before that, and if
any of Walsh's footage was actually used in the final product can only be
guessed at, even if some movie buffs swear that they can recognize Walsh
in Cisco's outfit in some of the wide shots.
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