1928-29 (2nd) Academy Awards Outstanding Picture Nominee
In Old Arizona (1928)
Based on the O. Henry story “The Caballero’s Way,” In Old Arizona is about the charming
Mexican bandit, the Cisco Kid, whose unfaithful lover, Tonia, plots to turn him
in for reward money to the U.S. Army sergeant assigned to capture him. The plot
is simple enough for entertaining western, but that film would have to be much
shorter than this one. This movie somehow just doesn’t have enough plot or substantial
characters to fill out its relatively short runtime of 95 minutes. So, the film
drags and drags. Its main concern is the very new and exciting spectacle of sound. It is clear that this was the big draw for audiences
in 1928. The poster art advertises the film as “100% ALL-TALKING” and has the
tag line “You Hear What You See While Enjoying… In Old Arizona.”
In Old Arizona, available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and, YouTube.com (for the moment), has
the distinction of being the first western nominated for Best Picture
(unofficially, since there were no official nominations that year) and being
the first sound film shot primarily outdoors. Raoul Walsh was originally set to
both direct and star as the Cisco Kid and shot some scenes but had to be
replaced after a jackrabbit jumped through the windshield of his car causing
him to have an accident in which he lost his right eye. He was replaced by
Irving Cumming as director and Warner Baxter as the smiling, lovable
Cisco Kid, for which he won for Best Actor.
I’m sure audiences would have been transfixed and excited by
seeing and hearing actors talk on screen. In
Old Arizona gives the audience what it wants but an unintended side effect
is some scenes go on for way too long. After dialogue concerning plot points
has been delivered, any given scene will carry on with extraneous dialogue. I was
pretty invested in the Cisco Kid’s breakfast of ham and eggs because so much
was said of the meal. When the Cisco Kid meets the comically cocksure Sergeant
Dunn, who doesn’t know that the Kid looks like, they exchange some friendly
words at a barbershop. That scene moves a little slow but is funny and pretty
entertaining. Then they go outside and talk some more. Though this is not a
musical there is a fair amount of singing from the Cisco Kid and the soldiers
of the nearby army battalion. The Cisco Kid is a sort of prototype of the
singing cowboy archetype that would be perfected in later western/musicals.
There are many things that make In Old Arizona feel very, very dated and it does not quite have the
charm necessary to overlook those aspects. The style of acting from every
character is heightened and exaggerated like it would be in a silent film. There
is very little camera movement and for some scenes I thought that it must surely
be bolted to the ground. The sound quality for each scene depends on how close
the actors are standing to the hidden microphone, and when they speak they are
projecting like they would in the theatre. Baxter and Dorothy Burgess, as
Tonia, speak with heavily accented broken English. This film is most
interesting, and perhaps only interesting, as an example of a film from the
early sound era when talking pictures where still finding their footing.
In Old
Arizona could have been a better film, or at least more entertaining, if it
was shorter. There are some funny moments with heavy innuendos. The thin story
is stretched to breaking and only picks up at very end for the climatic
confrontation between the Cisco Kid, Tonia, and Sergeant Dunn. I suppose I
can’t blame this movie too much for being so preoccupied with sound and
talking, but I know from the silent films of just the previous year that
filmmakers were capable of turning out interesting stories with full-fledged
characters and good, steady pacing. I wish that In Old Arizona found interesting dialogue for the characters to
speak and audiences to hear.
Nominee: Fox
Producer: Winfield Sheehan
Director: Irving Cummings, Raoul Walsh
Screenplay: Tom Barry, based on the story “The Caballero’s
Way” by O. Henry
Cast: Warner Baxter, Edmund Lowe, Dorothy Burgess
Release Date: December 25th, 1928
Total Nominations: 5, including Outstanding Picture
Win: Best Actor-Warner Baxter
Other Nominations: Director-Irving Cummings, Writing-Tom
Barry, Cinematography-Arthur Edeson
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