
Army Sergeant Mickey Dunn sets out in pursuit of the Cisco Kid, a notorious if kind-hearted and charismatic bandit of the Old West. The Kid spends much of his loot on Tonia, the woman he loves, not realizing that she is being unfaithful to him in his absence. Soon, with her oblivious paramour off plying his trade, Tonia falls in with Dunn, drawn by the allure of a substantial reward for the Kid's capture -- dead or alive. Together, they concoct a plan to ambush and do away wi... (Full plot summary below)
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Army Sergeant Mickey Dunn sets out in pursuit of the Cisco Kid, a notorious if kind-hearted and charismatic bandit of the Old West. The Kid spends much of his loot on Tonia, the woman he loves, not realizing that she is being unfaithful to him in his absence. Soon, with her oblivious paramour off plying his trade, Tonia falls in with Dunn, drawn by the allure of a substantial reward for the Kid's capture -- dead or alive. Together, they concoct a plan to ambush and do away with the Cisco Kid once and for all.
Leave your thoughts about In Old Arizona.
| VarietyVariety StaffIt's the first outdoor talker and a western, with a climax twist to make the story stand out from the usual hill and dale thesis. |
| Classic Film and TelevisionMichael E. GrostUneven film with brilliant comedy relief by Edmund Lowe, and lots to interest fans of Raoul Walsh. |
| Groucho ReviewsPeter CanaveseThe first major Western in sound...One can occasionally feel the filmmakers showing off the technology, with close-ups of a crying baby or sizzling ham and eggs. [Blu-ray] |
| Combustible CelluloidJeffrey M. AndersonWalsh presents the action in his usual clear, well-paced and exciting manner. |
| User ReviewRob LOne of the first "talkie" westerns, and a really good one. |
| User ReviewKevin NAs far as sheer entertainment is concerned, this early Raoul Walsh picture gives most films from the period a run for their money. It's downright hysterical- and most of the time we're allowed to laugh with the movie, showing that none of the film's humor has been lost over the eighty-some years of its existence. Every one of these characters are entirely unsympathetic, but it's hard not to root for the film's boisterous anti-hero, a rendering of the Cisco Kid which won Warner Baxter an Academy Award, who goes through with what is perhaps the most deserved comeuppance in cinematic history. If nothing else, one cannot accuse the film of prudishness- it fires on all cylinders, and to hell with morality! |
| User ReviewCameron JIn Old Arizona (1928) This movie is the first full-length talky western and directors, Irving Cummings and Raoul Walsh did an excellent job showing the audience what new layers sound can add to a film. Ham & eggs sizzling in the pan, the clomping of the horse hooves, the music and singing, and of course people's accents were all new and wonderful then. Although Warner Baxter sounded more like Bela Lugosi than a Mexican. This was only the second movie that introduced us to the Cisco Kid and was the closest adaptation to O. Henry's short story, The Caballero's Way. There was a silent version in 1914. In this movie, he was more of a lovable rogue than the Gentleman of the Old West that Duncan Renaldo portrayed on television and there is no Pancho (Leo Carrillo) side-kick either. The Cisco Kid (Warner Baxter) is a thief and ruthless killer but holds a special soft spot for his girl, Tonia Maria (Dorothy Burgess) who, well, is kind of a gold-digging slut. The story opens with Cisco robbing a stage coach of it's gold box. He takes a locket from a passenger, but pays her in gold for it. The locket is given to Tonia in one of his visits. The local Army is tired of this character running around their territory and the Commanding Officer assigns Sergeant Mickey Dunn to bring him in, dead or alive. Mickey is a New York player who is as charismatic as Cisco and maybe as good a shot. When Mickey finds that Tonia is Cisco's girl, they play right into each other's hands. Plus, the $5,000 reward is very appealing to Tonia. Cisco might have met his match this time. |
| User ReviewJonathan IApart from some poor acting, actually quite excellent. Narcissism. Pride. Deceit. |
| User ReviewJohn YOne of the first "talkie" westerns, and a really good one. |
| User ReviewDavid LIn Old Arizona is pretty good in its western elements, it has a couple of very interesting plot points and the Cisco Kid is a memorable character for sure. He is so well acted by charismatic Warner Baxter in his Oscar-winning performance. But the movie concerns itself too much with romance instead of western and it's rather boring and melodramatic there leading to an unappealing middle section. It's thus an undeserved Best Picture nominee. |