Welcome to our next installment of ILTBTA, where
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we’re covering the 1928 film In Old Arizona,
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the movie best known for being the first Western talkie
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and the first one to be filmed outside. Turn on those marginally-useful YouTube captions and read on!
Previews
What, if anything, did we know about this coming attraction before we watched it?
Ellen: This is an archetype of the kind of movies I imagine were BIG back in the beginning of the movie biz. Never heard of it, but I’m ready to get dusty!
Tyler: I assume it takes place in Arizona? Though maybe “Old Arizona” is different from the Arizona we know and love, like how New Mexico and (old) Mexico are different places. Maybe Old Arizona is actually in Spain or upstate New York for some reason. Let’s find out!
Plots & Feelings
This one’s pretty self-explanatory.
Short Version (courtesy of IMDb): A charming, happy-go-lucky bandit in old Arizona plays cat-and-mouse with the sheriff trying to catch him while he romances a local beauty.
Long Version (modified from Wikipedia and formatted to fit your screen):
Our esteemed host Pizzaflix1 welcomes one and all to the tale of the Cisco Kid, the gentleman bandit who opens the movie by robbing a stagecoach! The unlucky souls were being ferried through “The Devil’s Pincushion” when the Cisco Kid makes his dusty descent. The passengers file out of the clown car of a carriage and are surprised that the only thing he takes is a young woman’s brooch, for which he pays her gold! He does make off with the Wells Fargo lockbox, however. After reminding them all that he never robs the individual and wishing them a pleasant journey, he rides off, $5,0002 bounty on his head be damned!
Tyler: Two random notes: 1) one of the passengers looks exactly like Margaret Hamilton (best known for playing the Wicked Witch of the West in Wizard of Oz), to the point where I checked her filmography to see if it was actually her (it wasn’t), and 2) a mention of “President McKinley” dates this to somewhere between 1897-1901.
A delightful but irrelevant barbershop rendition of “Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)” brings the scene into town, where the stagecoach trundles in. The drivers report the robbery, prompting the authorities to look for Sergeant Mickey Dunn among the overgrown Boy Scouts shooting dice out back. He’s advised that the Cisco Kid is smart, brave, and a killer, so it’s a “shoot first, ask questions later” situation. The bandit himself is in town as well, getting a haircut and a bath. His barber Giuseppe is distressed at the loss of $87 he was going to send back to his wife in Sicily, but his mustachioed patron seems to think he can help with that. The men of the town are all set to form a vigilante posse, but all the girls are swooning over the prospect of a handsome bandit. Mickey enters the barbershop, and he and Cisco get to talking, the soldier not knowing to whom he speaks! They hit it off and plan to meet up at the tavern at 3. As the bandit rides away, the blacksmith informs Mickey the man he just shook hands with is the Cisco Kid!
Tyler: It should be noted that Mickey’s accent is absolutely wild and borderline distracting. As an example, when he says the word “world” the YouTube captions think he’s saying “roily" or “royal.”
The Cisco Kid heads off to see the love of his life, Tonia Maria. Maria, meanwhile, just barely got another man out of the house before he got back. Her cook Tonita clearly disapproves of the younger woman’s choices generally, but can’t help being charmed by the Kid. She makes them ham and eggs but is immediately sent off to spy in town and see what the soldiers know. The Cisco Kid and Maria let the ham burn while they’re otherwise occupied…
Mickey sits at the saloon waiting for his date, passing the time by talking to a blonde woman who laments getting divorced and insisting all men are bums. As if to prove the point, the proprietor comes over and demands she get back to work and shake a leg for the patrons. She’s quickly replaced by Maria, who saunters in to get the lay of the land, having been sent by the Cisco Kid. She talks with Mickey, who sees that she thinks she’s hot stuff and pretends to be immune to her charms. She leaves in a huff. Mickey reminds himself of his gal, the belle of Greenpoint, with “more curves than the scenic railway!”
Meanwhile, the Cisco Kid has been trying to sneak in a quick honk-shoo, but a dang baby won’t stop crying! He comes outside to investigate and ends up chatting with Tonita. His parents are from Portugal and San Luis Obispo, but he left and never looked back. Even the baby is charmed by him, cooing and smiling. Maria returns, and it’s time for the Cisco Kid to depart. He hands her a pile of gold and speaks of his dream to take her to Portugal one day, but right now, he has to go rustle some cattle! Shortly after his departure, Maria brags to Tonita about how Mickey was totally obsessed with her. Speak of the devil, he’s here! What starts as a “flirting for information” situation turns into actual flirting, culminating with a soliloquy about how great (and cheap) New York is, and apparently Mickey read our last post, because he’s just nuts about petticoats. They run off!
Tyler: Ugh yet another doofus squawking about how New York City is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
The cattle robbery is going well, but as the Cisco Kid rides away with his steers, the ranch hands lie in wait and shoot him! He falls off his horse, but as soon as they get close, they realize he was feinting. He skillfully shoots two of them and lets the third run off. Meanwhile, Maria is at the soldiers’ camp with Mickey and two others, and they truly will not shut up about New York and the Bowery. Maria realizes Mickey may just be in this for the reward money, but he assures her that he just wants a promotion and the reward money is hers. Maria’s like “$5,000? Cool, rad, you should definitely murder my boyfriend then!” Meanwhile, the Cisco Kid is spending 100 gold on a white lace mantella for her.
Ellen: I’m sorry, the price is just “100 gold”?? Is this Dungeons & Dragons??
Tyler: Arizona didn’t gain statehood until 1912, so I suppose it wouldn’t have made sense to use U.S. dollars. Perhaps someone more interested in researching Arizona’s currency history can let us know if this is actually accurate!
Tyler: Anywho, do we ever learn of a reason why Maria suddenly turns on the Cisco Kid? He’s already offered her money/gifts and the promise of a new life elsewhere, so it’s not like Mickey is offering her anything really different.
Ellen: I think she’s just fickle. I have no doubt she’d leave Mickey at her earliest convenience in New York.
Tyler: Okay so I didn’t miss anything, she just sucks. Got it.
When the Cisco Kid returns back to Maria’s house during what appears to be the first ever night shoot, Tonita warns him that there’s a soldier in the house! The bandit overhears Maria's wish for his death. Mickey is supposed to return at 10 o’clock. The Cisco Kid comes home and is like “so what if we abscond to Portugal right now??” and Maria makes excuses not to go until tomorrow. She secretly writes a note to Mickey about where the Cisco Kid is and gives it to Tonita. Maria didn’t account for the fact that the Cisco Kid is much nicer to Tonita than she is, so he gets the note from her and writes a new one, explaining that the Cisco Kid will attempt to escape in her clothing, complete with white mantella. He keeps the signoff of “a hundred kisses.”
Ellen: Part of me was surprised that the handwriting in either version of the note wasn’t some beautiful spidery script but like, a third grader’s cursive. It had to be legible by the audience, sure, but I expected some oomph!
Tyler: I would not be surprised if that was a not-so-subtle racist dig at the writing ability of our non-White female lead character.
The appointed hour arrives, and the Cisco Kid bids Maria farewell, and he leaves the house first, followed by her. She’s shot by Mickey quickly, believing it’s the Cisco Kid. He laments that “her flirting days are over, and she can finally settle down,” and makes his escape.
Intermission
Even though ILTBTA is free, please indulge us further and enjoy this quick “advertisement.”
This installment of ILTBTA is brought to you by … Giuseppe’s Barber Shop!
Do you want the best shave and haircut in all of Old Arizona? Need a place to relax, far from the mean streets of [generic Old West town name] and cattle-rustling hooligans? Look no further than Giuseppe’s Barber Shop! A mainstay of lovely [you know, the only town for miles and miles] for generations, Giuseppe has been snipping and shaving since the gold rush, helping his customers realize their own little cut of the American dream. Giuseppe has barbered local celebrities like the renowned Cisco Kid and Army Sergeant Mickey Dunn, all to glowing reviews!
Visit our [wow we really should have named this town] location, say that ILTBTA sent you, and get a free hot bath (weirdly) with the purchase of your next haircut.
For a fine haircut delivered with a smile, no one’s peppy like Giuseppe!
Wiki-Wiki-Whaaat?
Love a good Wikipedia rabbit hole in search of some fun facts? Us too.
In Old Arizona’s Wikipedia page has some interesting facts and anecdotes that we recommend you read through, but here are a few of our favorites:
In Old Arizona is based on the Cisco Kid character in the short story “The Caballero’s Way” written by noted writer O. Henry. The Cisco Kid in the short story is much more violent than in the movie: according to Wikipedia he “kills for sport” and is responsible for at least 18 deaths in the short story!
Ellen: Definitely undermines the whole “gentleman thief” thing if he’s just murdering everyone.
In Old Arizona was the first major Western to use (as Wikipedia hilariously describes it) “the new technology of sound” and was the first talkie to be filmed outdoors.
Tyler: It sure sounded like the first one ever!
The movie was filmed on location in Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks in Utah, as well as the Mojave Desert in California.
Co-director Raoul Walsh was set to direct and star as the Cisco Kid, but had to drop out after a jackrabbit jumped through the windshield of a car he was driving, causing a crash that resulted in Walsh losing his right eye. Though Walsh went on to have a successful career as a director, he never acted again, and the lead role instead went to Warner Baxter, who won the Oscar for Best Actor.
In Old Arizona was nominated for five total awards at the 2nd Academy Awards, winning only for Baxter’s performance. That was the only ceremony to date in which no movie won more than one award (granted, there were only seven categories, but still!). That year’s awards ceremony was also unique in that it was the only one in which there were technically no official nominees: subsequent research has shown that judges instead evaluated different films and had an unofficial/de facto list of nominees.
Oscar NomNomNomz
Since we all know a movie is nothing without the food and drink it incorporates.
It’s now time to award the Oscar for Best Snacktor in a Supporting Role3. And the nomnomnominees are:
Burnt ham and eggs upon your return home
A drink at the local saloon
“Red ink" (aka wine)
A beer *this* high in New York for just five cents
Beans at the Army camp
And the Oscar goes to … the beans at the Army camp! Unfortunately, Tyler has absconded with the beans and eaten them, so the bean-hating Ellen will accept this award on its behalf.
Fill In The Blank
How did we really feel about The Academy nominating this?
Ellen: I’d like to abscond to Portugal and leave The Academy behind in old Arizona. I think that a decent base story is there, which is not surprising given that it’s O. Henry. Despite the questionable sound, I found the Cisco Kid as charming as I found Maria and Mickey to be insufferable. It’s impressive to be the first talkie shot outdoors, but maybe they needed to let the technology mature a little more. Nearly 100 years later, it looks like this got nominated on the novelty of new techniques rather than artistic merit. Also I had no idea they were in Arizona - could have been any dusty state!
Tyler: I’d like to give The Academy a mulligan4 for nominating a movie that was innovative at the time but did not hold up well. As I said in Wiki-Wiki-Whaaat?, In Old Arizona was the first talkie shot outdoors and the first Western talkie … which does not surprise me given the poor quality of the sound really from the get-go. I can only imagine how enthralled moviegoers were at the time, but (much like we noted in our Life of Pi post) the technology just didn’t age well. It oscillated between being too loud, too quiet, and too muffled/drowned-out by background noise, to the point where listening became difficult. Like, I watched the movie (intently!) and still had to learn a couple minor plot points from Plots and Feelings.
My ability to hear what was going on aside, the story itself was not very well-written and was entertaining enough for a television5/radio episode (or just a shorter movie), but not an entire movie. It’s just over 90 minutes long and still manages to somehow feel too long. The mind games between the Cisco Kid and Mickey kept my attention a little, but it ultimately felt like too little too late. Especially compared to other movies from around that time (like Wings or All Quiet on the Western Front, which were engaging and inventive in their own rights), In Old Arizona just didn’t do anything special
Let The Credits Roll
Thanks for reading! Some quick housekeeping as you exit the theatre:
If you have plots and feelings of your own (on the movie or ILTBTA in general), feel free to comment on the post or simply reply to the email. If you liked reading this: tell your friends! If you hated reading this: tell your friends how much you hated it by forwarding it to them!
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Post-Credits Scene
Get a sneak peek at the next ILTBTA installment.
You asked for it6, so here it is: our next post will be our 2nd Annual ILTBTA Oscars Preview Post! We’ll discuss this year’s batch of Best Picture nominees, give kudos to some other nominated films, rank our favorite non-Best Picture noms we saw in theatres since the last ceremony, and so much more! With the actual Oscars occurring on Sunday March 10th, we’ve opted to veer from our usual Tuesday night release schedule (in order to give you our freshest takes7), so keep your eyes peeled for the post on Friday March 8th.
Until then, a hundred kisses!
Tyler: Believe it or not, Pizzaflix is NOT Ellen’s YouTube channel, despite it being a combination of two of the great loves of her life.
Ellen: My trusty inflation calculator only goes as far back as 1913, but this is in the neighborhood of $200,000 in today’s bounties!
Results tabulated and certified by the accountants at Ernst & Yum™.
I’d also like to give an Academy (Award) to Carey Mulligan, but that’s a separate conversation.
I recognize that this wasn’t invented/popularized quite yet, but work with me here.
Sort of.
Definitely not to give us more time to watch all the nominees, nope.