Review of In Old Arizona (1928) by Eric B — 01 Nov 2011

Best Picture Project 1928/1929 (Nominee): Yeah. I knew I'd see a bad one eventually. And this one is pretty bad. In Old Arizona is the kind of movie that would get laughed at if it was released 10 years later. The performances are over the top hammy (even if Warner Baxter is a charming lead despite his offensive Mexican portrayal), the scenery is bland, and the story sits around making the film feel like it's a full 2 hour movie despite being only an hour and 35 minutes.

I'm guessing this can be attributed to the fact this production was mainly based around the fact it was the first "talkie" western. And boy do they talk. In fact, they talk just for talking's sake. Sometimes they sing, but they mostly talk. It's all just to show off the 1 track audio, which sounds terrible for today, as the audio is so low I had to set my home theater to full blast just to hear them. The film was nominated for cinematography, but there's only one or two scenes that are filmed decently. The film is filled with jump cuts that are bad by any days standards, and characterizations are constantly switching.

The film is a curiosity though. It's a lot more provocative than most Hollywood productions of the time, but that doesn't make it worth it.