The Arizona Kid

My copy of this film is from a mid-thirties (I think) reissue with a different title (PURSUED) and title card and end card (all the other cards throughout the film are original and tastefully done, not like the cheesy reissue cards). It also seems to be missing the first minute or so, as Art Acord is present from the first frame, yet no title card announces him, although every other minor character gets his/her own title card. The quality of the print is also just fair--only in close-ups can one see details in faces as the print is washed out as if duplicated one too many times or perhaps blown up from 8mm. In any event, this film actually borrows heavily from another Horace "Maniac" Carpenter directorial effort done three years earlier, THE LAST CHANCE with Bill Patton. One or two of the puns in the dialog cards are even re-used here! Acord is quite funny as a marshal posing as a dude in a department-store "outlaw outfit" who acts like a clown as he tries to infiltrate a gang. Since he's such a harmless clown and since the gang needs a new member, they accept him. Acord plays this role more outrageously than Bill Patton did, even acting a bit swishy here and there (and I'm not reading this into the film, since the dialog cards confirm it was intended). No great analysis is needed of this film--and the quality of the print keeps me from saying much about the photography or the performances of the supporting actors. Carpenter himself has a small role, but I can't really see what he's doing with his face, just a white blur. The rating of 6 is for what the film might be in a good quality print--the print I saw would get a rating of 3 or 4. For the serious silent western fan only. I look forward to seeing more of Acord's work (he's from my one-time home of Stillwater, Oklahoma!)--see my review of FIGHTERS OF THE SADDLE.