Arizona

Certainly not one of John Wayne's worst films, as one reviewer proclaims, but among his worst performances. After his initial starring role in "The Big Trail" in 1930, Wayne found himself at Columbia and turned in this wooden acting role in "Arizona" along with other pictures and was eventually fired by Harry Cohn. Soon Wayne found himself on poverty row, starring in "His Private Secretary" for Showmen's Pictures in 1933 and a series of westerns for Lone Star Productions released by Monogram Pictures in 1934. His climb back to being a top Hollywood star would take a few years. This film is a cultural significance since it has been released on a DVD set entitled "Columbia Pictures - Pre-Code Collection" along with four other films made in 1931-1932, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Jean Harlow, and Carole Lombard.

A very solid good picture from 1931 is finally seeing the light of day via the new TV channel, GET/TV. We watched it last night.

First of all you need to know the picture and sound of this 83 year old film is much better than might be expected. Perhaps withheld because of long term friction between Columbia Pictures and John Wayne.

Set in West Point and later in Arizona, Wayne plays a football hero who finds it necessary to break up with a girl he realizes he doesn't love. He soon finds out she's the b...h from hell, and her reaction will impact on several other people.

The script and acting is just fine.

I suppose that on the plus side for John Wayne in this film he got to put on a football jersey which up until recently he had been wearing for the University of Southern California. Here he plays a cadet who kicks the winning field goal in the Army/Navy game before graduating West Point.

The Duke is the foster son of Colonel Forrest Stanley and after graduation he's been assigned out in Arizona to the army post that Stanley is commandant of. Before leaving he rather callously gives the air to Laura LaPlante who he'd been seeing. Laura doesn't take the breakup well and without Wayne knowing it, makes a play for Stanley who she marries. She's out living in Arizona with Stanley and her sister June Clyde before Wayne arrives at the post.

John Wayne fans should realize that this is not the Duke they're accustomed to. He's playing the kind of hero/heel part that Tyrone Power later perfected so well. It doesn't wear well on Wayne at all.

In fact as I watched Arizona and did a little research on it, I saw that it was remake of a silent film of the same name that starred that greatest of swashbucklers Douglas Fairbanks. No wonder I thought that this was a film better played by someone like Tyrone Power.

In the Citadel Film Series book, The Films of John Wayne, Arizona is listed under its later title of Men Are Like That. My guess is that the title was changed to not confuse viewers with the later Jean Arthur William Holden western Arizona. Of course the title need not have been changed at all, but I suspect this Arizona was re-released to take advantage of John Wayne's burst into major stardom following Stagecoach. Harry Cohn could do little else because John Wayne was pointedly not working for Columbia Pictures after Cohn fired him and later tried to blackball him in the industry. There was never any new Duke product for Columbia after Wayne became a legend.

Probably only the Duke's most devoted fans would want to see Arizona.

Early in his career, when the Duke worked at Columbia Pictures, Harry Cohn tried him out in this romantic vehicle, for which he received second billing to Laura LaPlante, who plays a scorned Evelyn eventually getting her chance to make Bob pay for calling it quits. This mostly forgotten flick, not even listed in many film catalogs under Wayne's name, is best left that way, forgotten and unlisted. Still, as one of the first films that gave him significant billing, he holds his own against his equally forgettable cast mates. As a romantic actor, he fails to impress in his clinches with either of his lovers. It's obvious he had a long way to go to become a good actor although he never turned into a great one like the Gables and Stewarts and others then starting their careers. It's still of interest to watch the old football game and the cavalry drills in this picture, so it's not without its merits. Just don't expect much and you won't be disappointed. I'd recommend if for fans of the Duke, just to see how green he was back then. And the girls are pretty and the guys look nice in uniforms, so there are worse ways to pass an hour or so. Dale Roloff

This film begins with a young West Point cadet by the name of "Bob Denton" (John Wayne) abruptly ending his two-year relationship with his girlfriend "Evelyn Palmer" (Laura La Plante) just before graduation. For her part, Evelyn is devastated by this news as she had anticipated their getting married in the near future. So, in order to get back at him, she decides to date Bob's superior officer and mentor "Colonel Frank Bonham" (Forrest Stanley). One thing leads to another, and they are soon married with Frank getting assigned to an army post in Arizona. However, since Bob was on training maneuvers at the time, he is completely unaware of their relationship. To that effect, he is taken completely by surprise when he is ordered to report for his first assignment to Arizona--with Colonel Bonham as his new commanding officer. Further complicating the situation is the fact that Evelyn's younger sister "Bonita Palmer" (June Clyde) is living with them and, much to the consternation of Evelyn, falls madly in love with Bob. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film was initially released under the title of "Men Are Like That" but, since it was a remake of an earlier silent picture from 1913, renamed "Arizona" to reflect that fact. For what it's worth, it was also released under the title of "The Virtuous Wife" in the United Kingdom. Be that as it may, although this movie is quite dated, I enjoyed it for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.