Editing In Old Arizona

{{short description|1928 film}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = In Old Arizona
| image          = File:In Old Arizona 1928 poster.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Irving Cummings]]<br />[[Raoul Walsh]]
| based_on       = {{Based on|''[[The Cisco Kid]]'' |[[O. Henry]]}}
| producer       = [[Winfield Sheehan]]
| writer         = [[Tom Barry (screenwriter)|Tom Barry]]
| starring       = [[Warner Baxter]]<br />[[Edmund Lowe]]<br />[[Dorothy Burgess]]
| cinematography = [[Arthur Edeson]]<br />[[Alfred Hansen (cinematographer)|Alfred Hansen]]
| editing        = [[Louis R. Loeffler]]
| distributor    = [[Fox Film Corporation]]
| released       = {{Film date|1928|12|25|Premiere|1929|01|20|General release}}
| country        = United States
| runtime        = 95 minutes
| language       = English [[sound film]]
| gross          = $1.3 million<ref name="quig">{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/international193738quig#page/942/mode/2up/search/%22box+office%22 |publisher=Quigley Publishing Company |title=The All Time Best Sellers |work=The 1937–38 Motion Picture Almanac |page=942 |year=1938 |access-date=April 19, 2014}}</ref>
}}

'''''In Old Arizona''''' is a 1928 American sound ([[sound film|All-Talking]]) [[pre-Code]] [[Western (genre)|Western]] film directed by [[Raoul Walsh]] and [[Irving Cummings]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/1524 |title=In Old Arizona |publisher=AFI |access-date=July 27, 2020}}</ref> nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film, which was based on the character of the [[The Cisco Kid|Cisco Kid]] in the 1907 story "[[The Cisco Kid#"The Caballero's Way" (short story)|The Caballero's Way]]" by [[O. Henry]], was a major innovation in [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]]. It was the first major Western to use the new technology of [[sound film|sound]] and the first [[talkie]] to be filmed outdoors.<ref>{{cite book |last=Varner |first=Paul |title=The A to Z of Westerns in Cinema |publisher=Scarecrow Press |page=xviii  |date=2009 |isbn=978-0-8108-6888-5}}</ref> It made extensive use of authentic locations, filming in [[Bryce Canyon National Park]] and [[Zion National Park]] in [[Utah]], and the [[Mission San Juan Capistrano]] and the [[Mojave Desert]] in [[California]]. The film premiered in Los Angeles on December 25, 1928, and went into general release on January 20, 1929.

''In Old Arizona'' contributed to creating the image of the [[singing cowboy]], as its star, [[Warner Baxter]], does some incidental singing. Baxter went on to win the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] for his performance. Other nominations included [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]] for [[Irving Cummings]], [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Writing]] for [[Tom Barry (screenwriter)|Tom Barry]], [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] for [[Arthur Edeson]], and [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]. The film entered the [[2024 in public domain|public domain on January 1, 2024]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2024/ | title=Public Domain Day 2024 &#124; Duke University School of Law }}</ref>

==Plot==
[[File:In Old Arizona (1928) by Irving Cummings and Raoul Walsh.webm|thumb|thumbtime=1:34|The full film]]
In Arizona, a bandit known as the Cisco Kid robs a stagecoach. Word of this deed reaches to Sergeant Micky Dunn, who is tasked by his superior to bring in the Cisco Kid dead or alive, with a $5,000 reward promised once he succeeds. They meet in a barber shop, though Dunn is unaware of the Cisco Kid's true identity and passes him off as a friendly civilian. When he leaves, the local blacksmith tells him that was the Cisco Kid, much to Dunn's chagrin.

The Cisco Kid is in a relationship with Tonia Maria, and visits her often. He loves her, but she has frequent affairs without his knowledge. Dunn and Maria meet each other and begin an affair. Dunn tells Maria that once he takes down the Cisco Kid, he will give the $5,000 reward to Maria, making her fall in love with him. They express their love for each other while the Cisco Kid secretly watches and listens nearby, learning of her betrayal.

She writes a secret letter to Dunn telling him to come that evening to take down the Cisco Kid before he makes his escape. However, the Cisco Kid finds this letter and replaces it with a fake letter "from Maria" which he has written himself. His letter says that he will be dressed up in Maria's clothes in an effort to disguise himself from Dunn, while Maria is actually in the Cisco Kid's clothes riding away. Dunn receives this fake letter, believing it to be from Maria. When the Cisco Kid leaves her house, Dunn shoots Maria, believing her to be the Cisco Kid in disguise. Now farther away, the Cisco Kid laments that "[Maria's] flirting days are over, and she can finally settle down". He then makes his escape.

==Cast==
* [[Warner Baxter]] as the Cisco Kid
* [[Edmund Lowe]] as Sergeant Mickey Dunn
* [[Dorothy Burgess]] as Tonia Maria

== Production ==

[[File:In Old Arizona poster.jpg|thumb|An alternate poster]][[Raoul Walsh]] was set to direct the film and star as the [[Cisco Kid]], but had to abandon the project when a [[jackrabbit]] jumped through the windshield of a vehicle he was driving; the resulting wreck cost Walsh an eye. He never acted again, but continued his successful career as a film director. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Raoul Walsh {{!}} American Film Director & Actor {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Raoul-Walsh#ref1313406 |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Music==
The film features a theme song entitled "My Tonia" which was composed by B. G. De Sylva, Lew Brown and Ray Henderson.

==Awards and nominations==
At the [[2nd Academy Awards]], the film was nominated for five awards—[[Academy Award for Best Picture|Outstanding Picture]]; [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]] (Irving Cummings); [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] (Warner Baxter); [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Writing]] ([[Tom Barry (screenwriter)|Tom Barry]])—tied for most of the year with ''[[The Patriot (1928 film)|The Patriot]]''; and [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] ([[Arthur Edeson]]). In a ceremony where no film won more than one award, only Warner Baxter's Best Actor nomination was successful.<ref name="Oscars1930">{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1930 |title=The 2nd Academy Awards (1930) Nominees and Winners |work=oscars.org |access-date=May 20, 2019}}</ref>

The February 2020 issue of ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine lists ''In Old Arizona'' as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars".<ref>{{cite news|title=The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-oscar-best-picture-losers.html|magazine=[[New York Magazine]]|access-date=March 17, 2025}}</ref>

==Preservation==
The [[Academy Film Archive]] preserved ''In Old Arizona'' in 2004.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=In+Old+Arizona&filmmaker=&category=All&collection=All |title=Preserved Projects |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=20 January 2022}}</ref>

Under the [[Copyright Term Extension Act]], this movie entered the [[Public domain in the United States|public domain]] on January 1, 2024.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2024/ | title=Public Domain Day 2024 &#124; Duke University School of Law }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of films with the most Oscars per ceremony]]
* [[List of early sound feature films (1926–1929)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{AFI film|1524|In Old Arizona}}
* {{IMDb title|0020018|In Old Arizona}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=79094|title=In Old Arizona}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|in_old_arizona|In Old Arizona}}
* {{YouTube| MdQIw7BiUBA | "In Old Arizona"}}

{{Irving Cummings}}
{{The Cisco Kid}}

[[Category:1928 films]]
[[Category:1928 Western (genre) films]]
[[Category:Films based on The Caballero's Way]]
[[Category:American Western (genre) films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Cisco Kid]]
[[Category:1920s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films based on American short stories]]
[[Category:Films directed by Irving Cummings]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films set in Arizona]]
[[Category:Films shot in California]]
[[Category:Films shot in Utah]]
[[Category:Films shot in the Mojave Desert]]
[[Category:Fox Film films]]
[[Category:Transitional sound Western (genre) films]]
[[Category:1920s American films]]
[[Category:English-language Western (genre) films]]