My Sixth Movie, "In Old Arizona"

My sixth movie is "In Old Arizona".  The movie starred Warner Baxter as The Cisco Kid, a Robin Hood of the west created by O. Henry.  The movie focused on the rivalry between the The Cisco Kid and Micky Dunne (played by Edmund Lowe), a mounted law man.  They were both vying for the affections of a deceitful Tonia Maria (played by Dorothy Burgess).  Both men meet each other when the Cisco Kid comes into town, however, Micky Dunne does not realize that he is befriending the bandit for whom there is a 5000.00 reward.  The Cisco Kid prepares to leave to go see his girlfriend, Tonia Maria.  As he is leaving, Micky finds out that the Cisco Kid was indeed the same person he was talking to in the barber shop.  He begins to go after him.  In the mean time, the Cisco Kid knows that he is wanted and wants to stay ahead of the law, so he leaves Tonia Maria, telling her that he will return.  Micky then appears and meets Tonia at a local tavern.  He falls in love with her and goes to her home.  She falls for him as well.  She leaves with Micky Dunne the next day and realizes that he is actually gunning for the Cisco Kid after she finds the wanted poster that Micky was carrying.  She felt betrayed that she was being used solely to get the reward.  Micky convinces her that he was getting the reward for her and vows to take her to New York where he will provide her with all the luxuries she desires.  They both plot to trick the Cisco Kid upon his return to see Tonia Maria at her home.  She composes a note to be delivered to Micky telling him when the Cisco Kid was going to leave so that Micky can shoot him and they will collect the reward.  However, the Cisco Kid finds out their plan and tricks them.  He confiscates the note and changes it to tell Micky she will accompany the Cisco Kid, however they will switch clothes (the Cisco Kid will wear Tonia Maria's clothes and vice versa) so that Micky will shoot the one wearing the dress (which, unbeknownst to Micky, will actually be Tonia Maria.)  A nice plot twist.

The movie is a bit corny but well done for its day.  I have been a little harsh on my reviews of this period but I have to realize that it was the infancy of the movie industry of the day and be a little less critical.  Warner Baxter played a good part, however his accent was a little over the top.  Dorothy Burgess as Tonia Maria sounded more Italian than Latina, but she was convincing as a duplicitous lover who meets her comeuppance.  Overall, an enjoyable movie.