Arizona (1940)

Director:

Wesley Ruggles

Writers:

Clarence Budington Kelland (story)
Claude Binyon (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 December 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Phoebe Titus is a tough, swaggering pioneer woman, but her ways become decidedly more feminine when she falls for California bound Peter Muncie...

Plot Keywords:

Pioneer | Explosion | Whipping | Wagon Train | Saloon

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Jean Arthur	...	Phoebe Titus
William Holden	...	Peter Muncie
Warren William	...	Jefferson Carteret
Porter Hall	...	Lazarus Ward
Edgar Buchanan	...	Judge Bogardus
Paul Harvey	...	Solomon Warner
George Chandler	...	Haley - Ward Henchman
Byron Foulger	...	Pete Kitchen
Regis Toomey	...	Grant Oury
Paul Lopez	...	Estevan Ochoa
Colin Tapley	...	Bart Massey
Uvaldo Varela	...	Hilario Callego - Phoebe's Young Helper
Earl Crawford	...	Joe Briggs
Griff Barnett	...	Sam Hughes (as Griff Barnette)
Ludwig Hardt	...	Meyer

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6272)

Filming Locations:

Old Tucson - 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

In 1940, when this film was released, Jean Arthur was forty years old and her "love Interest", William Holden was only twenty-two.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the scene where the Apache raiders are fleeing the cattle stampede, modern tire tracks can be seen (possibly those of the camera vehicle driving ahead of the riders).

Quotes:

Phoebe Titus: Now sometime before morning, I'm going to let off both barrels of this shotgun right at you. I don't know just what time it'll happen... whenever my finger gets to itching too much. But you can depend on it. You're gonna have a double hole blown clear through you. Maybe ten minutes, maybe two hours. All you have to do is sit comfortable until I think it's the right time.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Last Round-up (1947)

Soundtrack:

Gwine to Rune All Night (De Camptown Races)

Cast is great in a curious quasi-feminist western

The more unusual thing about this movie first of all, is that it presents a female character as the lead in a Western. You don't really see that happening too often (Oh OK, now that I think about it, Johnny Guitar, Way Down East, heck even Broken Blossoms). Jean Arthur is here playing the toughest gun slinging, hell raising Pie baker in the wild west! (well, OK, Tucson). Soon a wagon train heading to California comes into town, bringing William Holden with it. Arthur immediately gets goo-goo eyes for Holden, while Holden rather interestingly makes up an excuse about wanting to see the sun go down in California and finds a convenient reason to leave. Actually, it was quite funny watching Holden come and go all the time, making me believe that he was, excuse the expression, sowing his oats somewhere else. While Holden is who-knows where, Arthur has to put up with the advances of Warren William, playing a slimeball opportunist who, in something that really wasn't made totally clear, is clearly out to ruin Arthur's enterprise. Somewhat funny in it's sexism ways (Arthur just seems to become feminine in an instant whenever Holden is around) but a grand adventure nevertheless, Arizona is a good popcorn movie.