Sous le ciel d'Arizona

Average Wayne-Lone Star matinée special. Chris (Wayne) is trying to secure oil money for fatherless Indian girl Nina (Rickert). Sam Black (a good name for bad guy Canutt) and his gang are trying to kidnap the girl and hijack the money. Nothing exceptional here, other than some good outdoor action and a clever Canutt-devised stunt with rope and a tree. For fans of Gabby Hayes, his likably grouchy character is almost complete. For me, the highlight was seeing Lone Star regular Earl Dwire actually play a good guy (Tom) for once. With his considerably less than handsome features, he fits the bad guy stereotype. So his role here amounts to a welcome departure showing that you don't have to look like a Wayne to play a good guy. Fairly scenic locations, not the Sierras unfortunately, but not the treeless LA scrublands either. Strikingly pretty Sheila Terry as Clara doesn't have much to do other than ride horseback in a dress, no less, and with the boys. Note the plunge off the cliff into the water. This was a popular stunt of the time and a fittingly dramatic end to a chase sequence. I can't tell whether this one is a stock shot from another film or not. But, never mind, since it's a grabber anyway. All in all, an entertaining 50 minutes, but nothing special.

"Neath the Arizona Skies" was one of the series of Lone Star Westerns that Wayne made between 1933 and 1935. It contains plenty of action and stunts. Wayne was looking more comfortable and less awkward as the hero. Sheila Terry, who had worked with Wayne at Columbia and in one of his serials is the heroine. Yakima Canutt is the chief heavy and George Hayes appears unbilled playing a character very close to the "Gabby" character that he would play exclusively from about 1936 onward. In this series Hayes played a variety of roles from sidekick, to father of the heroine, to the villain.

The best that can be said of Canutt's performance is that as an actor, he made a great stuntman. He performs a number of his trademark stunts in this film from the horse and rider going over over the cliff, to numerous horse falls and fights. The chase sequences were well photographed and staged. the plot involving the protection by Wayne of a little girl who stands to inherit oil wells, moves along and is believable. All in all, 'Neath the Arizona Skies is a competent little actioner.

Neath The Arizona Skies finds John Wayne as the guardian of little Shirley Jean Rickert who is a half Indian little tyke who stands to inherit some really big bucks because property her Mother left before she died has oil on it. Dad's been out of the picture for some time and most believe he's dead. The Duke thinks otherwise and sets off to find him.

He's got Yakima Canutt and a gang he's leading for competition who would like nothing better than to snatch the girl, kill the father if he's alive and get guardianship of the fortune.

Remember this is 1934 and kidnapping stories were very commonplace in films because of the Lindbergh kidnapping a few years earlier.

I wish this film had been done by a major studio with production values of same. There is a good nugget of a plot idea here and it could have been developed a lot better than it was.

Still it's not bad for a Lone Star production for John Wayne and I think more than Duke devotees might like it.

Neath the Arizona skies is one of the better early John Wayne efforts. It is clear watching this film that he was growing in stature as an actor since the very early efforts where he was often a bit wooden.

It's quite crisply filmed and has a more interesting if still quite clumsy plot than many of his early efforts. Here he attempts to keep safe a little Indian girl ( a cute Shirley Jean Rickett) who who a price on her head.

There are the familiar stunts including one great one near the end, the obligatory shootout and of course his usual sidekick Gabby Hughes manages to get involved as well.

This is another one that is really just for John Wayne fans only but if you are one this is worth watching.

This early John Wayne film left a lot to be desired. Nonetheless, for a 1934 low-budget film, it wasn't all that bad. The film's saving grace is that it clocks in at just over 50 minutes. About the time you're getting bored with it and ready to move on, it is over.

‘Neath Arizona Skies is badly in need of restoration. The image quality is fair at best and the sound track is scratchy throughout. However, despite the erosion of time, the story line remains interesting, if predictable. Your typical western, the story traces the hero's (Wayne) attempts to save a half-breed child whose worth $50,000 in oil money.

The young Wayne shows promise of what was to come. He saves the show from otherwise stale acting. One notable exception is Gaby Hayes in an uncredited bit part. He is charming and provides Wayne with a solid support that makes Wayne look better than he probably was at that time. One obvious neglect is costume design. The woman (Shelia Terry) - Wayne's love interest - is dressed in very fashionable 1930s attire, and sticks out like a sore thumb against the men in their buckskins and cowboy hats.

If you can stand bad costuming, fake sound effects and a grainy picture, the film is worth seeing. In others words, if you aren't a diehard Wayne fan, don't bother.