The Stranger from Arizona

There are a couple of attributes that make "The Stranger From Arizona" worth watching for B-western fans. First, the film sets out to be a comedy, which breaks from Buck Jones' traditionally sober and downright serious stories and character development. Some of the comedy is physical, handled for the most part by Hank Worden's interpretation of Skeeter, Buck's sidekick. Save for a slim Roy Barcroft, most everyone gets their turns at wry commentary and deftly comedic dialaog, while Buck shines brightly in his droll wordplay and perfectly-timed and appropriately nuanced expressions.

Second, fist fights, gun play, and breathtaking horseback riding are kind of minimized in favor of story development and dialog, which are adequate at best, and the comedic interplay of the players, which flows fairly smoothly. Fact is, even the usually-active Silver doesn't have much to offer in this one.

The budget is obviously meager for this film, and if it weren't for its unusual and highly comedic flavor this film would be too simple and without sufficient self-propulsion, suspense, or action to merit recommendation to anyone but Buck Jones fans seeking a Buck who takes a break from his usual stoic self or to fans of 1930's B-westerns who wish to see something with a comedic difference.

And finally, stay tuned and listen for Buck's parting words for a final, very 1930's-modern surprise!

If you have never seen a Buck Jones western, you're in for a treat. Buck was one of the few cowboy stars of the silent era, including Tom Mix, who made the transition to talkies to continue to be a western hero during the days of the Great Depression. He was still going strong, even with his age beginning to show and tell, until his tragic death in the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub fire in Boston in 1942. An added treat this go around is the marvelous Hank Worden playing the comical sidekick Skeeter. Worden who is now world famous for playing Mose in John Ford's western classic "The Searchers," was still making movies when he died at the ripe old age of 91. You'll enjoy Skeeter's antics, especially when he tries to mount a running horse on takeoff in the manner of his saddle mate Buck.

What may surprise the viewer about a Buck Jones film is the humor that is passed around. As the great Jimmy Durante used to say, "Everybody tries to get in on the act." Buck himself is just as funny and has as many comeback lines as does Skeeter. In one scene when Buck and Skeeter are set up by the crooked station master, Skeeter turns off the lights while Buck is reading. Buck retorts, "Don't mind me. I went to night school." In most of the Buck Jones movies from this period Buck plays it just as silly as his sidekick in the first part of the film so the outlaws will think he's an incompetent dunce. He catches them off guard in the end and turns out to be a tough hombre to deal with. In "Stranger from Arizona" Buck's humor continues to the end. In the last scene with his stringy hair covering most of his face and his hat tie across his nose he looks like Fredric March doing a spoof of his Mr. Hyde character. Even the fights and chases are funny. There is one hilarious scene when Buck and Skeeter are chasing a shadowy figure through a trot and around a building and end up chasing each other. The perennial villain Roy Barcroft, though playing his role straight, gets in on the comedy during a barroom brawl when Buck whips a whole passel of bad guys, then tells the sheriff, "You never know how one of these fights is going to come out." Skeeter counters, "At least I didn't start this one," even though Buck had rescued him from the baddies.

The plot is typical B western with the boss outlaw and his henchmen stealing cattle from the ranchers including a pretty ranch owner Anne Turner (Dorothy Fay) who hires Buck and Skeeter to help her out. The cattle already loaded disappear along with the boxcar. This adds an element of mystery to the story. Buck does play a stranger in town. His real reason for being there is revealed toward the end of the film. But I don't remember that he ever said he was from Arizona. Still, the title "The Stranger from Arizona" is not too far off base this time, unlike most titles for B westerns.

This one should be billed as a Western/Comedy, because there's that much attempt at humor in an old west setting. It involves an undercover Buck and Skeeter looking into the overnight disappearances of entire railcarsful of cattle. While getting to the bottom of this dilemma, they run afoul of the law a couple of times, have some girl fun, and try to perfect telling tall tales. Some purposely laughable dialogue, even if certain situations are a bit contrived. As far as being entertaining goes, I rate this as slightly above-average.