Arizona (1940)

During the 1860s Tucson, a pioneer woman struggles to succeed in the freight and cattle business while at risk at the hands of corrupt and violent local businessmen and rampaging Indians.

Director:

Wesley Ruggles

Writers:

Claude Binyon (screen play), Clarence Budington Kelland (based on the story by)

Stars:

Jean Arthur, William Holden, Warren William

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Byron Foulger	...	Pete Kitchen
Regis Toomey	...	Grant Oury
Paul Lopez	...	Estevan Ochoa
Colin Tapley	...	Bart Massey
Uvaldo Varela	...	Hilario Callego (as Roberto Álvarez)
Earl Crawford	...	Joe Briggs
Griff Barnett	...	Sam Hughes (as Griff Barnette)
Ludwig Hardt	...	Meyer

Storyline

Phoebe Titus is a tough, swaggering pioneer woman, but her ways become decidedly more feminine when she falls for California bound Peter Muncie. But Peter won't be distracted from his journey and Phoebe is left alone and plenty busy with villains Jefferson Carteret and Lazarus Ward plotting at every turn to destroy her freighting company. She has not seen the last of Peter, however.

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Plot Keywords:

arizona | tucson arizona | arizona territory | u.s. cavalry | older woman younger man relationship | 

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Taglines:

Turbulent Adventure in the Great West!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

James Stewart and Joel McCrea were considered for the lead role.

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Goofs

As the robbers are making their escape after blowing Phoebe's safe, Phoebe is seen leaving her home apparently tucking her shirt in. The next scene, she is still tied to her bed where the robbers put her before the robbery.

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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.

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Connections

Featured in The Last Round-up (1947)

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Soundtracks

Battle Hymn of the Republic
(circa 1856) (uncredited)
Music by William Steffe
In the score when the Civil War begins

User Reviews

An odd but enjoyable Jean Arthur film

"Arizona" probably marks the most unusual performance by Jean Arthur. Usually, this actress is known for comedies or romance but here she's in a western. This isn't that unusual, considering she's known for her performance in "Shane". However, here in "Arizona", she plays a completely different sort of role. She's a tough-as-nails broad--one who is the equal to any man....and don't you forget it!!

The film begins in Tucson, Arizona about 1861. It's a wild town--and not even much of a town at that. The only non-Indian or Hispanic woman there is Phoebe (Arthur) and you are introduced to her when she enters the cantina and holds all of men working for Lazarus Ward (Porter Hall) at gunpoint! It seems some of them stole from her and she's going to blow their heads off unless they return the money! Watching all this is a newcomer, Peter (William Holden) and, bizarrely, he's smitten!! She soon falls for him, too. However, there's a glitch in their romance-- he's a wandering soul and is only stopping by on his way to California. When he eventually leaves town, it leaves Phoebe to deal not only with the skunk Ward but his secret partner, Jefferson Carteret (Warren William). The two weasels plan on ruining Phoebe's budding freight business and when that attempt fails, Carteret plans on something even more devious. When Peter returns from California, he sees right through Carteret and you know by the end of the film one of them will be pushing up daisies!

This is a rather sprawling film with a little bit of everything in it. While the film isn't easy to believe, the acting is quite nice. I particularly liked William--who was magnificent in playing slimy rogues. And, here he's at his slimiest! Well worth seeing if a bit silly in places--it's the sort of western that's fun to watch but difficult to believe. Plus, too often the film relied on intertitle cards scattered throughout the film instead of actually SHOWING things they should have shown instead. Good but not great overall.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

25 December 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Arizona

Filming Locations:

Cortaro, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1