CIVIC

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1028, 19 July 1930, Page 15

CIVIC

“THE ARIZONA KID” Warner Baxter has accomplished the seemingly impossible. He has surpassed the marvellous performance he gave in “In Old Arizona” with another and even finer impersonation of a gay and insouciant bandit in “The Arizona Kid,” a great outdoor romance in Movietone, which delighted large audiences at the Civic Theatre again last evening. Here is the genuine spirit of the Old West, that elusive thing which so few Western productions manage to transfer to the screen. Perhaps the fact that all its scenes, including the interiors, were made right on the actual scene of the story—a little village in south-western Utah —has something to do with the note of unquestioned realism that pervades “The Arizona Kid.” Anyway, it is there, and together with the gorgeous scenic backgrounds and the remarkable work of the cast, makes the picture one of the best and most entertaining all talking films of the year. As a badly-wanted outlaw, “The Arizona Kid” is being searched for by many, including the sheriff of Rockville, Utah, who does not suspect that Chico Cabrillo, a well-liked resident of the town, is really the Kid himself. Chico's favourite among the danceliall girls is the fiery Lorita. whose naturally jealous nature is inflamed when her lover offers the shelter of his home to Virginia and Nick Iloyt. The treacherous Nick learns Chico’s true identity and betrays him. In addition there are supporting featurettes and a fine musical programme.

Ted Henkel’s Civic Concert Orchestra plays a selection from “The Student Prince” and Fred Scholl at the organ plays the Spanish melody. “An Old Guitar and an Old Refrain."