A “WESTERN” TALKIE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 646, 24 April 1929, Page 17

A “WESTERN” TALKIE

SUCCESS OF “OLD ARIZONA” While all the big producers are won- j dering what to do next, and just how j long the public will continue to show j interest in the present form of talkie, j along comes “In Old Arizona,” the first I all-talkie western picture. This picture is a revelation, and one I which will point the way for many producers to follow. It is a brilliantly directed production, with one of those simple stories which strike home entertainingly, its photography is perfect, and the reproduction of voice and sound leaves very little room for improvement. A great scene is that of a mob of bullocks driving right into the camera, bellowing as they come, without the slightest burr of the machine. In another shot, taken at the entrance of a corral, the bandit is delivering the mob over to his buyers, and receiving the money. Their conversation is important. Every word can easily be heard, although in the background is the subdued lowing of the cattle and the crow of a cock. The gunshots are uncanny. They don’t “ping” or “bang.” Instead, they literally thud just as if the person seeing it was shot, insteaxl of the cattle rustlers in the picture. Photographed amid those weird and inspiring mounds in the deserts of Utah, the cameraman has subtly exploited his backgrounds to stress the mood of the moment. Nature can mean a good deal more to a director of vision and imagination than the studio background made for the conventional fade-out.