''Arizona'' is a 1918 American silent melodrama film produced by and starring

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thi ...

and released by

Famous Players-Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and ...

under its Artcraft Pictures banner. Based on the successful 1899 play of the same name by

Augustus Thomas Augustus Thomas (January 8, 1857 – August 12, 1934) was an American playwright. Biography Born in St. Louis, Missouri and son of a doctor, Thomas worked a number of jobs including as a page in the 41st Congress, studying law, and gaining some ...

, the film was directed by Albert Parker. Despite mixed reviews and its release near the end of the Spanish flu epidemic, the film prospered at the box office largely on the strength of its star's drawing power. ''Arizona'' is presumed lost.

Plot

Denton (Fairbanks) is a lieutenant in the U.S. Cavalry regiment commaded by Colonel Benham (Frederick Burton). Benham is married to the much younger Estrella (Kathleen Kirkham), the daughter of wealthy rancher Canby (Theodore Roberts). Estrella has a sister, Bonita (Marjorie Daw), with whom Denton falls in love. Denton discovers an affair between Estrella and Captain Hodgeman (Harry Northrup). In his effort to break up the affair, Denton follows Estrella to her room where Benham catches them and misunderstands what he sees. Denton honorably keeps Estrella's secret and in consequence must resign in disgrace. Canby hires Denton as foreman of his ranch. Denton's relationship with Bonita is endangered by Hodgeman who lies to Canby about him. Hodgeman's grudge against Denton leads to a fight between the two during which Hodgeman is shot and mortally wounded. Denton is suspected, but a cowboy, Tony (Raymond Hatton), declares that he fired the shot to retaliate for Hodgeman's dealings with the girl that he loves. In the end, Estrella reveals the truth about her own indiscretion, enabling Denton and Bonita to marry with her family's blessing as well as a happy ending for Benham and Estrella.

Cast

as Lieutenant Denton *

Theodore Roberts Theodore Roberts (October 8, 1861 – December 14, 1928) was an American film and stage actor. Early life Roberts was born in San Francisco, California. He was a cousin of the stage actress Florence Roberts. His choice of a career disapp ...

as Canby * Kate Price as Mrs. Canby * Frederick Burton as Colonel Benham * Harry S. Northrup as Captain Hodgeman *

Frank Campeau Frank Campeau (December 14, 1864 – November 5, 1943) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1911 and 1940 and made many appearances in films starring Douglas Fairbanks. On Broadway, Campeau appeared in ''Rio Gr ...

as Kellar * Kathleen Kirkham as Estrella * Marjorie Daw as Bonita *

Marguerite De La Motte Marguerite De La Motte (June 22, 1902 – March 10, 1950) was an American film actress, most notably of the silent film era. Early years Born in Duluth, Minnesota, De La Motte was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph De La Motte. She was a ...

as Lena *

Raymond Hatton Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures. Biography Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...

as Tony *Robert Boulder as doctor *

Albert MacQuarrie Albert MacQuarrie (January 8, 1882, San Francisco – February 17, 1950, California) was an American silent film actor. He was signed in 1912 and starred in about 70 films before his retirement. He starred with William Garwood in films suc ...

as Lieutenant Hatton *

Katherine Griffith Katherine Kiernan Griffith (September 30, 1876Katherine Kiernan Griffith's birthdate varies in sources; September 30, 1876 is the date on her gravestone in Colma, California, via Ancestry, IMDB, and Find a Grave. – October 17, 1921), also seen ...

*Ernest Butterworth

Production

The source material for the film was the enormously successful play of the same name, first staged in 1899 and credited with launching the trend for Western-themed plays. Some of the cast recruited for the film were also associated with the play: Theodore Roberts originated the role of Canby on the stage; Frank Campeau was well known for portraying Tony. Allan Dwan had directed Fairbanks in several successful pictures since signing with Fairbanks' studio in 1917; he was slated to direct ''Arizona'' as well, but in mid-production Dwan departed the picture and the Fairbanks company. Recently signed by Fairbanks to direct, Albert Parker took over direction of ''Arizona''. The extent of Dwan's contribution, and how much remained in the final film, is not known; advertisements for the movie do not mention a director and contemporary reviews only name Parker. Besides directorial troubles, other issues likely interfered with the production of ''Arizona''. Fairbanks was active in the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

effort and production was interrupted by his participation in a Liberty Loan drive that took him to Washington, D.C., New York City, and several cities across the South. The

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case wa ...

epidemic caused a four-week suspension of production on 60 percent of California films and may also have disrupted ''Arizona''. Exteriors were filmed in Arizona. The first film to use a

script supervisor A script supervisor (also called continuity supervisor or script) is a member of a film crew who oversees the continuity of the motion picture including wardrobe, props, set dressing, hair, makeup and the actions of the actors during a scene. The ...

, at the time known as a continuity girl. Sarah Y. Mason invented the craft of film continuity while working for director Albert Parker.The Official Tumblr of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
"Sarah Y. Mason Seen Here at the Typewriter
/ref>

Release

''Arizona'' was released in December 1918 and fared well at the box office overall. At the time of its release, theaters around the U.S. were just beginning to reopen after forced closures due to the Spanish flu epidemic. Many reviews focused on the effect Fairbanks had on the well-known material; some were favorable. The ''New York Times'' observed: Arizona' in the hands of some other actor might have become just another screen melodrama ... but with Fairbanks in the leading role, it has become an enjoyable comedy in which the athletic stunts of the star play a conspicuous and entertaining ... part." The ''Variety'' review repeated this opinion almost word for word. The review in ''The Billboard'' offered a similar point of view and added that the audience "echoed with spontaneous laughter in response to the energetic portrayal". P. S. Harrison of ''Motion Picture News'' and Edward Weitzel of ''Moving Picture World'' were less complimentary. Harrison opined that when Fairbanks attempted heavy drama, both "the actor's ability to entertain and the dignity of the drama uffer. Weitzel found Fairbanks' characterization of Denton lacking: "The athletic star has, as usual, put his own personality into the picture, and acts Douglas Fairbanks with his customary life-like perfection." '' Wid's Daily'' rated elements of the picture as "fair", "unobjectionable", and "nothing to brag about", and called the star "same old Doug"; only the supporting cast, Roberts in particular, was judged "first-rate". Even so, the reviews were positive as to the film's drawing power due to its star.

References

External links