Early in his career, when the Duke worked at Columbia Pictures, Harry Cohn tried him out in this romantic vehicle, for which he received second billing to Laura LaPlante, who plays a scorned Evelyn eventually getting her chance to make Bob pay for calling it quits. This mostly forgotten flick, not even listed in many film catalogs under Wayne's name, is best left that way, forgotten and unlisted. Still, as one of the first films that gave him significant billing, he holds his own against his equally forgettable cast mates. As a romantic actor, he fails to impress in his clinches with either of his lovers. It's obvious he had a long way to go to become a good actor although he never turned into a great one like the Gables and Stewarts and others then starting their careers. It's still of interest to watch the old football game and the cavalry drills in this picture, so it's not without its merits. Just don't expect much and you won't be disappointed. I'd recommend if for fans of the Duke, just to see how green he was back then. And the girls are pretty and the guys look nice in uniforms, so there are worse ways to pass an hour or so. Dale Roloff
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keesha456 April 2007
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AlsExGal6 May 2023John Wayne stars as a West Point cadet and star football player named Bob. All the ladies lust after him, but he only has eyes for Evelyn (Laura La Plante). However, as his graduation nears, he breaks things off, much to Evelyn's dismay. Some time later, the now Lieutenant Bob is stationed in Arizona where he is reunited with his mentor Colonel Frank (Forrest Stanley). Things get awkward when Lt. Bob meets Col. Frank's new bride...Evelyn! Lt. Bob does the reasonable thing and immediately starts dating Evelyn's younger sister Bonnie (June Clyde), which for some reason upsets Evelyn.
This instantly forgettable programmer has a cornball script only matched by its uninspired performances. Wayne, looking lean and bewildered, appears to be searching for the nearest exit. La Plante gets a big "Acting" scene near the end that doesn't do her any favors. Highlights include Nina Quartero's brief role as the drunken Conchita, and Wayne and Clyde singing a song about cookies.
Its pedigree as an early oddity starring John Wayne searching for a screen persona and stardom in a modern dress role and a film that doesn't help him do either of those things is a reason to watch this. -
mark.waltz18 February 2015A very young John Wayne is an Army football hero who dumps his non-committed girlfriend (Laura La Plante, the heroine of "The Cat and the Canary" and the original "Show Boat") and takes off for adventures elsewhere. La Plante ends up marrying on the rebound Wayne's former commanding officer (a very good Forrest Stanley) who surprises her by inviting Wayne for a visit. La Plante's naive younger sister (June Clyde) falls for Wayne and a very jealous La Plante plays the devoted overprotective sister to the hilt to keep them from getting involved. Has Wayne changed his womanizing ways? That will be disproven if La Plante and a drunken Mexican senorita (Nina Quartero) get their female way.
What starts off fairly slow moves into an entertaining pre-code drama, featuring a fascinating auction scene where La Plante and Stanley try to bid each other out over the football which won the big game, signed by all the players including Wayne. He is present at the start of the auction (with another blonde on his arm), and his look of disgust at La Plante's presence makes it clear that there was another reason for him dumping her rather than just not wanting to commit to her. It's obvious that her feelings for him have remained, and it takes being humiliated through the presence of her younger sister to wake her up. Quartero, playing a stereotypical Mexican spitfire, tries to bring some spark to her scene, but she is certainly no Lupe Velez or even an Armida. Some lavish sets make this appear to be higher budgeted than it probably was, while the direction of George B. Seitz (who later directed some of Judy Garland's early films) speeds up the film once the plot takes off. -
selfhelpradio21 December 2001I suppose this is what they used to call a "woman's picture." Laura LaPlante, a fetching, if gnomish blonde, plays Evelyn Palmer, a New York girl (what she does for a living is never revealed) who's been dallying with dashing West Point cadet Bob Denton, played robotically by a very young & handsome John Wayne. When she is dumped unceremoniously before Bob's graduation, Evelyn woos & eventually marries his mentor, Colonel Bonham, played by Forrest Stanley more like a stuffed-shirt British army officer than an American who's spent years in Arizona. The big complication is that, once the newlywed Bonhams relocate to Arizona, Denton shows up for duty &, despite Evelyn's triumphant attitude toward him, Denton takes a fancy to Evelyn's sister, Bonnie, who's the cutest flapper I've seen in ages.
This plot, made today, might have a bit more nastiness in that; it's as close to a "Cruel Intentions" as you're going to get in 1931. That Bob & Evelyn are having a sexual relationship is implied, of course, & it's amusing how, later in the picture, every time someone's about to say it, that person is interrupted or hushed. More than that, though I saw this on the Starz Western channel, it's more like your average sophisticated thirties melodrama than a western. The cigarettes are in boxes, gowns are worn to dinner, & the Colonel's house in Arizona is strictly Long Island.
The film features some amusing stock footage of an Army-Navy football game, as well as military maneuvers. But without giving anything away, the film unwinds & then winds up in a pretty cliched manner. For John Wayne fans, it's bound to be extremely disappointing, but for those of us who are intrigued by the early days of Hollywood, good & bad, it's not such a bad way to spend an hour. But it was way too silly to be moving, & it's by the numbers mix-up plot never really generates any suspense. -
Uriah4310 September 2023This film begins with a young West Point cadet by the name of "Bob Denton" (John Wayne) abruptly ending his two-year relationship with his girlfriend "Evelyn Palmer" (Laura La Plante) just before graduation. For her part, Evelyn is devastated by this news as she had anticipated their getting married in the near future. So, in order to get back at him, she decides to date Bob's superior officer and mentor "Colonel Frank Bonham" (Forrest Stanley). One thing leads to another, and they are soon married with Frank getting assigned to an army post in Arizona. However, since Bob was on training maneuvers at the time, he is completely unaware of their relationship. To that effect, he is taken completely by surprise when he is ordered to report for his first assignment to Arizona--with Colonel Bonham as his new commanding officer. Further complicating the situation is the fact that Evelyn's younger sister "Bonita Palmer" (June Clyde) is living with them and, much to the consternation of Evelyn, falls madly in love with Bob. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film was initially released under the title of "Men Are Like That" but, since it was a remake of an earlier silent picture from 1913, renamed "Arizona" to reflect that fact. For what it's worth, it was also released under the title of "The Virtuous Wife" in the United Kingdom. Be that as it may, although this movie is quite dated, I enjoyed it for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.
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bkoganbing12 March 2007I suppose that on the plus side for John Wayne in this film he got to put on a football jersey which up until recently he had been wearing for the University of Southern California. Here he plays a cadet who kicks the winning field goal in the Army/Navy game before graduating West Point.
The Duke is the foster son of Colonel Forrest Stanley and after graduation he's been assigned out in Arizona to the army post that Stanley is commandant of. Before leaving he rather callously gives the air to Laura LaPlante who he'd been seeing. Laura doesn't take the breakup well and without Wayne knowing it, makes a play for Stanley who she marries. She's out living in Arizona with Stanley and her sister June Clyde before Wayne arrives at the post.
John Wayne fans should realize that this is not the Duke they're accustomed to. He's playing the kind of hero/heel part that Tyrone Power later perfected so well. It doesn't wear well on Wayne at all.
In fact as I watched Arizona and did a little research on it, I saw that it was remake of a silent film of the same name that starred that greatest of swashbucklers Douglas Fairbanks. No wonder I thought that this was a film better played by someone like Tyrone Power.
In the Citadel Film Series book, The Films of John Wayne, Arizona is listed under its later title of Men Are Like That. My guess is that the title was changed to not confuse viewers with the later Jean Arthur William Holden western Arizona. Of course the title need not have been changed at all, but I suspect this Arizona was re-released to take advantage of John Wayne's burst into major stardom following Stagecoach. Harry Cohn could do little else because John Wayne was pointedly not working for Columbia Pictures after Cohn fired him and later tried to blackball him in the industry. There was never any new Duke product for Columbia after Wayne became a legend.
Probably only the Duke's most devoted fans would want to see Arizona. -
John Wayne is a star football player from West Point and after winning the Army-Navy football game with an extra point, he's off to serve with his mentor, the Colonel, in Arizona. However, before leaving, he gives his girlfriend (Laura La Plante) the brush off--telling her he really wasn't serious about her and would not marry anyone...ever. She was crushed and, oddly, makes the moves on the Colonel. After a short courtship, they marry and they, too, are off to Arizona.
Once there, she and Wayne don't tell the Colonel about their prior relationship and Wayne begins dating the lady's younger sister (who, by the way, looks a lot like her). However, it's obvious the old girlfriend carries a grudge and doesn't like her sister hanging around Wayne. Despite earlier in the film saying he didn't want to ever marry, he does fall hard for the sister and they secretly marry.
Not knowing her sister and Wayne are married, Ms. La Plante decides to hurt Wayne and get rid of him once and for all--claiming Wayne tried to sexually assault her!!! However, when she finds out that her sister is married, she tries to change her story but still weasel out of the responsibility for lying--saying she had heard from someone that Wayne was a cad so she made up the story. Finally, though, she convinces her decent husband (the Colonel) that Wayne was innocent and her earlier accusation was fabricated and everyone, apparently, lives happier ever after--though this wasn't spelled out clearly. What ALSO wasn't spelled out clearly but I think was strongly implied, by the way, was that Wayne and La Plante's earlier relationship was sexual--adding deeper understanding for why she behaved so vindictively towards him later.
This was a pretty lousy film all around and aside from the fact it starred John Wayne, I probably never would have watched it. In his early career that spanned almost an entire decade, Wayne was NOT that popular or famous--appearing mostly in westerns made by studios from "poverty row". The term "poverty row" refers to the incredibly low budgets and low production values many of these tiny studios possessed. Most of these films, quite frankly, are pretty poor and just aren't worth wasting your time on unless you are a die-hard John Wayne fan. I actually do, on rare occasions, like to watch one of his "Three Mesquiteers" of "Singing Sandy" series films--they are fun and mindless and it's also fun seeing Wayne in the most ridiculous situations (such as playing a singing cowboy like Gene Autry). A few of his early films were actually NOT westerns and this is an example of a film made by a not-quite-poverty row studio (Columbia--several years before their glory years and bigger budget films).
So why is it so lousy? Well, it isn't all because of the budget, though this didn't help. Much of the film was obviously made inside a sound stage and a lot of stock footage of an Army-Navy football game was recycled. However, what really sunk the film was the amateurish acting and, at times, ridiculous script. No one could act, though one of the worst offenders in this department was John Wayne himself! All the self-assuredness and swagger and energy that you have come to expect from him are gone. Instead, he just seems like a very young and inexperienced actor who could have used more coaching--which is exactly what he was. The positive is that films like this DID help to polish his acting (sort of like putting him in the minor leagues for a few years until he was ready for the big time). The negative is that the film is gosh darn awful--being very silly and sloppily made. -
januszlvii23 May 2020John Wayne did very few outright bad films, this is certainly one of them ( maybe the worst). Here he plays LT Bob Denton who just graduated West Point who dumped his girlfriend Evelyn Palmer ( a very obnoxious Laura LaPlante) after two years for her sister Bonnie ( June Clyde), who he secretly marries. Evelyn to get revenge marries Col. Bonham, who raised Bob as a son., and frames him for attacking her, and he must resign from the military. Of course she then finds out that Bob and Bonnie are married. Spoilers ahead: In the end it works out Evelyn comes clean and admits to what she did, and she still loves her husband and Bob can remain. It is one big soap opera with Wayne unlikable and LaPlante ( even worse as a manipulative woman). Clyde was nicer then her sister but very much a gold digger. The only reason to see it is if you are a John Wayne completist. 3/10 stars
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Melodramatic soap opera about a young lady named Evelyn (Laura La Plante) who is in love with West Point football hero Bob Denton (John Wayne) - unfortunately for her, he's somewhat of a brash ladies man who says, and these are his very words, "My women understand me - they take one look and know they can expect nothing". Hmmm, well she doesn't seem to understand that and expects to marry him - but he dumps her when he realizes how serious she is about him. So she sets out to get even by actually marrying Bob's boyhood guardian (without Bob's knowledge) and moving to Arizona with the poor older man who is completely clueless about her former relationship. Soon Bob is assigned a post there and stirs things up when he begins a romance with Evelyn's flirtatious sister (June Clyde).
This is a very interesting, well done film - okay, I never could understand why women in movies sometimes marry the "wrong man" just to get even or just because they can't get the man they really want. Laura La Plante plays a role here that isn't exactly a very likable person, yet she is such a charming, likable actress herself, her character does manage to come across in an appealing way. John Wayne is okay too (and he doesn't look too bad in his tight-fitting cadet uniform pants, I might add). June Clyde, by the way, gives a very enjoyable performance here playing the cutesy, bubbly flirt to the hilt. A good film, worth seeing. -
shakercoola23 November 2019An American drama; A story about an American army lieutenant whose former girlfriend marries his commanding officer out of revenge causing complications down the line. This pre-code melodrama is a stagebound production about false accusation and romantic shenanigans. It contrives a plot about a mix-up but it contains holes at almost every turn, never really generating any suspense. The main characters are written as scoundrels without many redeeming features and it is too silly to be moving. June Clyde is likeable as the excitable younger sister full of energy and life. John Wayne wilts despite his alacrity.
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view_and_review5 February 2024Every movie needs a conflict and a resolution no matter how minor the conflict. Sometimes Hollywood writers will go out of their way to create a conflict no matter how implausible it is.
"Arizona" already had a conflict brewing from early on. A young lady named Evelyn Palmer (Laura La Plante) was dating the irresistible football player named Bob Denton (John Wayne). He played for Army and was set to graduate and be shipped out to Arizona. Before he was to be shipped out he broke things off with Evelyn. She took it really hard because she thought they were going to be married. He never mentioned marriage, but you know silly girls and always having ideas of marriage (that's sarcasm).
Evelyn moved on fairly quickly and purposefully when she hooked up with Bob's father figure and commanding officer, Col. Frank Bonham (Forrest Stanley). She was out to prove something to Bob and herself when she bagged Bonham, and he offered Evelyn what Bob didn't: marriage. And she accepted.
Things got sticky when Mr. And Mrs. Bonham went to Arizona where Evelyn was sure to run into Bob. It was just a matter of time before the cat was let out of the bag. Was Bob going to try to win Evelyn back, was Evelyn going to try to win Bob back, or was Evelyn going to try to use Col. Bonham to punish Bob?
None of the above.
Bob hooked up with Evelyn's sister Bonita 'Bonnie' Palmer (June Clyde). Bonnie was staying with her sister and Col. Bonham and she was like a kid in a candy store. She was a young single gal surrounded by Army men. Yippeee! I'm not exaggerating. This chick was thirsty, and when she met Bob she heard wedding bells.
When Evelyn saw Bob and Bonnie together she tried to run interference. She didn't want Bob to do to Bonnie what he did to her. The problem is that Evelyn still wanted to keep her and Bob's prior relationship a secret. As a result, she tried to keep Bonnie away from Bob using hearsay, and she tried to keep Bob away from Bonnie by using threats.
None of it worked. Bob and Bonnie got married, and it wasn't a ruse. They were genuinely in love (or as in love as characters were in the 30's). They kept that from Evelyn because they didn't want her to interfere.
And that's when the writer, Augustus Thomas, let his overactive imagination get the best of him. He set up a ridiculous scenario that could only make you roll your eyes.
While Bob was driving back to base one perfectly normal day he spotted a Mexican woman (Nina Quartero) on the side of the road clearly in need of a ride. He did the gentlemanly thing and offered her a ride, but he was only going as far as his post.
The woman was drunk and kept on knocking back more whisky (or whatever it was). Not only that she was insistent that Bob drink too. As she kept trying to force Bob to drink he was swerving all over the road. The Mexican woman was all over him. Guess who was driving behind them at that time?
It could only have been one of two people if this was for dramatic purposes: Evelyn, his ex, or Bonnie, his wife, and it was Evelyn. Now Bob had to rush to Evelyn's home to explain that things weren't as they appeared.
Ugh! The dreaded "this isn't what it looks like" scenario. I think there has only been one time in my life in which I was in a "this isn't what it looks like" scenario and it was cleared up in a matter of seconds. Per Hollywood these scenarios happen all of the time and they completely derail relationships.
The whole thing led to a despicable action by Evelyn in which she tried to frame Bob as though he tried to take advantage of her. It was a stupid move that could've resulted in Bob being killed had Col. Bonham been that type of guy. Bob was in the colonel's home alone with the colonel's wife, and even though no words were spoken to verbalize what Evelyn intimated, no words were needed. She had a torn dress (which she tore herself) and looked frightened, which was enough for Col. Bonham to know exactly what had happened.
Back then words were never needed for a woman to say she had sex, to say she was pregnant, to say she was a prostitute, or to say a guy raped her--and it was maddening. Those movies made it seem like people back then were so intuitive that a woman need only give a look and it said everything that needed to be said. Of course, I'm not buying it.
So, in the "Arizona" scene Evelyn ripped her dress, mussed her hair, and screamed for her husband. When he came in he asked, "What's going on here?" No one said anything. Evelyn just looked at Bonham as though she were relieved he just saved her and Bonham filled in the rest. He then asked Bob what he had to say for himself.
Bob said that he had nothing to say because he was too much of a gentleman and he had too much respect for Bonham. In other words, he didn't want to divulge their prior relationship, and he didn't want to accuse his wife of being a liar.
If he told him the truth then he'd have to probably tell Bonham everything and that would crush him. So, he just kept the truth to himself and took his lumps.
He was a bigger sap... er... man than I am. No way am I letting it be believed that I'm some type of sexual deviant just to spare somebody's feelings.
Me. I'm singing like a canary. I don't care if he believes me or not, my name, my integrity, and my reputation means too much to me. There's no way I'm walking around with the word being that I tried to sexually assault my superior officer's wife. But this is a movie and it worked for the plot.
It was all solved in the end, but that did little to rectify the damage Augustus (the writer) had done. He had taken a fairly decent movie and dragged it through the mud for the sake of drama. It was a weak move that showed a lack of imagination and it soured me on the movie altogether.
Free on Odnoklassniki. -
A very solid good picture from 1931 is finally seeing the light of day via the new TV channel, GET/TV. We watched it last night.
First of all you need to know the picture and sound of this 83 year old film is much better than might be expected. Perhaps withheld because of long term friction between Columbia Pictures and John Wayne.
Set in West Point and later in Arizona, Wayne plays a football hero who finds it necessary to break up with a girl he realizes he doesn't love. He soon finds out she's the b...h from hell, and her reaction will impact on several other people.
The script and acting is just fine. -
film_poster_fan16 January 2022Certainly not one of John Wayne's worst films, as one reviewer proclaims, but among his worst performances. After his initial starring role in "The Big Trail" in 1930, Wayne found himself at Columbia and turned in this wooden acting role in "Arizona" along with other pictures and was eventually fired by Harry Cohn. Soon Wayne found himself on poverty row, starring in "His Private Secretary" for Showmen's Pictures in 1933 and a series of westerns for Lone Star Productions released by Monogram Pictures in 1934. His climb back to being a top Hollywood star would take a few years. This film is a cultural significance since it has been released on a DVD set entitled "Columbia Pictures - Pre-Code Collection" along with four other films made in 1931-1932, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Jean Harlow, and Carole Lombard.
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frank412211 June 2019Arizona showcased John Wayne at 24 and only his second leading role is the most interesting actor despite being the most inexperienced. It all starts with the Duke kicking the winning extra point at the Army-Navy game much to the delight of the Colonel (Forrest Stanley). Then Laura La Plante plays the woman scorned to perfection with her sister June Clyde brilliantly complicating the drama. When the energized performance of Nina Quartero comes on the scene the plot thickens setting the stage masterfully for the grande finale. Arizona is one of the hidden gems that needs to see the light of day.
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morrisonhimself15 September 2022Unlike most of his roles, almost any good male actor could have played the part John Wayne had in this rarely seen film.
Still new in the biz, John Wayne handled this melodrama very well, but he and the other top-billed performers were robbed by June Clyde.
She was sparkling, effervescent, cute, and just adorable. From this one role alone, I have the belief she should have been a big star.
Though other than John Wayne, none of the other players are well known today, but all were top-quality performers in what is probably considered a "woman's picture."
Despite being a strong fan of John Wayne, I didn't even know the name of this movie, only in part because it had had another name, but it is so unusual for him, so completely different from most of his films, and especially from the ones he's most famous for, it's seldom even mentioned when he is discussed.
Laura LaPlante is actually the star. And watching her, it's easy to understand: She had looks and talent and screen presence.
But even she is over-shadowed by June Clyde, in a lesser role. Still, over-shadowed though she might be, there is no doubt as to her ability and her deserving of all the fame she could have got.
This is well worth seeing, especially for John Wayne completists, but for anyone who wants a good story and high production values and an excellent cast, for whom there cannot be too much praise.
There is a good print at YouTube. I hope you see it. -
bob.decker17 July 2023Laura La Plante is perfectly cast in this pre-code drama that sounds from the title as if it ought to be a Western (perhaps deliberately?) but is in fact an adult romantic story that could as easily take place in 2023 as in 1931. Beyond the fine performances from the leads, some excellent cinematography and set decoration lift this above what one might expect from a so-called Poverty Row studio in the depths of the Depression. Highly recommended also for fans of the Duke, who towers over the other players with his bashful physicality. Mr. Cohn is credited producer on this one. Once again, well recommended.