This is a great value western. It is worth to review Arizona, especially Jean Arthur, beautiful, and William Holden early in his career, in a nostalgic and authentic Western. The film shows the colonization of the American West with the intense conflicts between cattle ranchers, cowboys, gangsters and all sorts of adventurers who have moved to that wilderness of the USA, many paying dearly for their daring: with their own lives. What we see in Arizona is certainly no different from what has happened in the vast majority of American states. The images are perfect, people dress with what was possible in a backward and resourceless region. The physical types, all indications, are perfectly displayed, dirty, with ragged clothing. Violence prevailed in a region without law and without a minimum of justice. Everything here was very uncertain, one never knew if it would be possible to return to the place where one was and even if there would be a day after. Relations were too superficial and life too short. But it also shows the spirit realized of the people of the Wild West, and the character of Jean Arthur fully incorporates this spirit of struggle, of achievement. It is a magnificent film, worthy of being among the best westerns of all time. I believe that if it had been produced in color, surely today it would be appearing among the great westerns.

Fun but overlong western with a dynamite turn by Jean Arthur as a feisty pioneer gal that's as rough and tumble as any man you'll meet. She fights corruption and villainy in the form of Porter Hall and Warren William. She also finds time for romance with handsome (and considerably younger) leading man William Holden.Arthur's the primary reason to see this. She dominates every scene. Also some good performances from Edgar Buchanan as a drunken judge and Warren William as a slimy crook. Holden's fine but he wasn't quite ready to be an A-lister yet. The romance element is one of the weaker parts of the film. Victor Young's Oscar-nominated score is excellent. It's an enjoyable western but, like I said, it goes on too long for such a simple story.

It is reassuring to see that even in Hollywoods Golden period they could churn out overblown epics in the manner they to do today.Maybe i am old fashioned but i like a lot of action in westerns not interminable talk.There are only 2 worthwhile action scenes in the whole of this turgid boring 125 minutes.If you are looking forward to the final gunfight between Williams and Holden well forget it.the action takes place off screen.Ruggles seems to have no idea of pacing.It is sow slow it took me 2 attempts to watch this film right through.On the second time it vied with Switzerland v Czech Republic as to being the most sleep inducing.6 years later Ruggles went to London to make London Town which a musical weighed in at 126 minutes.It was a total disaster and effectively spelt the end of Ruggles career as a Director.So if you like westerns my advice is give this a wide berth.

In Arizona Jean Arthur repeats her Calamity Jane character from the earlier DeMille classic, The Plainsman. She's a tough pioneer woman, one of the founders of early Tucson.Her dream man comes by way of a wagon train in William Holden who was making his first western with this film. Originally the part was offered to Gary Cooper who turned it down. I suspect that Cooper clearly saw that Arthur had more screen time. Holden who was under dual contract to Paramount and Columbia had no choice in the matter.But by far the best one in this film is Warren William who is the suave villain of the piece. In The Big Country, Burl Ives describes Charles Bickford as a 'high toned skunk'. That phrase so very aptly describes what Warren William is all about here.Previous to his arrival, the local bad guy was Porter Hall. But William with guile and cunning bullies Hall into a partnership who in turn sets him up with the local Apaches. Nobody can quite prove what's going on, but Holden says William has the odor of polecat about him.There's a nice battle scene with the Apaches before the final showdown with Holden and William. Their final battle is a combination of the shootouts from both Stagecoach and High Noon.Paul Harvey has a nice part as the Scottish merchant who is Arthur's business partner and Edgar Buchanan does one of his patented reprobate judge parts that he would do over and over in his career.And we even get to hear William Holden sing I Dream of Jeannie. Nothing special and it's no accident he had no career in musicals.Arizona is still a nice film tribute to our western pioneer spirit and it's one of Warren William's best screen characters.