A Lone Star Western. Copyright 15 January 1935 by Monogram Pictures Corp. No New York opening. U.S. release: 5 December 1934. U.K. release through Pathé : 12 August 1935. 6 reels. 52 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Wayne is the guardian of a little Indian girl, Shirley Jane Rickert, who is entitled to a royalty payment of $50,000 for an oil lease. Before she can get the money, however, Wayne needs to get a paper signed by her natural father, Earl Dwire. A gang of kidnappers led by Yakima Canutt also want the money. Matters are further complicated when a couple of bank robbers, Rockwell and Wilsey, cross paths.COMMENT: This would be a dull Lone Star were it not for the surprise appearance of George Hayes, playing pretty close to his "Gabby" character. Although prominently featured in re-issue posters and advertising, Hayes isn't even mentioned in the credits. Maybe his part was added as an afterthought. However it says much for the quality for the rest of the movie, that Hayes is the highlight of interest. True the pace is fairly rapid and the plot has more twists than a snake on an ants' nest, but the action spots - and admittedly there are many - are poorly and unexcitingly staged. Mr. Fraser is not one of the better directors in this field. Not only are the action scenes lacking in vigor and punch, but the level of acting is far more amateurish than usual. Even Canutt has little color, whilst Wayne himself lacks his usual assurance and sparkle. The heroine is somewhat dowdily costumed, though she has an attractive face, and as for Miss Rickert/Ricketts, it comes as no surprise to learn that she was a former member of the Our Gang series. She's one of those over-confident, over-forward but not particularly charismatic Hollywood kids which the studios seem to turn out by the cart-load. Still Buffalo Bill, Jr. was mean and shifty enough as the villain, and Earl Dwire had one or two good moments as the never-do-well turned playful dad. (No-one could complain that Dwire lacked variety in his various Lone Star roles). And maybe I imagined it, but "Sheriff" Jack Rockwell seemed uncomfortable in his unaccustomed role as a heavy.As for the Arizona skies, we're still waiting. The locations are singularly uninteresting, even by Poverty Row's Hollywood Hills standards. Yes, Yakima Canutt does do a couple of stunts, including two leaps from a cliff, one on horseback, doubling himself; and one solo, doubling Wayne. Thanks to Fraser's poor direction, both fail to impress.

When your child presents its newest painting, a parent often doesn't apply art critic standards, but just enjoys and applauds it. Funnily, I'm somehow feeling the same for Lone Star westerns.I've started to discover them only yesterday, when I bought The Lucky Texan at the supermarket, for €2.99. I watched it, torn between disbelief and fascination.. and went back to the shop the same night, and bought all others they had, Diamond Valley, West of the Divide, Neath the Arizona Skies. And had an increasingly joyful weekend with them :) The more I watched, the more I got a warm fuzzy feeling, the cast of John Wayne, George Hayes, Yakima Canutt.. Up to and including the Ford Model T, which featured in the others, but not this one - and I already missed it.But what Arizona Skies offers, in addition to the usual welcome fare, is the "Indian" girl (who happens to call for Daddy Chris in unsuitable situations), the lasso/elevator trick which made me laugh out loud, the cliff-to-river stunt.. The hostage exchange and the last bullet idea were good, too.This is a different kind of cinema from what I normally watch. Somehow more resembling old TV serials, like Bonanza (and some 30 years older than that). I can only say it gave me a good fun time, and I'm looking forward to the next items I'll find.

To be sure, it's easy to look at all the flaws in construction in the 'Lone Star' westerns (or any other films), but some are saved by editing and lots of action. This one is.It has an interesting premise and plot twists. Chris Morell (John Wayne), while on the trail of little 'half-breed' Nina's father, a 'squaw man' (that is, someone married to a full blooded Indian woman) who is described as 'a good for nothing white man,' is being chased by two groups of villains, seeking to kidnap the girl for her inheritance from oil wells on Indian land.Basically a chase movie, most of it is on horseback, with lots of chases, fights, escapes and shoot outs. It's 52 minutes that really build and move along, with crisp editing towards the end. Yakima Canutt (The Great Yak) gets to play the head villain, Sam Black, and he's bad. Earl Dwire gets to be a repentant Dad who plays with his newly found daughter. Gabby Hayes is uncredited, but his delivery and presence sparkle in his brief appearances.What more do you want? Character development? It's not there. The sub plot with Clara's brother, while promising, as noted by others, goes nowhere. Chris's "I've got an idea..." solution while being trapped in a cabin near the end doesn't really seem like much of an idea, and the final battle with Sam Black is fought in the water, and not up to the denouement we expect in Chris's defeating such a bad villain. But so what? We get well edited fast action and lots of it.Notes: This is a remake of the previous year's 'Circle Canyon,'(1933) and is probably much better. Shirley Jean Rickert can be seen in 'Fly My Kite' (1931) and other Little Rascal shorts; as an adult she had a 'career' as an uncredited dancer in films like 'Singin' in the Rain' (1951). And we get to see Sheila Terry in another undistinguished role in Lone Star's 'The Lawless Frontier' (1934).

I tend to fade in and out of attention while watching most of the Lonestar Wayne movies and this was not an exception. There were some wonderful moments and individual scenes, but some of it was pretty dull.Shirley Jean Rickett, who also appeared in the "Our Gang" series, gives a sweet and memorable performance as a Betty Boop eyed half-Indian girl. When Wayne tells her in the beginning that she can't be a cowboy, she snaps back that she rides horses better than him. Cute stuff!Yakima Canutt has a nice roll as the chief bad guy intent on kidnapping Shirley Jean for the money she'll fetch.The movie picks up in the last ten minutes and there's actually some clever plot twists involving a hostage situation.