Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 33: Let's Go Outside

So we're going right back to the second Oscars ceremony and the first held in 1930. The Best Picture was won by The Broadway Melody, a film I am yet to watch, but the most historic film in that list has to be In Old Arizona. The film was the first ever Western to be filmed using sound or as it says in the picture 100% all-talking and also the first ever sound film to use exterior locations. As it was concentrated on the production you can imagine the plot wasn't up to much. It basically deals with The Cisco Kid and Mickey Dunn, the man whose mission it was to track The Kid down and bring him to justice. The whole thing was complicated, or as complicated as it gets in this film, when The Kid's girl Tonia Maria gets involved. Tonia is in love with The Kid mainly because he brings her nice things from his hijacking escapades but when Dunn offers her a split of the reward he will get from bringing The Kid in she decides to side with and romance him as well. As she is the most manipulative character in the piece it is her, and not one of the two men, who gets shot and killed at the end.

Although the film didn't win Best Picture, or cinematography, direction and writing, it did pick up a Best Actor Oscar. Warner Baxter became only the second recipient of the award for his portrayal of The Kid and I have to say he deserved it. I'm guessing Baxter was a star of the silent era judging from his over-enthusiastic body movements but he bought a likeable side to a character who is essentially the villain of the piece and who was almost more likeable than the hero, Dunn. While The Cisco Kid is charming and principled all the other characters are a little more brusque and manipulative. I'm guessing the moral of the tale is that we shouldn't always judge a person on their crimes but what they are like as a person. Or maybe I'm just reading a bit too much into it.