''Arizona Legion'' is a 1939 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by David Howard from a screenplay by Oliver Drake, based on

Bernard McConville Bernard McConville (October 16, 1887 – December 27, 1961) was an American screenwriter. He wrote for more than 90 films between 1915 and 1946. He was born in Denver, Colorado and died in Los Angeles County, California. Partial filmogra ...

's story. Produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, it was released on January 20, 1939, and stars George O'Brien and

Laraine Day Laraine Day (born La Raine Johnson, October 13, 1920 – November 10, 2007) was an American actress, radio and television commentator, and former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) contract star. As a leading lady, she was paired opposite major film sta ...

(billed under her earlier stage name of Laraine Johnson).

Plot

Boone Yeager has sold his ranch and cattle, and now spends his days drinking, gambling, and hanging around a gang of very disreputable individuals. His fiancée, Letty Meade, is distraught over his sudden change in behavior and breaks off their engagement. In addition, his longtime friend Bob Ives, a lieutenant in the local army troop, also severs his relationship with Yeager in response to Yeager's recent activities. However, it is revealed that Letty's father, Judge Meade, has empowered Yeager to infiltrate the local gang and hunt down its leader, while at the same time organizing the Arizona Rangers. Yeager gets in good with the gang, but cannot get them to reveal who their leader is. Finally, he participates in a stagecoach hold-up with the gang, along with his friend, Whopper Hatch. However, during the hold-up Yeager, Hatch, and two of the gang members are captured and thrown in jail. While behind bars, Yeager finally learns the true identity of the gang leader, who happens to be the local commissioner, Teagle. Yeager gets a meeting with his old friend, Ives, who he tries to tell the truth to, but Ives refuses to believe his story. Even worse, after leaving the meeting, Ives blows Yeager's cover to Teagle. Yeager and Hatch manage to escape, and they round up the Arizona Rangers and go after the gang. When the local cavalry arrive, the gang is routed, and all are arrested, as well as recovering all the money the gang had stolen. Letty and Boone are reunited, and she once again accepts his engagement ring.

Cast

* George O'Brien as Boone Yeager *

as Letty Meade (credited as Laraine Johnson) * Carlyle Moore Jr. as Lieutenant Bob Ives * Chill Wills as Whopper Hatch *

Tom Chatterton Tom Chatterton (February 12, 1881 – August 17, 1952) was an American actor and director.. Born in Geneva, New York, Chatterton was active in sports as a youth. He gained early acting experience with Ben Horning's stock theater company in Syrac ...

as Commissioner Teagle *

Edward Le Saint Edward LeSaint (January 1, 1871 – September 10, 1940) was an American stage and film actor and director whose career began in the silent era. He acted in over 300 films and directed more than 90. He was sometimes credited as Edward J. Le Sa ...

as Judge Clayton L. Meade * William Royle as Dutton *

Harry Cording Hector William "Harry" Cording (26 April 1891 – 1 September 1954) was an English-American actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his roles in the films '' The Black Cat'' (1934) and ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938). Life and career ...

as Whiskey Joe * Glenn Strange as Kirby *

Monte Montague Monte Montague (April 23, 1891 – April 6, 1959) was the stage name for Walter H. Montague, an American film actor. He appeared in more than 190 films between 1920 and 1954. He was born in Somerset, Kentucky, and died in Burbank, Californi ...

as Dawson *

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

as Tucson Jones * Joe Rickson as Dakota

Production

In the beginning of November 1938 it was revealed that the name of the picture would be ''Arizona Legion'', and would star George O'Brien. It was O'Brien's tenth film in two years for RKO, and it was his nineteenth pairing with director David Howard. Shortly after, it was revealed that Laraine Day (as Laraine Johnson) was cast as the female lead. Slated to begin earlier, production on the film was delayed, but finally took place from November 8–23. Although both '' Motion Picture Daily'' and ''

Motion Picture Herald The ''Motion Picture Herald'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1931 to December 1972.Anthony Slide, ed. (1985)''International Film, Radio, and Television Journals'' Greenwood Press. p. 242. It was replaced by the ''QP Heral ...

'' give the date of the close of filming as November 25. Some of the exterior sequences were shot at

Santa Susana, California Santa Susana (Spanish for "St. Susan") is a former railroad town located mostly within the City of Simi Valley. A small portion of the community, outside the Simi Valley city limits to the south of the Ventura County Metrolink rail line, is an uni ...

. Editing on the picture had begun by December 3, and continued through the end of December. The rest of the cast of the film was revealed by the end of December, including Chill Wills, Carlyle Moore, Edward Le Saint, Harry Cording, Tom Chatterton, William Royle, Glenn Strange, Monty Montague, Joe Rickson, and Robert Burns. By mid-January, the release date was scheduled for January 20. The film was released on January 20, 1939. The

National Legion of Decency The National Legion of Decency, also known as the Catholic Legion of Decency, was a Catholic group founded in 1934 by Archbishop of Cincinnati, John T. McNicholas, as an organization dedicated to identifying objectionable content in motion pictur ...

gave the film a Class A-1 designation, meaning it was unobjectionable to general audiences.

Reception

'' Harrison's Reports'' gave the film a favorable review, calling it "George O'Brien's best western to date." While they felt the script was weak, they felt the direction, photography, and acting more than made up for the script's deficiency, stating: "Romance and comedy are interpolated without interfering with the action." ''Motion Picture Daily'' also gave the film a positive review saying, "Here's a western sure to thrill the outdoor action adventure fans." And "not very often has spectacular action been made so much an integral part of a picture." They enjoyed the script better than ''Harrison's Reports'', calling it "believable," and also complimented Howard's direction. They enjoyed Day's performance, and highlighted the work of the supporting cast: Chatterton, Cording, and Strange as the bad guys, and Le Saint as O'Brien's friend. They particularly highlighted Wills' work, calling him "the source of the story's comedy content and in every appearance he should provoke laughter." ''Motion Picture Herald'' was most enthusiastic about the film, also calling it the "...best picture George O'Brien ever made." They felt Day's romance with O'Brien was better than those in other westerns, and gave high marks to Chill Wills' performance. Overall they stated: "It has everything that a soundly constructed outdoor motion picture is supposed to have – romance, melodrama, comedy, musical and tall story telling interludes and thrills ... The natural outdoor settings are objects of pictorial beauty. The caliber of acting throughout is high grade."

References

External links

* * * * {{David Howard 1939 films 1939 Western (genre) films Films directed by David Howard RKO Pictures films American black-and-white films Films produced by Bert Gilroy Films with screenplays by Bernard McConville American Western (genre) films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films