The Arizona Story-In Movies

Year in and year out the Western movie, whether a super spectacle or an ordinary “horse opera,” continues to be one of America’s most popular entertainment features. The formula of “Boy Chases Girl,” this time on a horse, never fails. The villain scowls and in the end justice, with a straight face, gives him what he deserves-sudden death or a long stretch in the pokey. The hero and virtue are triumphant in the end, all wrongs have been righted, the smoke of six-guns has settled, and everyone lives happily ever afterward-everyone, that is, except those of evil ways who do not deserve the happy end.

More sophisticated people may sniff at such entertain-ment, terming it feeble, indeed, in plot and presentation, but no little boy dreaming his dreams of someday becoming a cowboy will ever grow up and not enjoy a good “Western.” Good “Westerns” have things in common which never fail the customers: action, moral pattern, and scenery. Arizona has supplied and is supplying much of the scenery which many millions of people throughout the world each year exclaim over when they see Western movies. The list of movies telling the Arizona story is endless.

Early in the 20’s Cecil De Mille made “The Squaw Man” near Castle Hot Springs. Then the “Rex, King of the Wild Horses” series and the Zane Grey pictures followed, starting a movie rush in Arizona that continues to this day. “Copper Canyon” is now or will soon be in production near Sedona. Cameras will soon start grinding near Willcox on “Blood Brothers,” the story of Cochise, the Apache warrior.

Monument Valley and the Oak Creek-Sedona country have become movie centers because of superb scenery. It was in Monument Valley that John Ford made the magnificent “Stagecoach,” one of the great motion pictures of our time. He has since made there “My Darling Clementine,” “Fort Apache” and “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,” soon to be re-leased. The technical difficulties of transporting a large motion

picture company with cumbersome equipment to such an isolated place seems unsurmountable and hardly worth the effort and costs, but the finished product, because of the scenery, is worth the trouble.

Folks around Sedona are beginning to refer to their locality as "Little Hollywood," because of the many pictures made there. The addition of color to film makes that part of our state perfect, because, as any traveler knows, it is literally drenched in rich and varied colors. There, too, Hollywood finds adequate accommodations for actors and technical personnel and the serious factor of transportation is reduced to a minimum.

Location scouts of major motion picture companies are searching the state for new locations and are finding them. Howard Hawk's "Red River," one of the fine pictures of last year, was filmed near Elgin, in the green grass country of Arizona. "Duel in the Sun," dealing with a Texas historical theme, displayed Southern Arizona scenery to advantage.

Whenever "wide open spaces" are wanted eventually the search will turn to Arizona. Arizona has a lot of scenery and "wide open spaces," whose infinite silence has yet to be disturbed by the whirr of cameras.

Last autumn Norman Foster, distinguished director of international fame, traveled many long miles through Cochise and Santa Cruz counties for the locale of a motion picture to feature Rita Hayworth. The picture was postponed but the director found what he was looking for, and some day when he makes a picture in Arizona we predict it will be something worth seeing.

Other than scenery, the motion picture industry has learned that Arizona has the climate. The sunshine is stable, the skies are clear, an important item when you have expensive crews of actors and technicians on hire. "Boy Chases Girl on Horse" through Arizona's scenery in reliable sunlight and under clear skies in pleasant weather gives you a movie that just can't miss. Movie makers know that, too. - R. C.