The Cisco Kid (1931) is dusty, loud, and surprisingly fun

Is this movie worth your time in 2024? Only if you actually like the history of movies or if you have a soft spot for guys in big hats who laugh at their own jokes.

If you hate old movies where people talk like they are on a stage and the sound has a constant hiss, you should probably skip this one. 🌵

Warner Baxter is the whole reason to watch this. He has this smirk that says he knows exactly where the camera is at all times.

He plays the Cisco Kid, an outlaw who is basically a 1930s version of a rock star. People love him, the army hates him, and he seems to have a horse that is smarter than most of the soldiers.

The plot is pretty thin, honestly. Sergeant Mickey Dunn is trying to catch Cisco, but they have this weirdly friendly rivalry that feels more like a game of tag than a manhunt.

Edmund Lowe plays the Sergeant. He’s fine, but he spends a lot of time looking frustrated and shouting orders that nobody really listens to.

There is a scene early on where Cisco is hiding in a house while the soldiers are right outside. The tension isn't really there because Baxter looks like he's having too much fun to ever actually get caught.

I noticed the sound is really weird in the outdoor scenes. You can hear the wind hitting the microphone and it sounds like someone is rubbing sandpaper against your ear.

It reminds me of the technical mess in The Last Attraction but with more horses. 🐎

There’s a little kid in this movie played by Douglas Haig. He’s supposed to be cute, but he talks in that very precise, robotic way that child actors used back then.

At one point, the kid and Cisco are sharing a moment, and you can see Baxter trying really hard to act around the kid’s stiff delivery. It’s a little bit funny if you pay attention to Baxter's eyes.

The movie loves its Cantina scenes. Conchita Montenegro shows up as Carmela, and she brings a lot of energy that the rest of the movie sometimes lacks.

She dances, she pouts, and she makes the Sergeant look like a complete idiot. It’s great stuff. 💃

The sets look... well, they look like 1931. Lots of painted backgrounds that don't quite match the dirt in the foreground.

It’s not as gritty as something like The Wild Rider, but it has its own dusty charm.

I kept thinking about how uncomfortable those heavy wool uniforms must have been in the California sun. Everyone looks slightly sweaty, which I guess adds to the realism by accident.

The "Laughing" Problem

Cisco laughs. A lot. Like, after every second sentence.

It’s his "thing," but by the middle of the movie, you kind of want to tell him to take a breath. It feels like he’s trying to convince the audience that everything is a big joke.

There is this one shot where he’s riding away and just laughing into the empty desert. Who is he laughing for? The vultures?

The pacing is a bit bumpy. It feels like a series of short sketches rather than one big story. One minute they are chasing him, the next they are all sitting down for a chat.

It lacks the tight structure of something like Hair-Trigger Baxter, which is weird because this was a much bigger production.

The editing is also a bit "imperfect," let's say. Some cuts happen so fast that you lose track of where the characters are standing.

And then other shots linger for way too long. There’s a shot of a door closing that stays on screen for about five seconds after the door is already shut.

I think the editor might have stepped out for a smoke during that part. 🚬

Despite all that, there’s a real sweetness to the relationship between Cisco and the widow he’s helping. It doesn't feel forced like in most modern movies.

Warner Baxter won an Oscar for playing this character in an earlier movie, and you can see why. He has this magnetic energy that makes you ignore how silly the plot is.

• Best Moment: When Cisco tricks the Sergeant into thinking he's trapped in a room, only to appear behind him with a glass of wine.
• Worst Moment: The loud, clunky sound of the horses' hooves that sounds like someone hitting a table with a shoe.
• Random Detail: The Sergeant's hat seems to change shape in every other scene.

If you’re looking for a deep Western that talks about the soul of the frontier, keep looking. This isn't that.

But if you want to see a guy in a fancy vest outsmart the army while looking very handsome, it’s a decent way to spend an afternoon.

It’s better than Some Tomboy, at least. That one was a real struggle to get through.

The ending is very "1930s predictable." You know exactly what’s going to happen, but you don’t really mind because the journey was okay.

I wish we got more movies today that were this unapologetically simple. No complicated backstories, just a guy, a horse, and a really loud laugh.

Final thought: The mustache on Baxter is the real co-star of the film. It deserves its own billing in the credits. 👨🏻‍🦱

Overall, it’s a bit of a relic, but a shiny one. Watch it with some popcorn and don't take it too seriously.