The Kid from Arizona is basically a horse movie in disguise

If you have about an hour to kill and you really, really like looking at horses, you might get a kick out of this one. It is definitely for the people who grew up on those old-school Saturday morning Westerns. If you want something with deep meaning or high-budget stunts, you will probably hate it within five minutes.

It starts out pretty fast. Jack Perrin plays a Marshal who has to go undercover to deal with a gang of 'Indians' that are causing trouble. Spoiler alert: they aren't actually Indians. It’s just white guys in makeup, which is a trope that hasn't aged well at all, but it was 1931.

Jack is pretty likable in a wooden sort of way. He has this very stiff way of standing that makes him look like he’s always ready for a photo shoot. But the real star is Starlight the Horse. I’m not even kidding.

The movie spends a lot of time on Starlight. There is this whole subplot where a horse meant for an endurance race gets maimed. It’s actually a little bit sad to watch, even if the effects are basically non-existent. You can tell they really wanted the audience to feel for the animal.

The plot gets a bit messy when Jack gets blamed for everything. He’s accused of stealing horses and the maiming thing too. It feels like the town turns on him way too fast. One minute he's the hero, the next they're ready to lock him up. 🌵

I noticed one scene where the background extras just look bored. Like they were waiting for lunch to be served while the main actors were shouting. It’s those little things that make these old B-movies charming to me.

The endurance race at the end is the highlight. It feels more real than the rest of the movie. There’s a lot of dust. So much dust. I felt like I needed to cough just watching them gallop across the screen.

Things I jotted down:

• The villainous foreman is so obvious he might as well be wearing a sign.
• Starlight the horse has better comedic timing than most of the cast.
• The 'undercover' part of the mission lasts about two seconds before people start getting suspicious.
• The scenery is mostly just rocks and more rocks.

It reminds me a bit of The Black Ace in terms of that low-budget grit. Everything feels a bit cheap but earnest. Like they really tried with the twenty dollars they had for the budget.

There is this one shot of a mountain that lingers for way too long. I think the cameraman just liked the view. Or maybe they needed to fill thirty seconds of screentime. Either way, it’s a nice mountain.

The dialogue is pretty simple. "He went that way!" and "I didn't do it!" make up about 40% of the script. It’s easy to follow if you're doing chores while watching. 🧹

One thing that felt weird was the pacing of the ending. Everything gets solved in like three minutes. The bad guys are caught, the race is won, and Jack is a hero again. It’s very abrupt.

It’s not a masterpiece. Not even close. But for a 1931 flick, it’s got a certain energy. It’s much more focused on the action than something like The Little Yank which leans more into the drama side of things.

The fight scenes are... well, they are 1930s fight scenes. Lots of swinging arms that don't really land anywhere near a face. But the sound effects try their best to convince you otherwise.

If you like Jack Perrin, you'll be happy. If you like horses, you'll be very happy. If you like logical plot progression, maybe skip it.

It’s a fine movie for a rainy afternoon. Just don't expect it to change your life or anything. It’s just Jack and his horse doing their thing. 🐴