Arizona Days (1937): A Quick Coffee Chat About Cowboy Crooning and Cheesy Grins

So, Arizona Days, right? That B-western from 1937. Directed by that workaholic Sam Newfield, who honestly must’ve shot movies faster than I make a pot of Gevalia. Seriously, look up his filmography and you’ll choke on your kanelbulle.

The big thing here is Tex Ritter, the singing cowboy himself! He does, like, a million songs in the film, and let’s be real- Tex’s voice has something. It’s honest, kind of like when I tried singing “Jag hade en gång en båt” at a midsummer party and nobody left, surprisingly. His acting? Eh, that’s another story. It’s wooden, but charming in that way only 1930s cowboys can be.

During last year’s winter darkness, I found this flick by accident while searching for something to remind me of my grandad’s battered VHS tapes. It honestly threw me back to those sluggish Sunday afternoons in Västerås, sitting at his kitchen table smelling kaffe and listening to his old stories about pretending to be a cowboy before the snowmobiles took over. Arizona Days was that kind of movie for folks back then, I think.

Frankly, this thing feels lighter than a Marabou chocolate bar, but that’s part of the charm. The plot- taxes and mobile shows and crooks- is silly, a bit like the old Allsång på Skansen sketches. Still, the sidekicks (like Syd Saylor) are doing more mugging than a pack of seagulls at Kungsportsplatsen. You end up grinning, maybe a little out of embarrassment.

Would I call this a must see? Nja. But if you dig the cheese of early westerns, or just want to hum along while folding laundry- absolutely. Bring your own kaffe. And maybe a sense of humour.

watch the full movie on Mavshack Movies on YouTube

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