Tonight I watched George O'Brien in "Arizona Legion" (1939), another of the hour long Westerns from his nine film collection, recently acquired by Yours Truly. Big George is working undercover in this one. He pretends to be a rowdy ne'er-do-well, so he can infiltrate Whiskey Joe's stage robbery gang and learn of their plans in advance. That way he can stop Joe in his tracks and also learn who he's working for, a mysterious bigwig known as The Chief. O'Brien has been tasked with this job by the Governor of Arizona Territory. He's got to pretend to be a Bad Guy so he can get close to Whiskey Joe, and he also has to keep his true intentions secret, even from his fiancee (Larraine Day), who cancels their engagement because she thinks he's become a thug.
All George can do is grin and bear it. He's been sworn to secrecy in his position as head of the Arizona Rangers, a new law enforcement agency created specifically to stop men like The Chief, who controls the local Sheriff and Judge. Day, meanwhile, has fallen for Lieutenant Bob Ives (Carlyle Moore), an Army officer stationed in town who has decided to take down Whiskey Joe on his own. He too thinks George O'Brien is one of the bad guys, an opinion that will lead to consequences later on.
O'Brien's right hand man is "Whopper" Hatch, nicknamed because of the tall tales he tells. "Whopper" is played by Chill Wills, an iconic Western actor with a long face and rubber mouth. Wills' specialty was his gift of gab, and his stories in "Arizona Legion" - which he tells by request - are special treats within the film. You could listen to him talk all day.
So far I've seen two movies from the George O'Brien Collection. I've been impressed with the depth of plot in each one. The location was once again Corriganville, which automatically gets a movie Two Thumbs Up. If you like early Westerns, give George O'Brien a try. He's a likable actor with a winning smile, perfect for the role of a White Hat Good Guy.////
I am happy to report that Pearl is home from the hospital. She's very frail from her ordeal, but the infection she had is gone. She's gonna be on an in-home health care program from now on, which still includes me as her caregiver, but now I will have help from a nurse who will come over twice a week, along with visits from other health professionals. During her hospital stay, Pearl was really out of it and asleep most of the time, but as soon as she got home her eyes lit up, so that was awesome. She lost a lot of weight in the past week, and hasn't done any standing or walking, so it's gonna take some time to build up her strength, but we'll take it slow and see how much she can do. Hopefully she can still go to church.
Thanks again for all your prayers and good faith. The past three weeks have been crazy, but maybe with Pearl back home, things will settle down a bit. I've been also dealing with my OCD neighbor, who on a nightly basis opens and closes his door at least a dozen times, and runs down the stairs as if his apartment was on fire. When he thunders back up the steps, he slams his door - BOOM - and then fifteen minutes later he does the whole thing again. He's a freaking nutjob. I'm telling you, if I don't get away from this building soon, I'll be blogging from the booby hatch.
You can say a prayer for me, too, if you feel like it. :)
Well, that's all I know for tonight. 2020 has been off to a rough start, but maybe just maybe the ship is righting itself. I'll see you in the morning.
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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