Hollywood bought into the 3-D craze of 1953 in such a rush that ingenious studio cameramen cobbled together some of the fancy stereoscopic camera rigs. For Arena (1953) MGM sent a crew to La Fiesta de Los Vaqueros, held yearly in Tucson. In addition to the standard riding and roping action, the 3-D cameras found thrills in a drag race, a saloon fight, and a Brahma bull charge. The story introduces us to the romantic problems of rodeo rider Hob (Gig Young), whose estranged wife Ruth (Polly Bergen) arrives to ask him to either quit the dangerous profession, or to accept a divorce. Ruth's presence bothers Hob's companion Sylvia (Barbara Lawrence), a shallow playgirl who derives excitement from the danger in the arena. The doubtful future of the rodeo life can be seen through Hob's friends Lew and Meg (Harry Morgan & Jean Hagen). Although too old for the arena, Lew works as a rodeo clown and takes unnecessary risks to impress his young son. Critics liked the 3-D but preferred Nicholas Ray's similar rodeo saga The Lusty Men (1952), with Robert Mitchum. It was also felt that Harry Morgan's tragic character seemed patterned on James Stewart's circus clown in The Greatest Show on Earth, also from 1952. Young Robert Horton is a bronc rider who catches Sylvia's eye, while cowboy villain Lee Van Cleef is seen in an atypical nice-guy role. But the talented Jean Hagen, after her marvelous performance in the previous year's Singin' in the Rain, seems stuck in character parts. Director Richard Fleischer handles the tricky 3-D without sacrificing dramatic values, skills that surely helped make him a candidate to helm Walt Disney's technically demanding 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954).

by Glenn Erickson