The Baron of Arizona (1950)

Fresh and Exciting

Absolutely Fantastic

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

"The Baron of Arizona" was Samuel Fuller's second film after the forgettable "I Shot Jesse James" from 1949. While it's no masterpiece and nowhere nearly as good as the films Fuller would make when he really hit his stride as a filmmaker, it shows marked improvement over his first movie.Fuller as a director was never much interested in following genre conventions even when making genre films, which is one of my favorite things about him. That quality begins to emerge in "The Baron of Arizona," in which Fuller is much more interested in the idiosyncrasies of this based-on-actual-events drama than he is in making his audience happy. I agree with another reviewer that he himself seems bored by the love story, and those scenes seem to only exist because Fuller knew his audience expected them to. The movie is at its best when it's following the details of the devious plot masterminded by a deliciously villainous Vincent Price, who seems perfectly at home with the role when he's asked to be a conniver but not so much when called upon to be a tough guy. The film is visually more interesting than Fuller's first, as if he figured out what to do with his camera or was given more money to do it. Indeed, while this isn't a big-budget film by any stretch of the imagination, it does have better production values than "I Shot Jesse James," released by the same studio.Both "Jesse James" and "Baron" are worth your time if you are a Samuel Fuller fan, because they give us a peek at Fuller as an emerging artist. But only "Baron" is worth watching for general film fans. It's not a great movie, but there are things to enjoy.Grade: B

Vincent Price plays real-life swindler and forger James Reavis, who cooks up a scheme to steal the territory of Arizona. The true story of this man is pretty interesting. Obviously, as is always the case with movies based on real events, some facts have been altered for dramatic purposes. It's not a bad little movie. There are some dull stretches but Vincent Price's performance is good enough to keep your interest throughout. He is really the whole show. The support is fine but nobody's quite on the level of Price. Ellen Drew is pretty but miscast. Nice direction from Sam Fuller. Certainly worth a look, especially for Price and Fuller fans, but it doesn't have much repeat value for me.

After His Debut Directorial Movie, I Shot Jesse James (1949) and Before one of His most Admired, The Steel Helmet (1951), Sam Fuller made this Awkward, Stuffy, but Enticing "Western" about a Real Life Story that is a Truth Stranger than Fiction.A Forger/Con Artist/Swindler/Thief and all around Bad Dude decides to Spend a Lifetime Concocting a Scheme that will show that His Wife, by way of Land Grant is the Sole Owner of the State of Arizona. Bizarre, to say the Least, this was going to be a Monumental Effort to Pull Off with a Shooting Schedule of 15 Days and an Ultra-Low Budget.But, on board is Writer/Director Sam Fuller, Leading Man Vincent Price (brilliantly cast), and Cinematographer James Wong Howe. The Finished Film is Extraordinary Considering, but the Impact of Viewing it can be Tedious and Demanding.Not quite sure what it is, but the Movie is Heavy Going and those Looking to Find the Fuller Touch may be Disappointed, although there are Flourishes. It is a bit Long and those Usually Fond of this type of Historical Melodrama with a bit of an Edge might Enjoy it as a bit Quirky and at the Same Time, a Generally Rewarding Experience. This is one of those that is not going to be for Everyone. Its Appeal is Limited.

Despite the Western setting and the involvement of maverick writer/director Fuller, this is no rip-roaring, six-shooting oater but a slow-burning, compelling and exciting conspiracy thriller that, while telling one of the most incredible tales ever spun, happens to be based on fact!; indeed, Fuller's journalistic background and flashback structure lends the film a 'torn from the headlines' feel. The film provides star Vincent Price with one of his best-ever non-horror roles: it is a testament to both the actor and Fuller that the character is no ordinary villain – in fact, while we are not asked to approve of what he does, we are at least invited (via the opening statement by the very man who exposed him) to admire his audacity and ingenuity and, indeed, we ardently root for Price through much of the proceedings!The narrative involves a talented forger's near-successful attempt to defraud America of one of its states, Arizona, by planting evidence and tampering with old documents that mark it as a bequest to an obscure Spanish family by a 16th century ruler! Then, all he has to do is seek a female foundling of Hispanic origins, groom her into becoming a proper lady (amusingly, at one point, she asks him to read to her from a book she casually picks up…which happens to be an authoritative book on forgery, penned by Price's own – atypically formidable – future nemesis and which had given him the idea for the whole ruse in the first place!) and then, when she comes of age, marry her! Of course, while it seems he is doing all this for the girl's benefit, he intends not only to share in the profits but actually run all her affairs (which she being grateful, and even in love, is all-too-willing to let him handle at first)! While her education is under way, he goes on with his fantastical scheme, which is so elaborate that he goes so far as to take the habit and lead a monastic life for a number of years because the original copy of the certificate he needs to amend is stored in the library of a remote religious community – apart from this turn-of-events being similar to a later "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" episode starring Oscar Homolka (that I had watched on late-night Italian TV), watching the star here don such humble clothing made me think of the improbable holy man portrayed by Arturo De Cordova at the end of Luis Bunuel's EL (1953)…not to mention ponder the notion of what a formidable Gregory Rasputin Price would have made! A touch of humor in this sequence has the protagonist panic and run off with a horse-driven wagon-load of provisions when he sees the Police approaching (only they had come on a trivial matter)!; also, having diligently undertaken to falsify the all-important document, he learns that a copy exists in the vault of a nobleman. When he is hurt after being thrown off the wagon (which tumbles down a cliff!), he is cared for by a band of gypsies: even here, however, he turns the situation to his advantage as he seduces the female leader and has her persuade them to attack the afore-mentioned aristocrat's home by claiming he had heard him say he wanted to banish their people from the land! Again, in order to gain entrance to the library, he ingratiates himself with the lady of the house…and Price's posing as a gypsy Casanova is yet another sure fount of entertainment! The acquisition of the proof of ownership is only the first half of the story, as we then see the American Government busy at work studying them in the hope of finding a flaw that would shoot down Price's grandiose plans. In the meantime, he lords it all over the place, rubbing the townsfolk the wrong way and threatening to evict them if they do not pay up for trespassing on his property (when their land had been lawfully granted them by the U.S. Government)! Of course, the latter will not go quietly (again, this brought to mind Bunuel's THE BRUTE {1952}) and make various attempts on Price's life – at one point, he loses it before a rioting crowd and is about to strike a man with the butt of a shotgun (an image that actually graced the film's theatrical poster!) but is brought back to his senses in time by Ellen Drew, equally fine as the grown-up Baroness Of Arizona.Constantly flanked throughout by dirt-poor Vladimir Sokoloff (Drew's adoptive father) and Beulah Bondi (her governess), the couple are eventually taken to court: it is Price's cold-blooded, supercilious attitude here that suggests to Drew that they may be in the wrong. In the end, his falsehood is exposed by way of the specialized ink that had been originally utilized to write the decree manipulated by the protagonist! Even before this revelation, however, Price had decided to admit his guilt and face the music (after Sokoloff's own complicity in the hoax is brought to bear: he is nearly shot to death while attempting to protect the Baron during the crowd's raid of his office intent on lynching him…but he gets out of this scrape, too, by telling them that the Government can prove nothing if he dies!). Though he tells Drew not to wait for him, he finds her (and their devoted companions) outside the prison door upon emerging – incidentally, it seemed to me that 6 years was a very lenient prison sentence for one to have been convicted of defrauding the American people of untold millions! In spite of its only enjoying a minor reputation, the film was issued on DVD as part of a Samuel Fuller Box Set - the very first release from Criterion's sister label Eclipse that also included his previous (and first) effort, I SHOT JESSE JAMES (1949) and his subsequent one THE STEEL HELMET (1951).