The Baron of Arizona
Director: Samuel Fuller
Year Released: 1950
Rating: 2.0
Forger/swindler/thief James Reavis (Vincent Price) concocts an elaborate plan to claim all of the state of Arizona for himself, using a little girl (played, as an adult, by Ellen Drew) and heavily edited "historical documents" ... though fictionalized, it is based on a true story (!). There's hardly any dramatic tension to propel this forward, so it's entirely up to Price to wrinkle his brow and appear shifty (which he relishes) - Fuller spent most of his career fascinated by criminals, but Reavis is no ordinary thug (and there aren't any thrilling moments, aside from an attempted lynching). The fact that Reavis 'groomed' his future bride from child to adult is inherently creepy, yet Price is such a gentlemen it comes out as less perverted and more cash-and-power-driven (improbably, the two fall in love).
