Part 5: The Stuff Movies are Made Of

13. The Baron of Arizona - Sam Fuller (1950)

The stuff movies are made of. During the 1880’s, James Addison Reavis concocted a series of fraudulent land claims for the better part of Arizona. Drawing on a stipulation in the ’Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo’ (peace treaty for the Mexican-American War 1846-8), which honoured Spanish land grants given to Mexicans in the territory of Arizona, Reavis invented a Mexican heir, which he married, and forged a claim of over 18 000 square miles of land in Arizona.

Although Reavis’ series of claims were all proved to be forgeries and Reavis himself was finally sent to prison for three years for fraud, his nefarious plan to become the ’Baron of Arizona’ is a remarkable and unique part of American history.

Samuel Fuller’s 1950 adaptation, The Baron of Arizona, romanticizes many aspects of James Reavis’ story and many aspects of the film are completely fictionalized. However, within the film, Fuller’s amazing gift for story-telling reveals itself.

Often thought of as the ‘master of pulp,’ Fuller’s true gift lies in his sensitivity to his characters, his ability to explore their inner emotions and illicit sympathy from the audience. This can be seen from his very first directorial debut I Shot Jesse James (1949) which explores the haunted and guilt-ridden psyche of Robert Ford, Jesse James’ friend and betrayer.

Working as a newspaper copyboy by the age of 12, a crime reporter by 17, Fuller was well equipped to plunge into the world of pulp fiction; and yet, perhaps it was his direct interaction with the world around him, with the underbelly of America, the thrown away imperfect America, which fostered his unique sensitivity and sympathy to all people.

And it was this unique sensitivity which allowed Fuller to turn the character Reavis from a seedy criminal to the ultimately tragic anti-hero which Vincent Price ultimately displays. It was the stuff movies are made of and made the way only Sam Fuller was able to do.

—Devon Gallant

Part 4: Who to Trust?

10. The Asphalt Jungle - John Huston (1950)
11. In a Lonely Place - Nicholas Ray (1950)
12. Night and the City - Jules Dassin (1950)

Who to trust? A perfect heist gone wrong, a violent and embittered writer accused of murder, a born loser destined to fail. Fully entrenched in the world of film noir Hollywood began to craft the genre to perfection. Stylistically dynamic, tragically poignant, the characters in these films hopelessly search for a way out, for something to believe, for something to trust.

In John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle a gang of thieves fall apart after executing the perfect heist—double-crossing, treachery, betrayal, greed. Who do trust when everyone is a suspect?

In Nicholas Ray’s In a Lonely Place, Humphrey Bogart plays Dixon Steele, a violent tempered writer accused of murder. When Laurel Gray (played by Gloria Grahame) provides a false alibi for Dixon, she finds herself inextricably connected to him. But can she trust him? Is his violent temper truly a murderous one?

Finally, in Jules Dassin’s Night and the City, Richard Widmark plays Harry Fabian, a bit-two hustler on the streets of London. Fabian is an enterprising con man who’s hopes and dreams to hit the big time never seem to pan out. More than anything , at the core of Fabian’s character is the desire to be trusted by his girl friend Mary Bristol (played by Gene Tierney). Fabian is crippled by the idea that Mary has no confidence or trust in his schemes.

Is it so surprising that the tenor of American film at this time should seem so suspicious and insecure? The Cold War against Russia and Communism had turned the eye inward, Americans were now faced with an enemy within. Anyone could be a Communist, your friend, your neighbour, even your family. Suspicion and fear ran rampant and it turned America against itself. Jules Dassin, fled to London to film Night and the City after being warned by his producer that he was about to be ‘black listed.’ John Huston and Sterling Hayden were members of the Committee for the First Amendment which opposed the Hollywood Blacklist. For Hollywood as well as the rest of America, there was no escape from the ‘Red Scare.’ No matter what side of the fence you found yourself with, the question was present: ‘Who do you trust?’

Devon Gallant

Part 3: Dark is the Night

7. The Big Sleep - Howard Hawks (1946)
8. Out of the Past - Jacques Tourneur (1947)
8. Nightmare Alley - Edmund Goulding (1948)


Dark is the night. In the wake of John Huston's 1941 masterpiece The Maltese Falcon, a seemingly endless swell of films emerged from the 1940's which were to be hailed by French critics as 'film noir.' It was a title which was to define the most iconic genre of American film to date. And yet, what is 'film noir'?

It is a question which has puzzled, confused, and tantalized critics and audiences for years. A host of explications may be given towards what makes a film a 'noir:' its expressive use of style and lighting harkening back to the German expressionism of the 1920's, the roster of actors used between the 1940's and 50's, as well as its preoccupation with crime; and yet, none of these facets could ever quite describe the true inner nature of 'film noir.'

It is described by many as a growing pessimism to the world, a sort of black whiplash from devastation of World War II. And to be sure there can be a pessimism to the world of 'film noir.' And yet, more than pessimism these films reveal a fatalism which is at the core of their emotional power.

In a word: choice. The ability to define one’s place in the world, the ability to self-fashion and govern the choices which shape our place in the world; these are the characteristics of noir film. However, in 'film noir,' it is the darker side of our choices which are revealed. The characters in these films often take a road which leads them spiraling down to their own defeat. Are they pulled by some unknown force to make the choices they do? Is it fate? Do we have free will? Or are we all constantly being pulled or pushed by some unknown force to either our victory or defeat?

Perhaps it is because these questions are so universal to humanity itself; perhaps it is because mankind has wrestled with this question of fate so long, which makes 'film noir' so captivating. America had returned from the most devastating war mankind has seen, soldiers had come back with a new vision of the world, one that questioned the choices we make, one that understood the darker aspects of our actions, one that questioned the meaning of our lives. Dark is the night.

—Devon Gallant