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