Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The Baron of Arizona (1950)


Lippert Pictures
Directed by Samuel Fuller
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Criterion Eclipse Series)

Longish account of an elaborate forgery scheme to take the new state of Arizona from the US government. Vincent Price plays the part to perfection, you hate every part of his greedy, foul scheme, which includes corrupting a young girl. He almost gets away with it, before a lynch mob catches up with him. His speech to the mob with a noose around his neck, done in a high-pitched voice as if he really were choking, is a highlight. Otherwise, the plot is little too convoluted, so much so that narration is occasionally required to keep track, and there is an unnecessary framing device.

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