Der Baron von Arizona

This man went to so much trouble to own his own personal territory that you almost rooted for him. He even spent 3 years learning calligraphy so he could forge the necessary land grant documents. Too bad the U.S. government go suspicious and made his little plan harder to pull off. An unusual western and a different role than we are used to seeing Price in.

I tuned across it and almost kept going, except I watched for a moment and found myself growing interested. An entertaining premise, a well written and acted script, and although it appears to have been shot on a budget, very well produced. It reminds you what a good actor Vincent Price really was before he became pigeonholed as a master of the horror genre. There are a couple of surprising twists, and by and large I would recommend it.

Judging from the title, probably more than a few ticket-buyers in 1950 expected a western. What they got instead was a real oddity that defies classification. It's sort of like a western, but instead of the bad guy grabbing off a ranch, this baddie (Price) wants to grab an entire state, Arizona. And he's not doing it with a gun or a gang. Instead he's doing it with years of legal fabrication and planning. Those early scenes showing him falsifying the legal groundwork are the movie's most interesting and unusual.

Despite the many novel moments, the movie's no triumph—Sam Fuller or no Sam Fuller. Lippert was a real cheapjack production company, and it shows, particularly in the skimpy sets and LA area locations. Then too, Fuller wobbles when helming love scenes (not his strength), especially with the really inept Gypsy girl (Pine) that's almost painful to watch. On the other hand, there's the lordly Vincent Price, perfectly cast in the domineering lead role. His verbal fencing with the government man (Hadley) is particularly well acted. Then there're the lynch mob scenes that are both intense and scary. Fuller is clearly at home with crowds and violence.

All in all, it's an interesting and different kind of movie, whatever its drawbacks, marking Fuller as a movie-maker to watch.

The Baron of Arizona is not a shoot 'em up Western; it's a tale of the Old West ! Despite the rather low budget production, the film is surprisingly good. In large part thanks to the fine acting of Vincent Price! The depicted biographical story maintains one interest throughout. I regard The Baron of Arizona as one of the best classic films.

I only use the word surprising because I happened upon this movie very late one night a long time ago. I remember looking in the T.V. guide and seeing that I had a choice between this movie and nothing else. I mean what kind of title is this ? i remember thinking , and starring Vincent Price of all people, who at the time I could only recall from the somewhat silly "The Fly". Well I figured what the hell. So I settled in and expected to be bored and disgusted for as long as I could stand. Then the surprise happened. I was thoroughly captivated by this unique and well made story which to my other great surprise also happened to be true, the attempted theft of the entire state of Arizona by a schemer apparently without equal. Vincent Price's performance completed the trifecta by amazing me with his skill as a legitimate actor. I would very much like to see this movie again but am not hopeful at the present. Like so many others it seems to have vanished. What is interesting about this fact is that when T.V. was free, there was more to choose from, unlike today where we pay to see the same things over and over.