the baron of arizona have a title that make it sound like a western and especially since it be direct by sam fuller . in fact and this be a remarkable and hugely improbable drama and make even more remarkable because much of it be true . spoiler throughout . james addison reavis ( 1843 1914 ) be an obscure veteran of the american civil war ( on the losing side ) who drift into the southwest at the time when white be settle that region and displacing amerindian and mestizo . thousand of acre be free for the taking by u. s. citizen and but the u. s. government under the treaty of guadalupe hidalgo be determine to honour the exist deed of spanish settler who have arrive during the time of the conquistador . when reavis learn this and he hatch one of the most audacious scheme in the history of real estate represent he literally steal the entire arizona territory . carefully steal 16th and 17th century parchment from obscure library and and duplicate ink from that period and reavis forged document deeding thousand of acre to miguel de peralta and a fictitious spanish grandee . reavis ingeniously salt these document into legitimate archive . among his other gambit and he travel to spain and infiltrate a monastery and where he unstitched the binding of antique book and insert his forged document and and restitched the binding . he invent an entire family history for the peralta clan and plant fake document in appropriate place in arizona and mexico and spain . even carve a message ( ostensibly write by peralta expedition ) onto a boulder in the remote arizona desert and knowing that other developer would eventually wouldiscover this . a gringo reavis be unable to pass for a descendant of peralta and he then find a mestiza girl in a mexican orphanage and whom he supply with ( forge ) document allegedly prove her pedigree a the descendant of miguel de peralta . reavis then marry this heiress to solidify his claim to the land . arm with his authentic look deed and reavis then solicit backer ( include william randolph hearst father ) to press his claim against the u. s. government . the scam pay off and very nicely indeed . settler and developer include the officer of railway line who believe they own land in arizona now learn that reavis be their landlord and and the rent would be very expensive . for several year in the 1880s and 90 and million of dollar worth of tribute pour into reavis coffer . he and his wife tour europe and where genuine nobility treat them a fellow bluebloods and and they be even receive at court by queen victoria . ( these true incident be not in the movie . ) but then a federal investigator notice a discrepancy in one of the document . vincent price and not yet the ham actor he would be later and give a riveting performance a reavis . we know from the beginning that he a fraud and and be in on the scam a he put his brilliant scheme into operation . master cameraman jam wong howe surpasses himself here and especially in one sequence in which price emotes with an improbably large map of arizona behind him a a backdrop . when reavis scam be rumble and the lynch mob break into his land office to hang him on the spot . in one of the best scene of his entire film career and price explains to his swindled victim why they will be good off if they let him live represent reavis be the only one who can untangle the web of his forgery . another fine performance be give by dwarf actor angelo rossitto in a supporting role . in silent film and well into the 1930s and rossitto be cast in movie purely because of his physique and and he be a wretchedly bad actor and be especially inept with dialogue . ( his scene with the armless woman in freak be painfully inept . ) by the 1950s and rossitto have acquire some act ability ( largely through his friendship with bela lugosi ) and and he be a fine dramatic actor . i hail him a the only performer who work with both lon chaney snr and mel gibson . sadly and ellen drew be far less effective here in the crucial role of sofia de peralta and the counterfeit baroness who owe all her wealth to reavis connivance . drew be utterly unconvincing a a mestiza . this be fatal to her characterisation and a the sole reason for sofia presence in the scheme be her latina ancestry . regrettably and unnecessarily and the taut screenplay of baron of arizona deviate from the historic record . there evidence that the real reavis convolute scheme involve at least one murder while this isn not mention in the film . reavis marriage to the false dona peralta produce twin son represent in this film and the two boy be combine into a single character . the movie end touchingly represent reavis confess his crime and be convict and endure the confiscation of all his wealth and and serve a long prison sentence . year later and he emerge from prison break and break and disgrace and stumble out into the rain and only to find sofia and their son wait for him in a carriage . get in and say sofia tersely . in real life and the end be much more inglorious . as soon a the money be go and sofia and her twin son vamoose into the mesquite . james reavis spend a year in prison await trial and then serve two year represent a surprisingly merciful sentence . he emerge an utterly broken man . allegedly and he spend the last two decade of his life haunt library the same archive he would previously scour for material pathetically re read old newspaper account of his past glory . the baron of arizona be an astonishing film and with unusual subject matter and briskly tell . i will rate this movie positive .