Vincent Price plays James Addison Reavis, a schemer who makes up a fictitious family, a fictitious Spanish land grant from the 1700s and uses both to try to set himself up as the baron of all of Arizona territory.
At the center of his plot is treaty with Mexico in which the U.S. agrees to honor old Mexican and Spanish land grants and a young orphan girl (Ellen Drew as Sofia) whom he claims is the rightful heir of expansive Peralta land grant.
Reavis hires a nanny to teach Sofia how to act like a member of royalty, then heads off to Europe where he enters a monastery to alter one set of documents, then infiltrates a roving band of gypsies to gain access to a second.
That process takes years, but that’s fine with Reavis. Because by the time he returns to the U.S., Sofia is a young woman. And he plans to marry her as the final part of his plot. She readily agrees to become his bride. Unaware of his deceit, she truly is in love with the much older man.
And then Reavis unveils a claim that, if true, means he has the right to boot all other property holders in Arizona off their land. The U.S. government offers Reavis $25 million to get Arizona back. He not only rejects the offer, he sues the government for defamation.
But not everyone is convinced the Peralta Grant is legitimate. The Department of Interior sends its foremost expert on forgery — John Griff (Reed Hadley) — to investigate. Ironic, because it’s Griff’s book on forgery that Reavis used as his “bible” in the hatching of the scheme.
Review:
The second movie directed by Samuel Fuller is much grander than most released by Lippert Production, this is an interesting film mostly because of the unique plot and subject matter.
There really was a James Addison Reavis who tried to pull off such a swindle, married to legitimize his claim to the land and managed to reap millions in payments before the fraud was discovered.
The film apparently plays fast and loose with the details and, in a unique plot twist, Reavis’ scheme unravels when the man who was acting as Sofia’s father comes clean about her past — she’s really half-Indian, a fact he tried to hide so she could enjoy the luxurious life Reavis was trying to build for her.
Fuller’s handling of his lead character is curious. He’s portrayed as a slimy charlatan, who utters precisely the same lines to a succession of women he seduces as part of his ploy. But he’s also treated as something of a hero, respected by the man investigating him as a worthy adversary and earning the loyalty of those closest to him, even after a six-year stint in prison.
The attempt to lynch Reavis at the end of the film is particularly well done.
Directed by:
Samuel Fuller
Cast:
Vincent Price … James Addison Reavis
Ellen Drew … Sofia de Peralta-Reavis
Vladimire Sokoloff … Pepito Alvarez
Beulah Bondi … Loma Morales
Reed Hadley … John Griff
Robert Barrat … Judge Adams
Robin Short … Tom Lansing
Tina Pine … Rita
Karen Kester … Sofia as a child
Margia Dean … Marquesa
Jonathan Hale … The Governor
Edward Keane … Surveyor Miller
Barbara Woodell … Carrie Lansing
I. Stanford Jolley … Mr. Richardson
Fred Kohler Jr. … Demmings
Tristram Coffin … McCleary
Gene Roth … Father Guardian
Angelo Rossitto … Angie
Ed East … Hank
Joseph J. Greene … Gunther
Runtime: 97 min.
Memorable lines:
James Addison Reavis to Sofia: “Arizona seems so small. You suddenly seem so great. I know what I was looking for, a woman who would love me for what I am. No man can live without that. No man can ask for more.”
Rita: “I told you to leave tomorrow. Take me with you. I want to go with you. I will not be in the way. I will be good to you. I will be — friendly.”
John Griff: “It has the stench of swindle.”
James Addison Reavis: “Oh, Rita, you’re like a rich curtain before a doorway of wild and wonderful miracles.”
Sofia: “I don’t want a dead baron. I want a live husband. I know only peasants cry, but I love you, I love you, I love you” as she breaks into tears.
James Addison Reavis: “I can understand the government’s reluctance to part with Arizona. I am prepared for a thorough investigation of all documents. But I don’t appreciate the inference of falsification of papers.”
John Griff: “I’m never yet met a claimant who appreciated my presence in the case.”
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