1950 historical drama
Rating: 11/20
Plot: James Addison Reavis concocts a complexly intricate hoax to swindle the government and the inhabitants of the Arizona territory. After traveling abroad, eating his own horse, and manipulating monks, gypsies, and orphan girls, he's able to at least temporarily convince everybody that he has rightful claim to the entire chunk of property. This understandably makes some people angry.
More Vincent Price, this time in a more subdued role. This is one of those cases where the story is really cool but the movie doesn't work very well. It's Simon Fuller's second movie, and apparently he's still learning the trade. It's pretty blah direction with much awkwardness, a flashback structure which doesn't work and then seems to be forgotten, and that typical 40's/50's-era Hollywood music that makes everything seem more majestic than it actually is. There's clumsy voiceover narration used during the first half of the movie. With the complete lack of style and some cardboard acting, it almost makes everything else look like reenactments for a documentary. Boring reenactments. This almost begs for a remake, probably with Tom Hanks in the lead. Maybe Russell Crowe. That or they could cast Will Smith as the Baron and add a wacky CGI lynch mob and have him quote Bob Marley. That would probably work.
Future Hollywood ideas man:
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