The real life "Baron of Arizona" (James Reavis) Would have his story told in a 1950 Vincent Price movie and has been represented by various characters in movies and plays. Even an Off Broadway musical "Desperate Measures" had a character loosely based on him.
This Republic western one of the Three Mesquiteer series, has a fictional version, played by George Douglas, having stolen someone's identity and pretending to be a wealthy land baron, raising the rents to ridiculous heights and charging crossing fees.
This ultimately leads to the posse of the mesquiteers (John Wayne, Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune) stepping in to try to stop Douglas's gang, even going as far as to write to president Garfield, who unfortunately is shot during the crisis. As the baron's power gets out of control and the forgery of the land grab exposed, tensions build to possible lynching. My problem with the film is that it really doesn't wrap up believably.
The use of real history with fictionalized variations of other going on is very interesting and provides a lot of action. Doreen McKay and Ruth Rogers are the female leads, with McKay pretending to be the baron's wife. I'm glad this one didn't have unnecessary humor and is presented rather seriously because that makes the film deal with the main story rather than get off track. So outside of how everything comes off, this is a film worth watching for Wayne fans, and is quickly over.
This Republic western one of the Three Mesquiteer series, has a fictional version, played by George Douglas, having stolen someone's identity and pretending to be a wealthy land baron, raising the rents to ridiculous heights and charging crossing fees.
This ultimately leads to the posse of the mesquiteers (John Wayne, Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune) stepping in to try to stop Douglas's gang, even going as far as to write to president Garfield, who unfortunately is shot during the crisis. As the baron's power gets out of control and the forgery of the land grab exposed, tensions build to possible lynching. My problem with the film is that it really doesn't wrap up believably.
The use of real history with fictionalized variations of other going on is very interesting and provides a lot of action. Doreen McKay and Ruth Rogers are the female leads, with McKay pretending to be the baron's wife. I'm glad this one didn't have unnecessary humor and is presented rather seriously because that makes the film deal with the main story rather than get off track. So outside of how everything comes off, this is a film worth watching for Wayne fans, and is quickly over.