The First Films of Samuel Fuller (Criterion Collection - Eclipse Series 5)

Sam Fuller's maverick directorial debut "I Shot Jesse James" (1949), full of close-ups and slam-bang stylistic touches, focuses on Bob Ford (John Ireland), who guns down the notorious outlaw for the reward money that will help him marry his childhood sweetheart. Barbara Britton, Reed Hadley also star. Fuller's fascinating historical drama "The Baron of Arizona" (1950), based on a little-known piece of American history, stars Vincent Price as James A. Reavis, who in the mid-1800s forged documents that turned the Arizona Territory over to a woman whom he later married, setting himself up as owner of the state. Ellen Drew, Reed Hadley co-star. Scripted and shot in just three weeks, Fuller's gritty Korean War drama "The Steel Helmet" (1951) stars Gene Evans as the wounded army sergeant who joins a beleaguered platoon holed up in a Buddhist temple. A hard look at the realities of warfare, the film also stars James Edwards as a black medic and Harold Fong as a captured North Korean officer. 4 1/3 hrs. total on three discs. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono.