Son of Fury (1942)

Son of Fury

Could there have been a more attactive silver screen couple than Tyrone and Gene in ' Son of Fury ' - I don't think so ! He was an extremely handsome man and she could only be described as stunningly beautiful. If, for no other reason, this is worth a watch simply to just see the scenes they share on the idyllic tropical island. An excellent supporting cast particularly with George Sanders playing the part of the cad in fine fashion. I love the ending where Tyrone returns and runs to Gene on the beach. August 11, 2008

Charming and Unassuming

"Son of Fury" harkens to the 1930s black and white costume dramas which visually looked like a novel's illustrations come to life. By 1942, that era was over except for this film. The black and white photography contributes significantly to that 1930s feel. Tyrone Power was an okay actor with enormous likeablility and he brings it out strongly in the character of Benjamin Blake. Everyone is first rate with George Sanders in perfect nasty form. The friendship between Power's character and John Carradine's adds significantly to the film. The beautiful Gene Tierney displays wonderful chemistry with Power and brings a naive charm to her island woman. "Son of Fury" tells its story in a professional, richly textured and yet lean manner. This movie is high entertainment not to be missed. March 31, 2008

SON of FURY: A Lesson in Anger Management

Son of Fury heralds the dawn of Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney as a romantic duo that would later become legendary. Beautifully photographed and acted, director John Cromwell kept this classic well within the boundaries set by the script. The film, however, does challenge other boundaries: those of compassion, tolerance and love as the antidote to anger. Son of Fury is the story of one man's quest for justice, vindication and liberation from the cruel bonds of oppression, for himself and others.

Benjamin Blake (Tyrone Power) fights to claim the estate and title, stolen by usurper Sir Arthur Blake (George Sanders) his uncle, which rightfully belong to him by inheritance. Beginning in childhood, Benjamin is forced to work in the manor's stables as a bonded servant, and subjected to repeated beatings and humiliation. Benjamin and Sir Arthur mirror each other perfectly; Benjamin appearing an outwardly, gruff-looking, smelly stable boy, but inwardly compassionate and noble, while Sir Arthur, scheming and cruel, wears the guise of a polished, perfumed, well-mannered aristocrat. Both characters succumb to fits of fury; one due to outrage at injustice and brutality, the other due to envy, lust for power and privilege. But, Ben possesses an indomitable spirit that Sir Arthur attempts to break time and time again. His nobility is intrinsic, while Sir Arthur's is the labor of violence and fraud. Ben's courage and determination must spell final ruin for the imposter. Rage serves neither of them well; for Ben is always being slapped down, or hounded by the authorities, while Sir Arthur's never succeeds in breaking him.

Sir Arthur, a true champion in the blue blood boxing ring, does not hesitate to engage in unsportsmanlike conduct when he deems it necessary in defending his other purloined title; no Marquis of Queensbury rules here. On one occasion, he escorts his rival to the stable, and challenges the now grown-up, highly insubordinate Ben to a contest in the manly art of self-defense. As the two remove their jackets, Sir Arthur catches the unsuspecting lad off-guard with a sucker punch; hardly a sign good-breeding. Upon gaining the initiative, Sir Arthur goes on the offensive, and proceeds to pummel the real heir mercilessly. Sensing that fists are inadequate tools of punishment for the intensity of his rage, he horse-whips poor Ben into unconsciousness, and in the process -- nearly passes out himself -- from delirium brought on by the shear fury of the thrashing. Sir Arthur expends his physical and spiritual energy to exhaustion in the course of abusing Ben; a condition observed by those intervening on the young man's behalf. It must be noted that in today's cinema, it is often the protagonist who employs underhanded means to gain the better of an opponent; be it the sucker punch or a shot below the belt (a sign of rage?). At the hands of Sir Arthur, Ben experiences the insufferable tyranny inflicted on the lower classes by high-mind aristocrats, and learns of the need for kindness and humane treatment of his fellow beings regardless of breeding, social status or race.

By now, Benjamin has had enough, and, risking imprisonment and death decides to escape the estate, and sail away to make his fortune. While fleeing from the long arm of the law, he is sheltered by Bristol Isabel (Elsa Lanchester), a member of the lower class and a woman of questionable repute. Sensing the underlying nobility and kindness within him, being the kind of woman who knows men well, she quickly befriends Ben, and assists him in evading police capture. Elsa Lanchester is lovely, utterly charming; and sparkles in this wonderful performance. Pity, she is mainly remembered for her role as the bride of Frankenstein.

Benjamin finally gives the police the slip, and signs on to the crew of a merchantman bound for the far side of the world. After more rough treatment on the long voyage at the hands of a surly crew, he jumps ship with Caleb Green (John Carradine), while in sight of a tropical island in the Pacific. Initially, the two receive a rather frosty welcome for such a warm, sunny place. It seems that the natives, none of whom speak English, or any other European language for that matter, have been suffering from white-man fatigue as a legacy of whippings, beatings and plunder from previous visits by seafaring "traders." But, one look at Blake's scarred back is enough to convince the chief that his people and these strangers share a common bond, so he embraces them. At the time this film was released, war in the Pacific was raging. American forces found Pacific islanders eager to cooperate in intelligence operations, for Japanese occupation had left a very bitter taste in their mouths.

With his feet on terra firma once again, Blake plans to return to England, and oust Sir Arthur. But first, he has to make his fortune by diving for pearls. The shoals around the island, stacked with oysters, yield a rich harvest, however they reveal more than just pearls. Surfacing after one dive, Ben discovers the most beautiful gem, enchanting Gene Tierney, perched on a rock, a "human mermaid," his Eve. Tierney is utterly captivating as the native girl who seduces Blake. During a night-time, gala celebration, she performs a dance that begs to be played over and over again - thank goodness for DVD! In loving her, Blake breaks the racial taboo of miscegenation in an era of intolerance, not only, for the time period of the film, but for audiences of 1942, when war hysteria and xenophobia were whipped up to the fullest. Loyal Americans of Japanese ancestry, among other groups, were incarcerated in US concentration camps for the duration of the war.

As characteristic of films shot in the pre-dawn years of small screen TV, Son of Fury moves along at a brisk pace, thanks to the adept hands of a talented film editor, and contains none of the time-burning, close-ups and long, idol-worshipping shots so prevalent in later Hollywood films. The cast and crew of this film, possessed with a marvelous sense of equilibrium, did an exceptionally good job of combining all the elements of moviemaking into a well-balanced work. Son of Fury is a splendid example of the economical mastery of media characteristic of great artists. Every shot is a masterpiece of cinematography, every part exquisitely played to the fullest, but never overdone. The quality of video and audio is very good, and does final justice to the story of Benjamin Blake.
September 2, 2007

superb

it,s from the days when they really made movies that has class, quality and entertainment go for it July 16, 2007

A charmingly innocent historical adventure, with a great cast of character actors (as well as Tyrone Power)

If Son of Fury were the title of a paperback novel, we'd expect a bodice-ripping, heavy-breathing Regency romance. What we have is a highly professional Darryl F. Zanuck adventure of surprising innocence and charm. Everything about the movie, from the actors to the script to the cinematography, features such a high level of craftsmanship that the few corny moments pass quickly. Please note that elements of the plot are discussed.

During the reign of George III, Benjamin Blake (Tyrone Power) is thought to have been born on the wrong side of the blanket, leaving his father's rich, titled inheritance to Ben's wicked uncle, Sir Arthur Blake (George Sanders), now baronet and the master of Breetholm Manor. Benjamin as a boy (Roddy McDowell) had been raised by his kindly grandfather until Sir Arthur at last located him. Sir Arthur is taking no chances about that inheritance and turns Ben into a stable hand on the estate. But Ben, now grown into a man, hates his uncle and has eyes for his uncle's daughter, Isabel (Frances Farmer), a young woman we fear may have inherited her father's nasty ways. Ben rebels, fights Sir Arthur and is whipped, then flees and catches a ship from England. He learns from a shipmate of a South Seas island where oyster pearls practically cover the ocean floor. By trickery they escape the ship, are accepted by the natives, dive for a fortune in pearls, and Ben meets a lovely young native woman. He names her Eve (Gene Tierney). Then it's back to England to hire a lawyer, save his grandfather from debtor's prison, win a court fight to reclaim his inheritance, give Sir Arthur a beating and learn the tricky nature of Isabel. What's left for a rich young man? Well, one thing would be to turn his estates and wealth over to all those loyal workers, then show up unexpectedly at that South Seas island and run across the sand to embrace Eve.

The story, even as predictable as this, is told with such professional attention to naivety that we cheer for Ben, hiss his uncle, and even find the unlikely conclusion satisfying. Three things make this movie work as well as it does. First, is the script. The story is one set of cliches after another, yet the script doesn't wink at us or assume we're too simple-minded to notice. It treats Ben and the people he meets with matter-of-fact story-telling that doesn't dawdle over the kisses or make too big a thing over the beatings. In other words, the script keeps the story moving. Second, are the actors. Tyrone Power, in my view, often was too earnest for his own good. But here that earnestness is just right for Benjamin Blake's character. Power's handsomeness also works. At 32, he still has that youthfulness that quickly turned into maturity after his World War II years. There also are plenty of opportunities for Power to be bare-chested in this movie. It's reassuring to see a movie star with a reasonably good build who doesn't display the current style of inflatable pecs from too many visits by a personal trainer. And has there ever been so accomplished a condescending villain than George Sanders? His Sir Arthur is unprincipled, self-satisfied and dangerous. He proves he's no coward when it comes to fist-fighting. John Carradine plays Caleb Green, the sailor Benjamin joins to find pearls. Carradine was a fine actor, as lean as a green bean who all too quickly learned a good paycheck could come as easily from self-caricature as from acting. He plays a good guy here, a true friend of Ben's and a man who discovers he can be happy with what he has. There are many other memorable characters...Elsa Lancaster as a prostitute with a heart of gold, another cliché but Lancaster turns the woman into someone we hope has a future...Dudley Diggs, so ripe and forgotten now, as the lawyer Bartholomew Pratt and Benjamin's deus ex machina...Frances Farmer, beautiful and calculating, who lets us know when she's aroused by breathing through her mouth...Harry Davenport as Ben's aged grandfather, kindness itself...and Roddy McDowell as young Ben. He was one of the best of Hollywood's child actors and is completely believable here. Gene Tierney was a lovely but, in my view, limited actress. She's great to look at, though, whether diving for pearls or leading a hip-swiveling dance accompanied by drums and grunts. Third, is the production values Zanuck lavished on the film. The dollars Zanuck spent all show up on the screen, with impressive sets ranging from the elaborate Breetholm Manor, including a ballroom full of lavishly dressed aristos pointing their toes, to a desperate debtor's prison, from the courts of justice to the idyllic island paradise. The black and white cinematography is outstanding. The camera lingers over the carefully lit Gene Tierney almost as often as it does over Tyrone Power.

Son of Fury may be no classic but it is a rewarding, entertaining example of studio professionalism at its peak. The DVD transfer is just fine. There are a handful of extras which I didn't sample. May 26, 2007

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