Customer Reviews

Son of Fury

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tyrone Power gives one of his most entertaining performances in this terrific and exciting story. This one is grand adventure and has all the elements that make films in this genre fun to watch. If this film doesn't make you feel good, I suggest you check for a pulse!

Power is Benjamin, whose rightful place as Duke is suppressed by his slimy uncle, Sir Arthur Blake. George Sanders portrays the gent we love to hate with as much aplomb as Power portrays the dashing and youthful hero in this most delightful and robust of adventure films.

Removed from his grandfather's care as a young boy, Ben grows into manhood under the harsh abuse of Arthur, all the while dreaming of adventure, and revenge. A romance with his uncle's daughter Isabel results in a brutal beating that prompts his escape by ship. Elsa Lanchester has a nice part as Bristol, the kind soul who doesn't belong in Ben's world but helps him get his passage to freedom.

Ben and his mate Caleb (John Carradine) decide to jump ship and swim to shore in beautiful Polynesia, where they discover treasure. One is in the form of pearls and the other is the gorgeous beauty of Gene Tierney, as native girl Eve. The second treasure may be the more valuable in the end, as Ben quite naturally falls in love with her without realizing it.

A youthful Gene Tierney was just coming into her own at Fox and has perhaps never been so gloriously photographed as in Son of Fury. Maybe it's the island outfits or the South Sea sun, but it is hard to remember a film in which she was more breathtaking. She is like a dream come true in this film.

But Ben's dreams are haunted by what has been done to him and he returns to claim his rightful place, only to be betrayed by Isabel (Frances Farmer) before a document surfaces that changes everything. All will not be set right, of course, until Ben deals with Arthur! But what about the waiting island girl Eve?

This lush swashbuckler is a perfect feel good movie for a Saturday morning in bed. This was Tyrone Power at his best, Sanders at his delicious worst, and Gene Tierney at her most beautiful. You can't help but enjoy this film, so you may as well not try.

'Son of fury' comes from a period in Tyrone Power's career just as he was beginning to explore the darker side of his bland romantic image. Here he plays a man consumed by vengeance, incestuous desire and envy: the illegitimate son of a peer and a working class woman, he is snatched as a child from his loving maternal grandfather by a dastardly uncle (George Sanders in fabulously, louchely vile form) terrified the young fellow will usurp his title, who makes him a stable boy. In a remarkably brutal story, he is subjected to vicious bouts of violence, grimly biding his time before he can escape to the New World, make his fortune and return to claim his title.

the film, which plays like 'Les Miserables' rewritten by Robert Louis Stevenson, is neatly divided into three parts. The first and third are the kind of perverse Georgian/Regency melodramas the British studio Gainsborough were popularising at the same time: vicious, charming aristocratic cads horsewhipping their inferiors; lusty servants violently seducing their swooning mistresses; priapic young bucks fleeing the police and a monstrously unjust legal system; teeming lower class streets, with dingy pubs and tarts with huge souls.

The transition from prurient Britain to puritan America leaves this model surprisingly intact: Power's masochistic submission to beatings and scarrings have an immense charge. The cultural detail isn't as precise as a British film would be - there isn't the sense of a teeming 18th century England - but this gives a clarity to Power's terrible quest, and the set-design, especially in the interiors staging the masculine squabbles, are spare and beautiful.

Being an American film, the corruption of European 'civilisation', with its vice-ridden aristocracy and arbitrary legal tyranny, where a brave, bright and able young man is spiritually deformed by outmoded social rules, is contrasted with the primitive, though equally hierarchical idyll of Polynesia. This middle section, calm between the English storms, suffers in comparison with the surrounding, full-blooded action - and Power is made wear some ridiculous togs - but allows director Cromwell insert some subtle irony: Power tries to escape decadent Europe, but he imports its defining characteristics (language, religion, industry etc.). How long will the untainted idyll survive? Conversely, the vision of Britain on the verge of its great Empire is almost left-wing!

"Son of Fury", would certainly never be the first film that automatically comes to mind when Tyrone Power's films are discussed in any detail. Thoughts always seem to jump straightaway to classic efforts such as "The Mark of Zorro", and "In Old Chicago". However this film has always been a favourite of mine and makes for highly entertaining viewing from Hollywood's golden years. It displays Tyrone Power at the peak of his prewar stardom with his famous good looks shown off to great advantage in the period settings and in a tale of high adventure that suited him so well. Considered one of Hollywood's best looking leading men this films strange lack of colour photography (due to wartime restrictions on studios use of expensive colour film) actually seems to enhance his appeal as the wronged young man anxious to reclaim his birthright. "Son of Fury" is also significant for its two leading ladies in Frances Farmer, the tragic actress who led a horrific post Hollywood existence, and in it being the first teaming of Power with rising young beauty Gene Tierney. The two would be frequent costars in the succeeding years, most significantly in the classic "The Razor's Edge".

Twentieth Century Fox planned "Son of Fury", based on the sprawling novel by Edison Marshall titled "Benjamin Blake", as one of their biggest productions for 1942 and it kicked off Tyrone Power's last full year of film work before going into the armed services. The story begins with young Benjamin (Roddy McDowell playing Tyrone Power as a child and amusingly billed in the credits as "Master Roddy McDowall") who is the rightful heir to his late father's dukedom which has been usurped by his corrupt uncle Sir Arthur Blake (George Sanders). Sir Arthur manages to take the boy from his loving maternal grandfather Amos Kidder (Henry Davenport) and puts him to work in the estate stables as a bonded servant where he is mistreated and underfed. Ben grows up a defiant young man with a strong will to one day rectify the great wrong done to him and along the way begins an affair with Sir Arthur's daughter the haughty but beautiful Isabel (Frances Farmer). When Sir Arthur, who is a champion boxer discovers the affair he thrashes Ben within an inch of his life and soon escape from this existence seems the only option. Ben plans his escape and with the help of a kindly young prostitute Isabel (Elsa Lanchester),manages to get away on board an Indies bound ship as a stowaway. Discovered he is put to work as a deckhand where he forms a friendship with fellow adventurer Caleb Green (John Carradine).The two plan to make their fortunes in the Spice Islands and both jump ship and swim ashore where after time they begin to live amicably with the natives. Ben and Caleb begin harvesting the rich desposits of pearls and Ben falls in love with beautiful Island Girl Eve (Gene Tierney). However when the opportunity to return to England with their fortune comes Caleb decides to stay and Ben travels back alone. Once in England he hires a barrister to help fight his claim for his stolen title. Still labelled a runaway bonded servant Ben finds himself betrayed by Isabel and hunted and it is only when a marriage certificate does surface that proves his full right to his title that a settlement is made in his favour. Realising he still loves Eve however Ben leaves the estate to the loyal workers and travels back to his South Seas paradise to be reunited with her Eve.

"Son of Fury", would have to be labelled as a perfect romance story with its exotic locales and fine period feel. Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney make a handsome pair of screen lovers and there was rarely anyone better than Tyrone Power in playing these very romantic types of male lead characters. In "Son of Fury",he does however get to display some deeper elements to his character as young Ben is not simply a loving man but is a tormented individual consumed by a need for retribution and in obtaining his proper family name. Power is ideally cast and he is aided by a very lively story that showcases his often underestimated talents to perfection. He is aided by frequent Power costar George Sanders playing to perfection the evil and conniving villian of the piece which he did so well in countless films in this period. Frances Farmer's name nowadays always arouses curiosity due to the film biography of her tragic life in "Frances", starring Jessica Lange and she does well as the cool and beautiful but ultimately untrustworthy lover of Ben. John Carradine who probably worked more frequently than anyone with Tyrone Power also does great work as Ben's shipboard pal who ultimately realises where the "real treasure", in life lies when he reaches the South Seas. Directed with spirited pace by John Cromwell, he keeps the story moving right from the start and the film never drags. The beautiful black and white photography for the English scenes which then takes on Sepia tones for the exotic South Sea sequences was executed by gifted Fox cinematographer Arthur Miller. His work really enhances the overall look of the production.

For old fashioned adventure full of excitment, romance, beautiful leading ladies and dashing lead characters fighting corruption in a unfair world then "Son of Fury", makes ideal viewing. It really was part of the last crop of big swashbuckling films produced before America went fully into World War Two and teamed with Tyrone Power's other pirate epic that year "The Black Swan", was a fitting farewell to these lavish star vehicles that really were a product of Hollywood's golden age in the 1930's. Enjoy dashing Tyrone Power looking for romance and revenge on the high seas in Twentieth century Fox's "Son of Fury".

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.

20th Century Fox presents "SON OF FURY" (1942) (98 min/B&W) -- Starring Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, George Sanders, Francis Farmer, Elsa Lanchester & John Carradine.

Directed by John Cromwell

When his brother dies, scheming Arthur Blake (George Sanders) kidnaps his own nephew, Benjamin (played as a youth by Roddy McDowall and as an adult by Tyrone Power). Arthur's purpose is to claim his brother's dukedom for himself. Put to work as a stable boy, Benjamin grows up and develops a crush on his own cousin Isabel (Frances Farmer). When Arthur discovers this, he mercilessly beats Benjamin, who runs away and sails to India on a cargo ship to make his fortune. In Polynesia, he and a friend, Caleb (John Carradine), jump ship and set up camp on a tropical island paradise. There, Benjamin and Caleb become rich mining pearls, while Benjamin falls in love with a native girl, Eve (Gene Tierney). Now that he has amassed wealth, however, Benjamin is determined to return to England and get his revenge on Uncle Arthur.

Gloriously photographed in black & white by the great Arthur Miller the picture is also buoyed by a terrific score by Alfred Newman featuring a great swashbuckling main theme and an arresting love motif for the picture's softer moments.

This fabulous period swashbuckler film is based on the adventure novel Benjamin Blake by Edison Marshall, who also wrote The Vikings (1958).

BIOS:
1. John Cromwell [aka:Elwood Dager Cromwell] (Director)
Date of Birth: 23 December 1887 - Toledo, Ohio
Date of Death: 26 September 1979 - Santa Barbara, California

2. Tyrone Power
Date of Birth: 5 May 1914 - Cincinnati, Ohio
Date of Death: 15 November 1958 - Madrid, Spain.

3. Gene Tierney
Date of Birth: 19 November 1920 - Brooklyn, New York
Date of Death: 6 November 1991 - Houston, Texas

4. George Sanders
Date of Birth: 3 July 1906 - St. Petersburg, Russia
Date of Death: 25 April 1972 - Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 98 min on DVD ~ 20th Century Fox ~ (May 1, 2007)

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.

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

Fans of Tyrone Power should enjoy this costume drama, in which he plays a downtrodden hero determined to best villain Sanders (in his best sleekly nasty mode). A very young Roddy McDowall plays Power in his youth. As a follower of Gene Tierney, I was disappointed by her character--a lovely native girl who looks good in a sarong but speaks no English; she seems to function only as a foil for the classy but cold Farmer. However, the classic plot of the underdog who triumphs over his oppressors has strong appeal, and there's a great showdown between Power and Sanders.

Sons of Fury was "pretty" good. Not sure that I would purchase it again if I had it
to do over again. I would rate it between a 2 & 3. Three because I love old movies
and Tyrone Power.

This is the kind of rollicking adventure movie they don't make any more. Except for some brutal scenes of bare knuckle boxing it is a very enjoyable movie and the ending is very satisfying. Elsa Lancaster has a brief role that is quite sweet and Tyrone Power is at his peak.