Son Of Fury

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.

Our DVD arrived soon after ordering, so I must say we are very happy with the service and quality of our purchase. Thank you.

I love everything about this film

Interesting story of maltreatment and miscarriage of justice in the 1700s in Great Britain with unexpected twists and turns. Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, George Sanders, Frances Farmer, John Carradine, a young Roddy McDowell and good supporting cast all get into their characters and breathe life in this tale of wrongdoing, escapes, injustice, high seas and South Pacific islands, romance and love, and the English judicial system of that era. A young Gene Tierney is a natural beauty in a south sea setting, and there is definitely electricity between her and the dashing Tyrone Power.

I won't repeat the deserved praise that others give to this movie, which is a perfect example of the studio-produced brilliance of the Golden Age of Hollywood.As I watched the movie, I slowly realized how beautifully the movie was scored by Alfred Newman. It swept me along and greatly enhanced the movie.After I finished watching it, I was curious about a DVD extra that "isolated" the score. So I turned it on and discovered that it played the movie with only the music. I turned on the subtitles, and voilà, I had this wonderful silent movie with the gloriously stunning image of the young Gene Tierney, and the dashing heroism of Tyrone Power. Very nice surprise.

This is a 1942 movie, for the time frame it's pretty good.. This is the life story of Benjamin Blake. Roddy McDowall plays Ben as a child, who is beaten by his uncle, who knows Ben is the rightful heir of this huge estate. Ben runs away, makes money and comes back and talks to a Lawyer in turn he finds proof that Bens mom and dad are married an he isn't a bastard. I don't want to give away all the twist and turns of the movie, but one thing, the uncle beats him and the uncle wife helps Ben run away. There is a good reason she helps him. I would recommend this movie if you like older movies and movie stars.

"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.

an old favorite of mine that i needed in closed captioned on the vhs of which it has. the only problem was that it took sometime to recieve this vhs. the seller responded quicly on when i asked where was my item. after correcting it, i later received in the condition of which is very good as described.

A classic and hard to find, but expensive.

The movie is taken from a novel i am assuming, and probably reading the book would be more enjoyable. This is the kind of film that would be better in cinema technicolor in order to be able to enjoy the polynesean islands, black and white just doesn't do it any justice. Seeing the cover and considering the price i paid for it, i would have expected that it had been revised in technicolor. Granted, his other film with Gene Tierney, the Razers Edge, is also in black/white however it works there because it is a mystery and the acting is superior. son of Fury is an adventure film and really needed to be in color. i do admit however that Tyronne looks good in whatever film.

Tyrone Power was really good and Gene Tierney was very enjoyable in this role. I thought the part on the island would have been so beautiful in colour but it was good anyway.

Perfect

one of tyrone power's best films, "son of fury" tells the story of a man who attempts to claim his birthright but his efforts are constantly thwarted by his evil and sadistic uncle. well played by george sanders, who has rarely portrayed such a nasty heavy, he takes power's character into his home as a boy(played by child actor roddy mcdowall) and thus, proceeds to create misery and anguish whenever the chance presents itself. all is well in the end though, but not before we see some fine character actors and some stunning location work in the scenes where tyrone power and john carradine search for pearls and other riches. also, the film sets look lavish and have plenty of detail to them.