- Actors: Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, George Sanders, Frances Farmer, Roddy McDowall
- Directors: John Cromwell
- Writers: Edison Marshall, Philip Dunne
- Producers: Darryl F. Zanuck, William Perlberg
- Format: Colour, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC
- Language English
- Subtitles: English, Spanish
- Region: Region 1 (US and Canada DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: Unrated (US MPAA rating. See details.)
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- DVD Release Date: 1 May 2007
- Run Time: 98 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B000NTPFJO
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 32,827 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A charmingly innocent historical adventure, with a great cast of character actors (as well as Tyrone Power)
29 May 2007
Format:DVD
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.
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.
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
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.
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.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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15 reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Polynesia, Pearls, and Tierney
24 April 2005
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.
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.
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Entertaining action romp of the old school.
28 Sep 2001
'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!
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Tyrone Power in Swashbuckling South Seas Adventure
30 April 2004
"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".
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