kijii This is part of the 20th Century Fox's Tyron Power swashbuckler boxed set. There was not a lot of swashbuckling in this movie, but the story and its stars still make it a fairly entertaining experience. The movie is based on Edison Marshall's novel about a young boy, Ben, who was the rightful heir of a large estate in Bristol England. However, he has to earn his way to what rightfully belongs to him. In the movie, Roddy McDowell plays Ben as a boy while Tyron Power plays him after he grows into manhood. As the movie opens, Ben is living and working with his grandfather, Amos Kidder (Harry Davenport). However, when Sir Arthur Blake (George Sanders), discovers that Ben is his dead brother's son, he gets a legal writ making him Ben's guardian so that he can keep a close eye on him. Arthur then makes Ben his indentured stable boy. As Ben grows up, he and Arthur's daughter, Isabel (Frances Farmer) fall in love but can do nothing about it because of their stations in life. Even Arthur's wife, Helena (Kay Johnson)--who had once been in love with Ben's father-- quietly takes Ben's side, hoping that he can someday prove his legitimate claim to the estate. After Ben assaults his master and runs away from the estate to earn money for his cause, Ben's grandfather is jailed. But, Ben and his grandfather are able to communicate to each other through a prostitute, Bristol Isabel (Elsa Lanchester), who knows how to get in and out of jail without drawing undue suspicion. Ben's grandfather relates (through Bristol Isabel) that he should make his fortune in the Indies and THEN try to make his case for the estate, with money in his pocket. Ben stows away on a ship headed for the Indies. Aboard this cruelly run ship, he meets another stowaway, Caleb Green (John Carradine). Green's crime is that he is a debtor. They both plan and execute an escape from the ship to a South Pacific island. Caleb had heard, from a 'Spanisher,' that the island atoll is loaded with valuable oyster pearls. His information proves to be correct, and they soon harvest a fortune in pearls to free themselves from their past stations.However, while on the island, Ben meets and falls in love with one of the island natives, whom he calls 'Eve' (Gene Tierney). He also becomes a great hero to the natives by teaching them how to make crud tools and improve their lives. Even though Eve loves Ben, she knows that he is waiting for some European ship to someday come along and take him back to England for revenge and to makes his rightful claim. She helps him watch for such a ship. When a Dutch ship eventually DOES land near the island, Ben departs on the ship, but Caleb decides to stay on the island for life. When Ben returns to England with his fortune in oyster pearls, he is capable of buying himself into respectability through an agent there, Bartholomew Pratt (Dudley Digges). Pratt takes some of his pearls and promises to use his influence to research and uncover the truth about Ben's parents. However, when Ben is put on trial for his past crimes, Pratt doesn't meet his promise and it looks as though Ben may face the ultimate penalty... As the movie draws towards its ending, it fills in the lack of swashbuckling with some dramatic moments and surprises. There are some interesting variations to the actors' usual character types. For example, Tyron Power is never very physical and when he physically fights someone, he always loses. It is not his physical gymnastics that wins the day here. It is, instead, his steadfastness about revenge and his rights. Furthermore, this is not the George Sanders that we are used to either: While we are used to seeing him as a powerfully-connected courtier, a dandy, a fop, or a cleverly smug Addison DeWitt-type character, here he is a physically brutal pugilist who would rather live by his fists and his whip than his wit, wordplay and cryptic charm.

flyingleatherneck I was surprised by 'Son of Fury', not expecting much, but it's actually beautifully constructed, with terrific writing and wonderful turns by the actors. Power is as solid as I ever saw him, Sanders is stupendous, and Dudley Digges straight out steals the show as the Barrister that no-one would ever want to battle. The tale of a man who starts poor, goes away to a South Pacific Island in order to seek rare pearls (for wealth), plotting his return to London to claim the estate and title that he's been cruelly denied and is rightfully his, to do so, using money to fight, to exact his revenge, but in the end give it all up to return to the Island and the heart-melting Eve (Gene Tierney) (for love) is beautifully told and tremendously touching.The great strength of this movie is its sharp observations about the great fraud of the class system, human rights, and what's really important in life. Digges (as the Barrister Pratt) sums things up at one point by saying, "Because they know it is only a sham that keeps the likes of them up and you down. The sham of blood. The truth is a man's a man whatever you name him."Hear hear. Those old movies, they did it well.

rickdumesnil that Tyronne Power never got an Oscar or recognition is beyond me. he didn't have to open his mouth ....just the eyes demonstrated all emotions needed whether sadness....joy.....angriness. son of fury is a movie that captures our hearts from the beginning....the scenery....the music the acting flawless. gene Tierney she was a knock out..George Saunders you loved to hate him...harry davenport a granddad we want to cuddle. and of course Tyrone power in my opinion the handsomest actor to grace the screen....even today. Son of Fury is really worth watching...it grabs you from the start. Bravo...to think these actors have all passed away...its our lost.

Terrell-4 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 clichés 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.