Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake (1942) User Reviews

A Grand Adventure!

[jpdoherty · 7/10 · 15 July 2009]

SON OF FURY is one of the most fondly remembered adventure films from Hollywood's Golden Age. Produced by William Perlberg for 20th Century Fox in 1942 it was directed with a positive flair by John Cromwell. Based on the classic novel by Edison Marshall it had a cracking screenplay by Philip Dunne and the perfect leading man in handsome Tyrone Power who was still enjoying the great success of his popular pirate swashbuckler "The Black Swan" released just prior to this. SON OF FURY is also notable for an excellent performance from the ill-fated Francis Farmer who plays the spoilt and priggish daughter of slimy villain George Saunders. Farmer looks quite lovely in the picture and is probably her best remembered role.

Ty Power is in his element as the young Benjamin Blake in the early part of the nineteenth century seeking restitution after being cheated out of his proper inheritance by his roguish uncle (Saunders). As a boy he becomes his bond servant and grows into manhood in a cruelly treated existence. But after a fierce beating and many other indignities under the uncle's tutelage he flees home. He joins a ship sailing for the South Seas and with a colleague (John Carradine) jumps ship and comes ashore on an exotic Polynesian island. After some time he meets and falls in love with a beautiful Polynesian girl (Gene Tierney). Some years pass and after amassing a fortune in pearls he returns to England. He hires a lawyer (Dudley Diggs) who clears his name (in an excellent courtroom scene) and restores his rightful inheritance much to the chagrin of his uncle resulting in a well staged fist fight between Power and Saunders (an interesting analogy - some 15 years later in a fight scene with the same two actors while filming "Solomon & Sheba" (1959)- Tyrone Power would die on set from a massive heart attack. He was only 44 years old!) SON OF FURY ends with him returning to the island and taking up where he left off with the native girl.This is my only complaint about the movie - the casting of Gene Tierney as a Polynesian native girl! She doesn't look Polynesian nor native! She looks just like Laura in a grass skirt on holiday on a South Sea island!

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. Newman's score can be enjoyed for its own merits isolated on the DVD's audio track. Also on the disc is a featurette about Power with a nice contribution from the director's son - modern character actor James Cromwell.

In 1953 Fox remade the picture - this time in Technicolor - and called it "Treasure Of The Golden Condor" starring Cornel Wilde and Constance Smith but it had only minor success. Unlike the splendid SON OF FURY it is now virtually forgotten!

The Power of Tyrone

[HarlowMGM · 8/10 · 13 July 2006]

Those who claim Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift were the screen's all-time most beautiful couple apparently have never seen Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney. SON OF FURY is a wonderful multi-genre picture that goes from British period piece to South Seas romance quite smoothly. The film's plot has been well-explained by multiple IMDb members so I'll just concentrate on the performances.

The entire cast does fine work. Gene Tierney doesn't appear until a full hour as passed and her role doesn't require much except smiling and looking utterly beautiful and that she does to perfection. George Sanders (looking amazingly like John Wayne in the early scenes) has one of his most brutally villainous roles and he plays it without flinching, this is no character you love to hate, he's one scary SOB. This major 1942 film is also notable for giving breaks to two actresses who had been brushed off by many in Hollywood, the troubled Frances Farmer who plays Sanders' daughter (and Power's first love) and early talkie star Kay Johnson, making a very rare appearance, as Sander's wife. John Carradine has one of his most likable roles as a seedy castaway who turns out to be a great friend. There's also an exceptional performance from Harry Davenport (best known as Doc Meade from GONE WITH THE WIND) as Power's beloved grandfather.

And I've saved the best for last, the one, the only Tyrone Power. Was there ever a more gorgeous man in movies? And SON OF FURY fairly revels in his beauty, his beautiful mop of thick black hair, his stunning profile, manly arms, friendly eyes and infectious smile. And as a bonus, there are numerous scenes of Power shirtless, running around the island in sarong-like swim-shorts. To top it all off, Tyrone is a fantastic actor, one of classic Hollywood's best. He would have been a superstar in any era.

Saturday afternoon at the movies

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 23 October 2005]

Piper Laurie said of Tyrone Power, "Tyrone Power was Saturday afternoon at the movies." "Son of Fury" surely must have been one of those films that young people flocked to see on a Saturday afternoon - an island adventure starring one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

Power costars with a great cast that includes George Sanders, Frances Farmer, Gene Tierney, Roddy McDowell, and Elsa Lanchester. Tierney is impossibly beautiful, certainly every boy's dream girl - and on an island, no less, and not speaking English! Her final kiss with Power is socko.

The film has some excellent performances by the supporting cast, McDowell and Lanchester in particular. Lanchester's scene with Power is especially touching. Fifteen years later, they'd work together on his last film, Witness for the Prosecution. Lovely Farmer, whose story is now legend, doesn't have much to do, which is a shame. Sanders is always excellent. He and Power would fight on screen again in "Solomon and Sheba." Power collapsed while he and Sanders rehearsed a sword fight and died very shortly afterward.

Son of Fury, of course, is the type of film at which Power excelled, and there would be many more period pieces to come before his contract, interrupted by the war, finally expired. He said at the end of his life that he was proud of only four films. He should have been prouder of a lot more, because he fed a lot of dreams and was responsible for many happy Saturday afternoons for 22 years.

"No Bride Was Ever More Beautiful"

[ferbs54 · 13 July 2011]

Based on Edison Marshall's 1941 novel entitled "Benjamin Blake," 1942's "Son of Fury" is a rip-roaring swashbuckler that features nary a single sword fight, despite taking place during the reign of George III (that would be between 1760 and 1820); there ARE several instances of most impressive fisticuffs, however. In the film, we meet young Benjamin, played with wide-eyed appeal by the 13-year-old Roddy McDowall. Suspected of being illegitimate in birth, Benjamin lives with his kindly gunsmith grandfather (Harry Davenport) until the fateful day when his cruel uncle, Sir Arthur (the typically excellent George Sanders), fetches him to Breetholm Manor and, fearing that Benjamin will one day be able to prove his ancestry and claim his inheritance, makes him a stable boy. Benjamin grows up to be a handsome young man, and now, as played by Tyrone Power (riding high on the success of 1940's "The Mark of Zorro"), after several violent turns with his uncle, flees to Polynesia to make his fortune. Entering into a pearl-diving endeavor with fellow sailor Caleb Green (an untypically likable John Carradine), he makes his pile, falls in love with a beautiful native girl who he dubs Eve (Gene Tierney, in her seventh film), and returns to Bristol to claim what is his. But many surprises await him on his return....

"Son of Fury" is a marvelous adventure film, given the A-list treatment by 20th Century Fox. It features handsome production values, rugged direction by John Cromwell (father of modern-day actor James), and a beautiful score by Alfred Newman. Acting by one and all is first rate, including Frances Farmer (as Benjamin's bitchy cousin) and Elsa Lanchester (as a barmaid who helps Ben escape from the law). Tyrone and Gene make a wonderfully romantic pair in this, their first teaming; they would go on to appear together in 1946's "The Razor's Edge" and 1948's "That Wonderful Urge." Gene's many fans should enjoy the awesome sight of her doing a convincing, hip-shaking, hulalike dance in this film; she does manage to convince as a Polynesian, with only a few dozen lines of broken English (still, more than the six lines of dialogue she had in her third film, "Tobacco Road"). She is simply gorgeous here, and when Tyrone takes her to wife at one point and declares "No bride was ever more beautiful," the viewer is not inclined to argue. In her 1979 autobiography "Self-Portrait," Gene tells us that the film shoot on "Son of Fury" exposed her to mental illness for the first time; not her own (that would come over a decade later), but rather in her costar Farmer, who was just starting to evince symptoms and would be institutionalized two years later (and stay in mental hospitals for a good eight years). One would never know it, though, based on Farmer's fine work in this film. Actually, though, every single aspect of this film is just perfect; I just loved it from beginning to end. And at that end, in which every character gets precisely what he or she deserves, the viewer will likely feel inclined to stand up and cheer. Without giving away too much, let me just say that those who have seen such marvelous entertainments as "Dodsworth" and "Dark Passage" might know the type of crowd-pleasing final scene that is in store for them. "Here is rousing, robust, romantic entertainment," the trailer for "Son of Fury" proclaimed, and I could not agree more. Watch it alone or with the entire family; it is a perfect film for adventure-loving guys, romance-seeking ladies, and kiddies of all ages. More than highly recommended.

Pretty entertaining and with a great sense of adventure

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 11 March 2007]

This is a pretty entertaining film that works pretty well due to decent writing and an excellent villain in the form of George Sanders. The film begins with a young boy being forcibly taken from his loving grandfather and the boy is made a stable boy for a rich baronet. It seems that this rich guy (Sanders) is actually the kid's uncle but instead of being kind, he treats the kid like dirt. The reasons are because the uncle wants to keep the family fortune for himself AND because something about his dead brother and his wife bother him so intensely that he wants to make their child's life hell. The boy is played by Roddy McDowell, but after the first 15 minutes or so, he is "Hollywood aged" and is played by Tyrone Power. Power is very good in the film, but a few macho scenes didn't seem all that plausible--especially after seeing his rather scrawny frame once he took his shirt off part-way through the film.

Well, Power cannot stay at the manor to take the abuse forever, especially since the uncle seems intent on eventually killing him--beating him savagely and making up a story that Power attacked and tried to kill him! So, he runs off to sea and meets up with a friend, John Carradine --in one of his non-crazy or monster roles. Together they plan to jump ship, make their fortunes and return to England. Well, all this DOESN'T go exactly as planned and Power meets a beautiful native girl played pretty convincingly by Gene Tierney. What happens next I really don't want to divulge--it would spoil the film's many surprises. However, the film does have many twists and surprises--especially at the end and enough that it elevates this film above the norm and makes it very watchable--nearly earning it a score of 8.

Impressive romantic drama with sadistic overtones...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 18 September 2006]

The dark side of GEORGE SANDERS is sure to bring out the cad in him whenever he plays a movie villain. And he's at his darkest in the early scenes of SON OF FURY, where poor RODDY McDOWALL must do work as a stable boy for his cruel and mean spirited uncle.

Later, when McDowall grows up to be TYRONE POWER (now that does strain credibility a bit), he finds romance on a desert isle with GENE TIERNEY and he seems to have found paradise. But he can't forget that he must seek vengeance on his brutal uncle and packs up and leaves Tierney, clad in a becoming sarong and looking her most exotic. That alone stretches credibility again, but the plot is the thing.

We follow Power back to London again to be reunited with his lady love (a beautiful FRANCES FARMER) and resolve his problematic relationship with sneering Sanders.

It's the kind of costume epic made for someone like TYRONE POWER, the sort of tale that played on the fantasies of young men who wanted to do the sort of adventurous wandering that he does, especially if someone like Gene Tierney was still waiting for his return.

It's absorbing all the way, full of dark menace whenever he has to confront GEORGE SANDERS, in one of his best jobs as a sarcastic villain. And, of course, for TYRONE POWER fans, it's one of his best roles as a romantic hero.

Tyron Power as Benjamin Blake

[kijii · 7/10 · 29 November 2016]

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.

The good, the bad and the very beautiful

[tomsview · 9/10 · 25 January 2016]

This film stars two of the most stunning women ever to step before a camera, and two of the most troubled ones: Gene Tierney and Francis Farmer.

Set in Georgian era England, this is an absorbing film. It's the story of Benjamin Blake (played as a child by Roddy McDowell and later by Tyrone Power) who after being orphaned at an early age, is cheated out of his title and inheritance by Sir Arthur Blake (George Sanders), his sadistic uncle who keeps him as a bonded servant.

Ben escapes and stows away to a remote island in the South Pacific at a time when travel was a lot more difficult than dropping into Harvey World Travel or hitting the Trivago App on your iPhone. Years later he returns to England to put things right.

Along the way he falls in love with two women. The first is Sir Arthur's daughter, Isabel Blake (Francis Farmer). Not much of it is made in the film, but this surely would have to be a non-starter as she was his first cousin. Nevertheless, Francis Farmer was never photographed to better advantage than in "Son of Fury", dazzling is a fair description. This was her last movie before her life fell apart.

The second is Eve, the native girl Ben meets on the island played by Gene Tierney. The camera loved her and those amazing cheekbones that allowed her to play a wide range of ethnicities from Ancient Egypt to Polynesia - nearly always as a princess. It's sad knowing that this was about the time she too was overwhelmed by personal problems.

Tyrone Power made every movie he was in seem important. Not just darkly handsome, you felt there was depth to his characters, and he could wear a Regency top hat and coattails as though he was born to the era.

For anyone who loves movies of the golden age, the fact that the film stars George Sanders is reason enough to see it. Along with his trademark disdain he projects a powerful physical presence. He was a big dude and in the boxing scenes he looks surprisingly fit, and as though he knew some moves. It would be best to smile when calling him a fop.

The whole production is polished with plenty of glass shots and moody sets; the slightly unreal quality gives it a touch of movie magic. The film features brilliant characterisations right down the cast list, and Alfred Newman contributed a vibrant score drenched in salt air and the aroma of the South Seas.

You don't have to be a film buff to enjoy "Son of Fury", but it adds to the enjoyment if you know something of the stars and the filmmakers. They have all gone now, but this film is a lasting testimony to their talents.

A different education

[AAdaSC · 7/10 · 22 November 2015]

Young Roddy McDowell (Ben) is forced into slavery by his devious uncle George Sanders (Arthur). Sanders is scared that Roddy may be able to prove his real identity and take over the estate that Sanders is currently presiding over. Sanders wants to keep his eye on Roddy and sadistically punish him at the same time. McDowell grows into Tyrone Power and is soon off to pursue his own fortune as he goes on the run. He vows to return to a waiting Frances Farmer (Isabel) and to settle his own score with Sanders.

The four main actors/actresses in this film had tragic outcomes in their lives and this is interesting in itself - the two main female leads spent time in mental institutions. With regards to the female cast, the best is Elsa Lanchester (Isobel) as the prostitute whilst top-billed island girl Gene Tierney (Eve) doesn't do much. In fact, the film is pretty boring whenever she is on screen and we have to endure some pretty inane dialogue. Turning to the male cast, it is George Sanders that excels as the villain of the piece and John Carradine (Caleb) plays a likable buddy for Tyrone on the island. A mention must also go to lawyer Dudley Digges (Bartolomew) who is very funny.

Where would you rather live – on a stately home in Bristol or on a tropical island? That's the choice for Tyrone. Does he choose wisely?

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

[Terrell-4 · 8/10 · 2 February 2008]

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.

Strange one this...

[pipster101 · 7/10 · 30 May 2001]

the story/narrative seems somewhat short, un-engaging and at times fairly tedious in its character portrayals which at times lean towards the comical, i.e. the grandfather, the natives etc. Every character seems like a parody of what you would expect.

BUT... it is worth watching for the sheer fact that to have a film with both Gene Tierney and Frances Farmer in is pretty damn unusual! Tierney is not given the best of lines, in fact they are pretty awful - however, she's young and radiant before her starring roles in Laura and Leave her to Heaven. Likewise, Farmer is elegant and poised.

An okay film, worth watching for Tierney and Farmer, but not worth buying IMHO.

the materialization of a romantic dream

[pzanardo · 9/10 · 17 April 2000]

Most movies of Hollywood Golden Age are attractive. They share cleverly constructed plot and dialogue, high-standard direction and actors' performances. Perhaps because of the charm of past times, as a rule the characters are very nice guys, even the villains, like in "Son of Fury": who is really able to detest George Sanders? Yet sometimes a motive in the movie makes it outstanding. This is the case of "Son of Fury". In fact it shows the materialization of the most romantic dream of our youth, even improving it: to live in Polynesia and... with Gene Tierney! Gene is the improvement to our own dream. Her capacity to be lovely is unbelievable: just the scene when she uses a fork like a comb would be worth seeing the movie. And what about her polynesian dance in grass-skirt? When Tyrone Power leaves the island to take his revenge in England, the audience is disappointed: we don't see the point in leaving Paradise. The director seems to realize this feeling: in fact, Power's come-back to England is more an act of justice than of revenge. Anyway, we feel relieved when he finally settles his business and returns to the island, to his friends, to her. And there she is, alone on the reef... What is more common in a movie than the final kiss? Yet this one has something special. In that instant, we all are Tyrone Power and she... she is Gene Tierney, what could be better?

A revenge drama filled with adventure and some good lessons about the real fortune of life.

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 7/10 · 5 February 2023]

Son of Fury The Story Of Benjamin Blake (1942) : Brief Review -

A revenge drama filled with adventure and some good lessons about the real fortune of life. Based on Edison Marshall's 1941 historical novel, Benjamin Blake, John Cromwell's adventure drama isn't bound to one specific genre. There are elements of revenge drama, romance, adventure, crime, and life lessons in it that cumulatively define a spicy entertainer. Son of Fury isn't a typical film for its time or even for today's generation because there are different shades and layers to it. People have made many different classics by picking one layer out of it. The film dealt with a lot of textures that were still in the primary stage, therefore giving you an engaging and rich experience. The film is about Benjamin, who is cheated out of his estate by his sadistic uncle. He is forced to be a slave and is often humiliated by his uncle. Young Benjamin Blake then decides to go to the South Seas to make his fortune so he can return to claim his birthright with enough money in his hands. There are a few problems in the script that came under my scanner. I don't see any logic in Benjamin going to make money outside rather than looking to prove his identity. I mean, money can't buy a biological identity, so what did he gain by wandering around clueless? Clueless is another problem because he didn't plan anything properly. One more big fault is Benjamin seeing 3 ladies in a short span-two lovers and one casual meeting. This again made his character problematic. Anyway, the rest of the narrative was gripping and thrilling. Tyrone shows his power, Gene Tierney is a cute tribal woman, Frances Farmer's dame is a perfect fit with double shades, and George Sanders masters the role. John Cromwell's storytelling binds the narrative together, and you don't feel bored at all. Not as great as Fritz Lang's "Fury" (1936), but tt's "Fast and Furious."

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

If you covered it with garbage ...

[dbdumonteil · 20 March 2008]

...George Sanders would still have style (Ray Davis,"Celluloid heroes") Treacherous,diabolical,suave,cynical,sadistic ,but with a lot of class ,a touch of aristocracy ,an infinite refinement and a zest of noblesse oblige,Sanders was the villain of that era ;To see him play opposite dashing Tyrone Power is once more cause for celebration.Add Gene Tierney and it is a dream come true;too bad the actress's appearance does not exceed 20 min,but Power has nevertheless plenty of time to teach this Tahitian girl some elements of Shakespeare's language.

Power portrays the proud hero ,whose wicked uncle takes to his home (the young man's home in fact)to make him a stable lad.This lord has stolen everything from his late brother but the nephew is not prepared to accept it.He is abetted by his grand pa and a crude girl with a golden heart.

Very entertaining and the scenes where Power and Sanders play together are just a joy.

Hasn't the ending got something from Rousseau or Thoreau?

Among The Sheltering Palms.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 6 June 2015]

An entertaining tale of Tyrone Power, cheated out of his birthright by the villainous George Sanders. Power becomes Sanders' ward, and Sanders beats and humiliates him. Power assaults him -- a grave offense, a commoner knocking a rich aristocrat around -- and barely escapes hanging by stowing aboard a sailing ship that brings him to a Polynesian island like Tahiti. There he meets the delicious Gene Tierney in a flowery two-piece sarong. Who could resist?

When he's collected enough pearls to ransom a king, he returns to England, hires a lawyer who deposes Sanders, and assumes his rightful place as lord of the manor. Sanders is now a commoner himself, though still capable of a sly trick or two in his attempt to continue in the life style to which he's become accustomed. There is a brutal fist fight. Sanders fights dirty. All villains fight dirty in these scuffles. But Power wins, gives the manor to the servants and to his kindly grandfather. Then he takes off again, trading the corruption of civilization for the simple life among the noble savages, the sheltering palms, not to mention the sheltering arms of Gene Tierney. Jean-Jacques Rousseau can be heard faintly, applauding from just off camera.

It's one of those tales we don't see much anymore, based on a sprawling, epic, now-forgotten novel. Nobody seems to have patience enough to read these long tales of adventure and romance. Maybe James Michener was the last of the breed.

Tyrone Power is a passable adventurer, Twentieth-Century Fox's answer to Warner's Errol Flynn. He's aided considerably by Alfred Newman's heroic score, Twentieth-Century Fox's answer to Warner's Eric Wolfgang Korngold. Gene Tierney had little range as an actress, even though, as here, she was forced to be a sexy and naive native girl or, elsewhere, a dumb and hungry redneck. She's out of her depth. She needs to be in sleek clothes in New York, as she was in "Laura" and "Leave Her To Heaven."

Best performance award goes to -- envelope, please -- yes, George Sanders as Sir Arthur Blake, snooty and sadistic aristocrat. He's never been a better cad. Oh, to see him sit at court, while Tyrone Power is humiliated and about to be sent to the gallows, and Sanders lolls back in his seat, looking down his nose like William F. Buckley, and rolling his eyes heavenward. The guy was great.

Georgian Cad

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 24 February 2006]

Done a year before Tyrone Power went to war in those lovely South Sea Islands depicted here, Son of Fury is the film adaption of a best selling novel of that period, Benjamin Blake. I think Darryl Zanuck decided that Son of Fury had more of a box office ring to it.

Our protagonist is the disinherited scion of a landed gentry family. We meet Benjamin Blake as a child played by Roddy McDowall. No proof of the marriage of his parents can be found and his uncle George Sanders has taken over the family estate and made McDowall his ward, binding him legally to him in essential slavery. He puts him to work in the stable.

As McDowall grows up to be Tyrone Power, he gets a thing for Sanders's daughter Frances Farmer and she him. To be perfectly fair, we are treading into incestuous territory here and even a cad like Sanders has some reason for concern. It is the one real weakness of the plot. I wonder how this slipped by The Code.

Of course Power decides he's had enough and goes off to the South Seas where he gets involved with native princess Gene Tierney. In fact Son of Fury is distinguished because of Power's involvement with two of the great screen beauties, Gene Tierney and Frances Farmer. Tierney is busy poaching on Dorothy Lamour's sarong territory and had this been a Paramount film, Lamour would have had Tierney's part.

As for Farmer this was her last film before being confined to the mental hospital in a story that is now too well known. What a tragic waste of beauty and talent.

In a sense this is a reunion picture of sorts. Tyrone Power's break out film was Lloyd's of London, also set in Georgian England and also having George Sanders playing a Georgian cad. In fact the word cad is virtually synonymous with George Sanders on the screen. Nobody could play the cad better, no one ever has since.

Sanders is my favorite in Son of Fury, the man you pay your ticket for to boo. Seeing Son of Fury is to see Sanders at his finest.

This was possibly my 20th or more viewing of this since 1942

[jaybob · 9/10 · 3 June 2007]

Yes the film Son of Fury --story of Benjamin Drake has always been one of my favourite films since I first saw it at age 14 in 1942

I always liked adventure films where our hero starts off as a young lad, grows up under adverse conditions, has romances,runs away from a tyrannical uncle, Finds romance & wealth on a tropical Island paradise, goes home, vanquishes the uncle & returns to the tropic island & his lady love.

That is basically the story line of this movie, John Cromwell directed this from the screenplay by Philip Dunne (both have extensive famous credits to there names.) This was adapted form the novel Benjamin Blake by famous(at that time) novelist Edison Marshall..

Darryl F Zanuck produced this film himself (he ran & owned the studio 20 th. Century Fox). He cast this with some of the finest talent available. The STAR Tyrone Power (he was bigger than Brad Pitt,Johnny Depp & George Clooney at that time. Roddy McDowell (billed as Master Roddy McDowell) played him as a 12 year old.

The beautiful Gene Tierney (one film away from her STARRING roles) was the island girl he falls in love with. George Sanders was the tyrannical Uncle & he was mean & cruel,. The ill-fated Frances Farmer (in her last major role) is the uncles spoiled daughter.

John Carradine (he was making films for about 8 yrs already) plays sailor who befriends our hero. There are many others in this film who you may recognize, they all are first rate.

The movie is in Black & white,although when first released there were some scenes in techicolour.

This is a first rate film for the entire family.

ratings ***1/2 9out of 4) 92 points (out of 100)IMDB 9 (out of 100

NOTE; when i first saw this I am sure it got a higher rating, this one is more accurate

This is a great movie.

[none-85 · 10/10 · 12 December 1998]

This is an outstanding movie. The four leads- Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, Frances Farmer, and George Sanders are perfect in thir roles. Gene Tierney was only 21 or 22 when she made this movie, and she is breathtaking. At 28 or 29 and after some personal problems, Frances Farmer had lost a little of the incredible beauty and youthful allure she displayed in Come and Get It, but still is a great example of icy blond beauty. It's a shame that immediately after this movie, her personal problems really became severe, because she could have become one of the truly great actresses. From seeing Power in this movie, it's hard to believe he would be dead 16 years later at the age of 44.

Enjoyable Adventure!!!!

[Looney Toon joe · 10/10 · 17 November 2003]

SON OF FURY is a truly enjoyable if somewhat underrated adventure.Dashing Tyrone Power stars as Benjamin Blake who for many years vows to avenge himself against his cruel and tyrannical uncle(brilliantly portrayed by George Sanders).And so Benjamin sets forth on an adventure to the south seas to find his fortune.He is accompanied by Caleb Green(John Carradine).Together they find more than they expect in a remote pacific island when Ben falls head over heals for a local native girl which he calls Eve(played by the extaordinaraly beautiful Gene Tierney).

This film also features the late Frances Farmer before her tragic ordeals began and also Elsa Lanchester who aids Power and Harry Davenport as Ben's kind hearted grandfather.A great saturday afternoon movie with all the right elements of a classic adventure. One of Tyrone Power's best films even if it never got the recognition it deserves!!! A+

p.s. Alfred Newman's score is also highly recommended.

Frances Farmer's Farewell

[romanitis · 8/10 · 17 September 2005]

Some may remember Kenneth Anger taking this lush film's title and gender-bending it a bit to give his Frances Farmer chapter in "Hollywood Babylon" its tabloid tone, but this is truly a great movie (outside of the fact that it features not one, but two Tinseltown beauties who, in Anger's salacious words "drank at the well of madness") ... Farmer, after a string of uneven pictures, is relegated to a supporting role here, but actually fares better than leading lady Gene Tierney because 1) her role is far more complex and 2) her on-screen chemistry with star Tyrone Power is much more palpable. Perhaps the saddest thing about "Son of Fury" is the knowledge that despite the now recurrent difficulties being reported from the set, Farmer had caught herself a break and maybe a chance to finally ride out Paramount's punishment -- starting in 1938, of course, with the aptly-named (and perfectly awful) "Ride A Crooked Mile". But as we all know, the road got bumpier, the turns sharper and the potholes unavoidable ... To see Farmer surrounded not only by the likes of such A-list talent as Power and Tierney, but a stellar George Sanders and very young Roddy McDowell is to get a glimpse of what might have been. To read accounts of Farmer being tricked into watching this film years later while incarcerated in an insane asylum, if indeed true, is unforgivable ... Watch "Son of Fury" for everything the Golden Age of Hollywood purported to be -- solid, if not overly- spectacular, entertainment. It may not be the last film of Farmer's short-lived career, but it is our last look at this fine young actress at her peak -- as stunning and mythic as she was years earlier in "Come And Get It" -- but now with an undeniable sadness melting from within.

Tyrone power never equalled or surpassed

[rickdumesnil · 9/10 · 19 April 2008]

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.

words and images

[rsternesq · 9/10 · 23 February 2008]

There are some films that can be described very well using words. This one cannot. It must be seen and even more than that, experienced. It offers a bit of Dickens, a bit of Dumas and certainly is built upon one old fashioned cliché after another but all that truly doesn't matter one whit. This film, all in all, taken as a whole, is like a wonderful painting or even more enjoyable dream. It is touched with sadness because, apart from the plot, we know that there is sadness ahead for all of the principal actors but even so, what a pleasure in seeing those faces and hearing those voices is gained with every viewing. One final thing, thank you Mr. Pratt for redeeming the reputation of lawyers everywhere.

Son of Fury, One of Power's Best

[JLRMovieReviews · 9/10 · 22 April 2010]

Young Ben Blake (later played by Tyrone Power) lives with his grandfather until his uncle George Sanders wants him, but only because Ty is the rightful heir to George's brother's and Ty's father's estate. He takes Ty and makes him work as a stable boy. Ty starts to have feelings for his daughter Frances Farmer, who loves him back. But then again, why would she love him when she has the attention of other society gentlemen?

Ty escapes and meets John Carradine who has a dream of gold, pearls, money, money, MONEY! It's all found on a ship bound for adventure, beautiful islands, and Gene Tierney. Need I say more, except Ty isn't satisfied to live out his life simply, but to go and take back what is rightfully his from Uncle George.

I liked this movie a lot, a lot. It is very satisfying with its treatment of the subject matter, and has a lot of heart to it, which is found lacking in most other adventures or swashbucklers similar to it. If you want to see an old-fashioned film with an epic feel to it and a lot of fun, then discover "Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake."

Buried treasure well worth digging up

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 4 March 2019]

'Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake' sounded like my kind of film. Love classic film, liked the idea of the story regardless of whether it was original or not and the cast seemed too good to resist. It is inviting enough to see especially Gene Tierney, George Sanders and Elsa Lanchester in any film, to see them in the same film along with Tyrone Power, Frances Farmer and Harry Davenport is enough to get anybody excited. It is always a plus too having Alfred Newman on board as composer.

Luckily did not find myself let down at all. 'Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake' turned out to be a very well done and entertaining film. To me, it really is something of a little treasure that is sadly is not particularly well known, hard when up against some of the best films ever made in one of film history's strongest decades and for those involved it is in the shadow of their better known work. This is a shame because 'Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake' does deserve to be better known and more widely available, and some of the cast actually give some of their most interesting and best work here (especially Tyrone Power and George Sanders), with such talent on board that is reason enough to see it.

Didn't find an awful lot wrong actually. The story is a slight one and can be predictable in places.

Also thought that Tierney's character was underused and underdeveloped.

However, 'Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake' is a gorgeously photographed film and while the locations may not be exactly authentic they are still handsome. Newman's score is lavish and sweeping in unmistakable Newman style, which will be an utter joy for fans of his and those who admire him. It moves at a lively pace without feeling rushed and there isn't anything really that slows things down. The script has wit and tautness, also with some sharply observed insights in class and human rights at the time, and the direction indicated somebody who knew what he was doing and what he wanted to accomplish. The story on the most part, while not perfect, still interests and it is impossible to dislike its charm and entertainment value. Some nice twists and surprises too.

There is a constant sense of fun and the action is genuinely exciting and well choreographed. The softer and more romantic scenes are charming and sweet, without being saccharine, while not making the mistake of slowing things down like romantic scenes in classic film did have the danger of doing. Parts are also surprisingly scary with Sanders' character, with a bold brutality that one doesn't expect. The cast are the main reason to see 'Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake' and why it works as well as it does. Power is dashing and charismatic, no unease or stiffness here, plus visually he smoulders. Regardless of whether Tierney is believable as an island girl (personally don't think she is, somewhat too glamorous), she still charms and is entrancingly beautiful, making the most of too little screen time.

Farmer makes just as much of an impression with more to do and with the more interesting role, and really gives it her all to both icy and poignant effect without being cold. Both she and Tierney are believable paired with Power, while Power convinces even more in his remarkably suspenseful moments with Sanders. Sanders is unflinchingly sinister, sometimes shockingly so, while maintaining his suavity, which was always very distinct. It was interesting seeing a young Roddy McDowell, while Elsa Lanchester is touching, John Carradine is both fun and atypically sympathetic and Harry Davenport is very endearing.

Overall, it is well worth digging this up. 8/10

Tyrone Power fights it out thoroughly with injustice and fate but is rewarded with Gene Tierney.

[clanciai · 10/10 · 26 October 2017]

A delightful film from the best years of Hollywood, when they really could make a good film out of a good story, and this one is glittering from beginning to end with eloquent innovations, telling the story of a hot-blooded aristocrat robbed of everything, dishonoured and kept down but returning with a vengeance. All the obligatory ingredients of a successful Hollywood film are here: a dashing central hero of good looks and great spirits, an outrageous crook of revolting villainy, more than one great romance, fantastic adventure, gorgeous sailing ships, and best of all: Polynesian belly dancers, actually bringing back the best days of "The Mutiny of the Bounty" and its extreme romanticism. Gene Tierney makes one of her first and best appearances of a sort she could never repeat, Tyrone Power is here still on top, and George Sanders makes a typically unsympathetic bully with bravura. Alfred Newman's music adds to the glitter, and although it's a rather superficial story, it's great adventure, and the romanticism must appeal to anyone. This is an irresistible treat for any lover of great romantic adventure on the screen.