|
|
Rating:  - A Daring Film, Far Ahead Of Its Time.
In 2005, courtesy Turner Classic Movies
(TCM), I had the pleasure of seeing one
of the most remarkable films ever made.
It was remarkable because of the subject
matter, the time of its creation, the
principal players who brought it to life,
and the director who made it all work,
despite the odds.
The film is FURY, starring Sylvia Sidney
and Spencer Tracy. Made in 1936 for MGM,
it was the work of noted German director
Fritz Lang, the filmmaker who revolutionized
the entire field with his Speculative classic
METROPOLIS, and jolted the field further with
the chilling social indictments delivered in
M.
FURY, in fact, was his first American film,
a towering introspective look into the heinous
nature of lynching, the evil the very act
inflicts upon all involved, and the cancerous
ramifications that such deeds hold for the
well-being of anyone, whether conspirator or
survivor. Indeed, the most ingenious point about
FURY is its compelling way of showcasing how
such roles can turn in upon themselves, showing
that no one is impervious to hatred, and its
terrible cost.
Point is, of course, that Hollywood-bound
filmmakers were not making films against lynching
in 1936, when the libelous melodrama of D. W.
Griffith's BIRTH OF A NATION yet held sway over
an entire period of lawlessness, where even
Universal monster films had glorified mob rule
as a righteous therapy for a disgruntled grass
roots.
For such a conscientious social drama to be done
at MGM, the home of glitter, glamour, andgiddiness
was a sure sign of the lack of industry perception
and respect that FURY would be subjected to upon
its release, and ever since.
Yet the brilliance of the film speaks its own cause
quite eloquently. It cuts through the bilge that
mob rule comes chiefly from "outside agitators",
that lynching is a spectator sport, and that such
activities come solely from men. Too, FURY is far
ahead of its time in pinpointing the fuel placed
on such volatile matters by a news media more
concerned with highlighting a spectacle for rank
viewership than pinpointing the Truths and Lies
at hand.
Sadly, these are points that are apparently lost
upon noted filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich, whose
commentary for the Warner Bros. DVD release seems
more preoccupied with citing Lang's technical prowess
while persistently denying his ability to deliver
emotional impact. A look at the charged passions
at play in FURY renders such opinionations absurd.
In utilizing camera angles to show a subject's
detachment from pleas of the heart or points of
sobering common sense, Lang avoids mawkish melodrama
and brandishes cinematic artistry of the highest
order; letting the narrative -and its hapless
participants- speak its own absorbing
piece.
Indeed, one of the film's strongest points
-totally ignored by Bogdanovich- is the presence
of African Americans in FURY. While it could
certainly be argued that FURY's absence of Black
people in principal roles is a glaring omission
in a film whose subject has involved the murder
of untold masses of Black people in this country
over the course of centuries, the fact is that
any Hollywood film which depicted African
Americans as something to be respected -even
in a symbolic light- was one hell of a daring
move in 1936!
It would have been informative had some light
been shed upon these handful of Black actors
spotlighted in something other than the period's
coonshine caricatures; particularly the young
lady hanging her laundry while singing a wistful
song about freedom, or the bartender whose
comments help to set the film toward its
pulsating climax.
Certainly, having a young shoe-shine boy dash
out the way of a raging lynch mob -in itself-
makes an emotionally ironic point which was not
lost upon FURY's viewers... or its worst
detractors.
Great work from a marvelous array of character
performers -among them Bruce Cabot and Walter
Brennan- add to the intricate depiction of the
issues and people involved, and a sharp score
from composer Franz Waxman heightens the depth
of tensions tightening its beckoning noose. Most
of all, Tracy and Sidney are superb in their
depiction of hard-working lovers fighting the
despair of post-Depression America, fraught with
racketeers, political graft, and a dangerous
complacency.
Master Tracy is brilliant as the working man
striving to make an honest living, only to be
imperiled by blind Fate and civic irresponsibility.
Equally the master, Sidney is dynamite as the
sharp teacher who stands as the film's single
voice of unwavering compassion and clear
wisdom.
If the film's period stands out as the years
move on, it matters little. Almost any of the
finest films made will reflect the times from
which they came. Look at the films of Cagney
and Bogart. Yet, the tale and its impact
carries its point of origin proudly, while
effectively addressing untold generations
across the span of decades. Too, the fact
that Lang had considerable conflict with
many parties over FURY's conception does
not lessen the immense success of this
probing story. One might as well deny
the genius of SPARTACUS because Director
Stanley Kubrick fought with star & Executive
Director Kirk Douglas over the nature of
that film's content. As was the case in
SPARTACUS, behind-the-scenes conflicts
seem to have actually contributed to a
momentous, visionary effort with FURY.
It is an effort which deserves its just due as a
milestone in one of the most turbulent careers
in the history of motion pictures. No mere
cinematic curio, Fritz Lang's FURY is a powerful
drama which entertains serious thought about a
subject which still rears its ugly head to mock
decent people, and true civilization, everywhere.
Rating: - Fury
Master Director Fritz Lang creates a superb showcase for a young Tracy as a random victim of mob violence. Clever story. Terrific wind-up. A film whose denunciation of all too common practice (particularly against minorities) was well ahead of its time.
Rating: - The unbalanced scales of justice
Spencer Tracy gives a powerful acting performance displaying a wide variety of emotions in Fritz Lang's American directorial debut, "Fury". Tracy portrays Joe Wilson a law abiding, hard working yet poor Chicago factory worker. Tracy is deeply in love with school teacher Kathy Grant played passionately by Sylvia Sidney. Not having enough money to marry, she takes a position in a far away town to help Tracy accumulate the necessary funds.
About a year passes and in a stroke of good fortune Tracy and his two brothers find success in operating a service station. Having saved sufficient funds Tracy writes to Sidney and commences to drive to Capitol City where she works to marry her.
In a small town not far away from Capitol City, Tracy mistakenly gets apprehended by sheriff's deputy Meyers played by the accomplished Walter Brennan. He is held in jail as a suspect in a local kidnapping case. Meanwhile the townsfolk get wind of his incarceration and tempers begin to flair. An angry lynch mob forms and sets the jail on fire and even dynamites it. Authorities believe that Tracy has perished but through a stroke of luck he manages to escape although severely burned.
He keeps his survival a secret from all but his two brothers and sits idly by as 22 townspeople are put on trial for murder. The experience has hardened Tracy's demeanor as he thirsts for vengeance even at the expense of forsaking his love for Sidney.
She finally finds out and along with the brothers plead with Tracy to reveal himself. The state D.A. has compelling evidence against the lynch mob. The laws state that this offense is punishable by death.
Fritz Lang with the flick "Fury" forcefully established himself as a major Hollywood director. Tracy again proves that he at the time was one of Hollywood's most talented and gifted actors. Sylvia Sidney was excellent in her role as well.
Rating: - M(ade) in America
Fritz Lang, the director of Fury, fled from Hitler's Germany in 1933. The Nazis' banning of Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse, which would be his last German film until 1960, surprised Lang. He knew the game was up when he was summoned by Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda minister, and asked to become the head of Nazi film. Lang fled the country that very day, unable to take his savings with him.
At least, that is the story Lang wrote into film history. There is no record of Lang having spoken to Goebbels, and in fact Lang was in no hurry to get out of Germany. He left and re-entered the country several times, over the course of a year, before permanently emigrating. It is the mark of a great story teller that an event he fabricated became the most often repeated episode of his life.
Lang made Fury at MGM in 1936. Spencer Tracy was cast as Joe Wilson, a man in love with ideals of law and justice. He is arrested at a roadblock and then mistakenly linked to a kidnapping. The arrest sets off volleys of rumours in Strand, where Wilson is imprisoned. Despite the paucity of police evidence, a gleeful mob descends on the prison and burns it with Wilson inside.
Wilson survives, however, and engineers a trial of those responsible for his apparent death. A completely changed man, he betrays even the woman who loved him in his drive for revenge. In the end, justice - at least Hollywood justice - is served.
Those who know Lang's German pictures will have many flashbacks while watching Fury. There is the interest in technology and the mechanisms of communication. There is the urban grid of empty streets. There are the looming shop window displays, which have a hidden connection to the characters' urges. There is the ever watchful eye of the director and of the characters on the periphery of the film. Most clearly of all, there is the question raised by M: when does the well being of the group trump that of the individual?
I highly recommend this film, particulary to those interested in Lang as he was transforming into an American director.
Rating:  - Fury
Innocent man Joe Wilson (Spencer Tracy) is arrested for a crime. There is evidence against him, but before he can receive a fair hearing the local townspeople hear of his arrest, become a mob and storm the jail in which he is being held. Wilson secretly escapes and plots revenge against the members of the lynch mob.
FURY is German director Fritz Lang's first American movie, and it's a powerful opening shot. The first act is a bit slow, perhaps unavoidably, as Lang develops the ordinariness of Wilson and the modest dreams he shares with his girl, Katherine Grant (Sylvia Sidney.) The last act, which commentator Peter Bogdanovich tells us - along with archived commentary testimony from director Lang himself - was a compromise Lang wasn't satisfied with, is happily flawed. The middle third, which delineates the anatomy of the creation of a mob and introduces a truly haunting reappearance by the Tracy character, is extremely powerful. I watched FURY twice in the span of a couple of days, first without and then with the commentary track, and both times I found the mob scenes hard to take. Watching the mob fulfil its destiny is heart wrenching. Tracy, as the broken man overwhelmed with an obsession for revenge is equally powerful.
Although FURY is corny in some spots and showing its age in others, it still packs a wallop. Tracy is very good as the man falsely accused and Sidney is even better as his girlfriend. Highly recommended.
|
|