Anthony Mann's THE FURIES
Posted: July 1st, 2008, 11:51 am
The Furies - 1950
I relished watching this movie last night. There are some movies I "enjoy" watching or
have fun watching but this was something else again. I've never seen another Anthony Mann
movie like it, it's as if he was on full throttle when he directed it. It moves so quickly, the scenes
are rather short and move from event to event, building and building to a showdown. (I won't give away the
somewhat unexpected ending) As quickly as she goes, The Furies
covers a lot of territory both figuratively and literally.
T.C. Jeffords, played with hoary gusto by Walter Huston, is the monarch of all he surveys on
his vast ranch he calls "The Furies", and Barbara Stanwyck, playing Vance Jeffords, is
every inch her father's daughter. I don't know my Greek tragedy very well, but even I can
appreciate how vividly the director has placed classical conflict in a setting that seems
remarkably comfortable with it, the Old West. Add Waxman's driven, Spanish influenced score,
the dramatic imagery by DP Victor Milner (with special effects assistance by Farciot Edouart and
Gordon Jennings, two names more familiar to me than Milner's) and you have a real "horse
OPERA." The plot never gets buried in the dramatics or lost in the stylishness and it's very
unpredictable except that you just know the two main protagonists, if you can call them that, are
bound to clash cataclysmically.
The Furies begs for multiple viewings. So much happens so quickly that I felt I had to pay
extra close attention or risk missing something crucial. The script, by Niven Busch (novel)
and Charles Schnee is caustic, literate and witty but spare allowing the performances and
visuals to carry the story along like a whirlwind.
Providing inestimable character support are: Gilbert Roland as Juan, the loyal childhood
friend and unrequited lover of Vance who is also an unwelcome "squatter" on The Furies,
ensconced in a fortified eagle's lair high atop a cliff with his brothers and his mother (played with
witchy menace by Blanche Yurka). Juan is the only one who can bring out Vance's vulnerable
side and make her see where she's wrong. They share a bond forged in childhood, but Juan
knows he's not the one to win her heart; That's for Wendell Corey as "Rip Darrow" to do.
He is the heir of the neighboring ranch and a Jeffords implacable enemy by birthright. He's no
gentle Juan, he challenges Vance as much as her father ever did (lots of talk by Stanwyck about
putting the "bit in her mouth"). Thomas Gomez glowers about as "El Tigre," Jeffords'
henchman who pathalogically cannot resist instigating bloodshed at every
possible opportunity. And then along comes Judith Anderson
as "Flo", the calculating but pragmatic interloper at the ranch. She is TC's
new "bride" from the Capitol and Vance's rival for control of The Furies (i.e., control of TC).
Being that she's a woman, Vance will temporarily be at a loss as to how to deal with
Flo---men she understands but women are a mystery. Flo, though adept at manipulating
Washington power players, did not reckon with her hostess when she attempts to usurp Vance's
place and made plans to take over the former Mrs Jeffords' bedroom. Woman or no woman,
Vance deals with her the only way she knows how. Pretty effectively, too---and I NEVER saw it
coming.
The only character who never appears but who still seems to wield a certain influence and whose
presence is enshrined in a room that represents the only real "heart" or femininity at the
awesomely rough hewn ranch is the first Mrs TC Jeffords, the lady of the bedroom. Her portrait is
prominent in several scenes and her genteel ways referred to with wistful longing by Jeffords only
son, played with neutered chagrin by John Bromfield (sporting an inexplicable Elvis
pompadour. Where did that come from? It's the hair stylist* on this picture who should have
been strung up). Of course, we know who the real "son" of TC is, it's Vance.
There is even a small part for laconic Arthur Hunnicut, playing the only character in
the land without an agenda or a "fury" riding his back. And he even has a couple of choice lines.
What with unnatural rivalries and jealousies betwixt father and daughter, power plays between
lovers, betrayal and tests of loyalty between friends, not to mention about a hundred other
shenanigans, there is plenty in The Furies to keep you entertained and keep the more
analytical busy with their pocket Freud's for months.
I'm glad the Criterion Collection release includes the novel by Niven Busch because now
I would like to read it for comparison. I haven't explored the "extras" yet either, but will
do so hopefully soon while the movie is fresh. I will also try to post some screencaps,
perhaps tonight.
*If I have just one pitiful little criticism, it's Barbara's hairstyle which seems anachronistic but
really is just plain unflattering. It makes her look harsher and older than I'm sure her character
is meant to be.
I relished watching this movie last night. There are some movies I "enjoy" watching or
have fun watching but this was something else again. I've never seen another Anthony Mann
movie like it, it's as if he was on full throttle when he directed it. It moves so quickly, the scenes
are rather short and move from event to event, building and building to a showdown. (I won't give away the
somewhat unexpected ending) As quickly as she goes, The Furies
covers a lot of territory both figuratively and literally.
T.C. Jeffords, played with hoary gusto by Walter Huston, is the monarch of all he surveys on
his vast ranch he calls "The Furies", and Barbara Stanwyck, playing Vance Jeffords, is
every inch her father's daughter. I don't know my Greek tragedy very well, but even I can
appreciate how vividly the director has placed classical conflict in a setting that seems
remarkably comfortable with it, the Old West. Add Waxman's driven, Spanish influenced score,
the dramatic imagery by DP Victor Milner (with special effects assistance by Farciot Edouart and
Gordon Jennings, two names more familiar to me than Milner's) and you have a real "horse
OPERA." The plot never gets buried in the dramatics or lost in the stylishness and it's very
unpredictable except that you just know the two main protagonists, if you can call them that, are
bound to clash cataclysmically.
The Furies begs for multiple viewings. So much happens so quickly that I felt I had to pay
extra close attention or risk missing something crucial. The script, by Niven Busch (novel)
and Charles Schnee is caustic, literate and witty but spare allowing the performances and
visuals to carry the story along like a whirlwind.
Providing inestimable character support are: Gilbert Roland as Juan, the loyal childhood
friend and unrequited lover of Vance who is also an unwelcome "squatter" on The Furies,
ensconced in a fortified eagle's lair high atop a cliff with his brothers and his mother (played with
witchy menace by Blanche Yurka). Juan is the only one who can bring out Vance's vulnerable
side and make her see where she's wrong. They share a bond forged in childhood, but Juan
knows he's not the one to win her heart; That's for Wendell Corey as "Rip Darrow" to do.
He is the heir of the neighboring ranch and a Jeffords implacable enemy by birthright. He's no
gentle Juan, he challenges Vance as much as her father ever did (lots of talk by Stanwyck about
putting the "bit in her mouth"). Thomas Gomez glowers about as "El Tigre," Jeffords'
henchman who pathalogically cannot resist instigating bloodshed at every
possible opportunity. And then along comes Judith Anderson
as "Flo", the calculating but pragmatic interloper at the ranch. She is TC's
new "bride" from the Capitol and Vance's rival for control of The Furies (i.e., control of TC).
Being that she's a woman, Vance will temporarily be at a loss as to how to deal with
Flo---men she understands but women are a mystery. Flo, though adept at manipulating
Washington power players, did not reckon with her hostess when she attempts to usurp Vance's
place and made plans to take over the former Mrs Jeffords' bedroom. Woman or no woman,
Vance deals with her the only way she knows how. Pretty effectively, too---and I NEVER saw it
coming.
The only character who never appears but who still seems to wield a certain influence and whose
presence is enshrined in a room that represents the only real "heart" or femininity at the
awesomely rough hewn ranch is the first Mrs TC Jeffords, the lady of the bedroom. Her portrait is
prominent in several scenes and her genteel ways referred to with wistful longing by Jeffords only
son, played with neutered chagrin by John Bromfield (sporting an inexplicable Elvis
pompadour. Where did that come from? It's the hair stylist* on this picture who should have
been strung up). Of course, we know who the real "son" of TC is, it's Vance.
There is even a small part for laconic Arthur Hunnicut, playing the only character in
the land without an agenda or a "fury" riding his back. And he even has a couple of choice lines.
What with unnatural rivalries and jealousies betwixt father and daughter, power plays between
lovers, betrayal and tests of loyalty between friends, not to mention about a hundred other
shenanigans, there is plenty in The Furies to keep you entertained and keep the more
analytical busy with their pocket Freud's for months.
I'm glad the Criterion Collection release includes the novel by Niven Busch because now
I would like to read it for comparison. I haven't explored the "extras" yet either, but will
do so hopefully soon while the movie is fresh. I will also try to post some screencaps,
perhaps tonight.
*If I have just one pitiful little criticism, it's Barbara's hairstyle which seems anachronistic but
really is just plain unflattering. It makes her look harsher and older than I'm sure her character
is meant to be.