Super fun: "Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake" (1942)

According to Leading Couples, TCM's book guide to some famous on-screen pairings, Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney were "the prettiest screen team in history" (the discussion is open), their pairing in this movie "a faultless match" and of course Son of Fury... (John Cromwell; 1942) one of their essential team-ups.

I had seen That Wonderful Urge (Robert Sinclair, 1948), another of their movies and didn't enjoy it that much, it was kind of boring and the story didn't catch me. But I really liked this one: I started watching it at 3.30 AM (really) but never felt sleepy or lost interest in what was going on. Tyrone and Gene are cute and effective together, even when they appear in the same scene for the first time like half way through the movie. 

The story, based on a novel by Edison Marshall, is appealing and classic and this time I'll have to tell it lengthily to include Gene Tierney in the synopsis: a poor boy, Ben Blake, is the real heir of a fortune, position and titles, but he can't claim them because the marriage of his dead parents was never proved. The bad guy, played masterfully by George Sanders, occupies Ben's position and not only that, he forces him to leave his grandpa to be his servant and beats him whenever he wants. When Ben grows up becomes Tyrone Power, who's in love with George Sanders' daughter (no, she's not Gene Tierney, but Frances Farmer) and is also fed up and wants to kick Sanders' ass. Are you still with me? So he tries to do it but it doesn't work out well and now he must escape or die. He goes in a ship to explore the most remote and austral waters (a map of my country is shown, yay!) and at some point he and a friend (John Carradine) find an island and meet, yes now you're right, Gene Tierney, playing a native girl.

Phew! That was a long paragraph to write. Tyrone and Gene look beautiful, have great chemistry and make you want them to stay together. But you also want Ty to go back with his poor old grandpa and occupy his real position.

Besides the story and the chemistry, there are more positive aspects: the villain is one of them. George Sanders gives his character such a domineering attitude, such confidence and resentment that you really fear for Tyrone's character. And he also is physically strong: he's shown boxing bare chested at the beginning of the film and looks very powerful. 

There are some characters that also are interesting even when the part is small, like the prostitute that helps Tyrone to escape played by Elsa Lanchester aka The Bride of Frankestein. She's like in one scene, but you get the idea that the main character changed a bit her life by treating her well. There's also interesting technical aspects. I loved the sea footage, with whales and dolphins in real open waters, which made the trip more real.

There are a few aspects I didn't like. One: at the beginning, the sudden and "epic" speeches of revenge given by the boy. Not because of the content, but the timing, like in one second he's planning to escape and the next is all serious looking to the horizon and saying he will stay. Second: George Sanders' daughter behavior. She's supposed to be spoiled and all, but the decision she makes at the end was weird. Third: the end. I won't give it away, but look what happen with grandpa. Not cool.

Anyway, I recommend this movie, pure fun.

 Interested in this film? More reviews of movies directed by John Cromwell :

• Anna and the King of Siam (1946) starring Irene Dunne & Rex Harrison
• Caged (1950) starring Eleanor Parker & Agnes Moorehead
• In name only (1940) starring Cary Grant & Carole Lombard
• Made for each other (1939) starring Carole Lombard & James Stewart
• Since you went away (1944) starring Claudette Colbert & Joseph Cotten. 

(The Son of Fury is available on Amazon.)