Fury (1936)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Bartlett Cormack (screenplay) and
Fritz Lang (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

29 May 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

TWO LOVERS...VICTIMS OF MOB VIOLENCE! (original 1936 window card poster)

Plot:

When a prisoner barely survives a lynch mob attack and is presumed dead, he vindictively decides to frame the mob for his murder.

Plot Keywords:

Mob | Money | Murder | Lynch Mob | Newsreel

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Sylvia Sidney	...	Katherine Grant
Spencer Tracy	...	Joe Wilson
Walter Abel	...	District Attorney Adams
Bruce Cabot	...	Kirby Dawson
Edward Ellis	...	Sheriff
Walter Brennan	...	'Bugs' Meyers
Frank Albertson	...	Charlie
George Walcott	...	Tom
Arthur Stone	...	Durkin
Morgan Wallace	...	Fred Garrett
George Chandler	...	Milton Jackson
Roger Gray	...	Stranger
Edwin Maxwell	...	Vickery
Howard C. Hickman	...	Governor (as Howard Hickman)
Jonathan Hale	...	Defense Attorney

Also Known As:

Mob Rule (USA) (working title)
The Mob (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:14A (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Argentina:13 | Finland:(Banned) (1937) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #2229) | Spain:13 | Germany:12

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Terry, better known as Toto from The Wizard of Oz (1939), appears in this film as the dog that Spencer Tracy takes in from the rain at the beginning of the movie, becoming his traveling companion into the netherworld of small-town America.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: At end of movie when Spencer Tracy is standing in front of judge, the wide shot shows nothing above his head but when he shares the shot with Sylvia Sydney the boom mic is shown just above their heads.

Quotes:

Joe Wilson: I am legally dead!

Movie Connections:

Version of The Sound of Fury (1950)

Tormentors and the tormented given Lang's gifted touch.

Widely considered a classic this first Hollywood outing from director Fritz Lang is a remarkable look at mob violence and one mans limit pushed to breaking point, and then some. Joe Wilson (Spencer Tracy) is as honest a man as you could wish to meet, he's very much in love with his girlfriend and has plans aplenty. He is then accused of a dastardly crime and mob rule quickly takes over as rumours spiral out of control, the film then turns into a brilliantly structured tale of a mob out of control followed by the powerful motive of revenge as a searing force. Tracy is majestic as our main protagonist, and Lang doesn't waste any moment of film as he unravels the psyche of both tormentors and the tormented. The ending doesn't quite reach the heights of the previous reel but it remains a great and interestingly controversial classic that should be viewed by all at least once, 9/10.