Desert Fury (1947)

Director:

Lewis Allen

Writers:

A.I. Bezzerides (writer)
Robert Rossen (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

15 August 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

Plot:

The daughter of a Nevada casino owner gets involved with a racketeer, despite everyone's efforts to separate them.

Plot Keywords:

Avant Garde | Melodrama | Based On Novel

Cast

John Hodiak	...	Eddie Bendix
Lizabeth Scott	...	Paula Haller
Burt Lancaster	...	Tom Hanson
Wendell Corey	...	Johnny Ryan
Mary Astor	...	Fritzi Haller
Kristine Miller	...	Claire Lindquist
William Harrigan	...	Judge Berle Lindquist
James Flavin	...	Sheriff Pat Johnson
Jane Novak	...	Mrs. Lindquist
Anna Camargo	...	Rosa
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Farrell	...	Drunk in jail (uncredited)
Lew Harvey	...	Doorman (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Mike (bartender) (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Dealer (uncredited)
Ralph Peters	...	Pete (cafe owner) (uncredited)
Ed Randolph	...	Dealer (uncredited)
Tom Schamp	...	Dan (deputy) (uncredited)
Ray Teal	...	Bus driver (uncredited)
Harland Tucker	...	Chuck (craps dealer) (uncredited)

Directed by
Lewis Allen

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
A.I. Bezzerides		writer
Robert Rossen		screenplay
Ramona Stewart		novel "Desert Town"

Produced by
Hal B. Wallis	....	producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa

Cinematography by
Edward Cronjager
Charles Lang

Film Editing by
Warren Low

Art Direction by
Perry Ferguson

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Sydney Moore		(as Syd Moore)

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard McWhorter	....	assistant director (as Dick McWhorter)
Gerd Oswald	....	assistant director

Art Department
Gene Lauritzen	....	construction coordinator

Sound Department
Harry Lindgren	....	sound recordist
Walter Oberst	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Gordon Jennings	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Farciot Edouart	....	process photographer

Music Department
Eugene Zador	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Francis Cugat	....	associate technicolor color director
Natalie Kalmus	....	technicolor color director

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1958) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MCA/Universal Pictures (1958) (USA) (TV)

Also Known As:

Desert Town (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #12025)

Filming Locations:

Clarkdale, Arizona, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

In Feb. 1958, a reissue of this film was in wide release by Paramount on a double bill with another western, California (1947).

Freighted Technicolor noir is one of a kind -- a real lulu

Back in the forties, when movies touched on matters not yet admissible in "polite" society, they resorted to codes which supposedly floated over the heads of most of the audience while alerting those in the know to just what was up. Probably no film of the decade was so freighted with innuendo as the oddly obscure Desert Fury, set in a small gambling oasis called Chuckawalla somewhere in the California desert. Proprietress of the Purple Sage saloon and casino is the astonishing Mary Astor, in slacks and sporting a cigarette holder; into town drives her handful-of-a-daughter, Lizabeth Scott, looking, in Technicolor, like 20-million bucks. But listen to the dialogue between them, which suggests an older Lesbian and her young, restless companion (one can only wonder if A.I. Bezzerides' original script made this relationship explicit). Even more blatant are John Hodiak as a gangster and Wendell Corey as his insanely jealous torpedo. Add Burt Lancaster as the town sheriff, stir, and sit back. Both Lancaster and (surprisingly) Hodiak fall for Scott. It seems, however, that Hodiak not only has a past with Astor, but had a wife who died under suspicious circumstances. The desert sun heats these ingredients up to a hard boil, with face-slappings aplenty and empurpled exchanges. Don't pass up this hothouse melodrama, chock full of creepily exotic blooms, if it comes your way; it's a remarkable movie.