Boxoffice-July.01/1950

Tliere
Paramount s The Furies'
A Dramatic Masterpiece
By IVAN SPEAR
as A MASTERPIECE of filmmaking, Paramounfs
"The F\iries" will thunder its
way into motion picture history to occupy
a proud place alongside of such Immortals
as "The Covered Wagon." "Cimarron" and
other great dramas which found their genesis
and motivation in the rugged, blood-spattered
days of the early west. Of even greater
importance
:
is no reason why it should
not share honors with them also as a milestone
among alltime top grossers.
Furthermore—and this is of vital significance
to everyone in a somewhat frightened
motion picture industry—it is inescapable
refutation of the claims of the calamity
howlers that Hollywood has lost its touch
for producing the outstanding epics which
dotted the output of earlier days.
Produced by Hal Wallis. easily the achievement
highspot of his long and successful
career, the feature is a lustrous credit in
every department.
Based on a novel by Niven ("Duel in the
Sun") Busch, the screenplay by Charles
Schnee is a triumph of action, suspense and
character etching. The story is fundamentally
drama—tense, emotional, red-blooded drama
which would have had no less impact if it
had treated with the ruthlessness of empire
building in any other industry, circa or
locale.
As it happens, the yarn tells of the building
by a diamond-hard, rattlesnake-ruthless
man of a vast cattle spread in the postbellum
southwest, which happenstance adds
to the picture's worth on two counts. First.
it makes the picture in effect a western. In
view of current recognized tastes of ticket
buyers that is a very definite asset. Secondly,
it afforded the producer ideal opportunity
for the colorful scope and spectacle
against which the gripping dramatic
situations are unfolded.
While the screenplay's overall plot, exciting
sequences and brilliant dialog may have
helped to make their individual and collective
chores less exacting, the picture offered
an actor.s' field day: and Producer Wallis
chose a cast—from the topline down to the
least consequential bit player—equipped
The late Walter Huston, in a tense
dramatic scene with Barbara Stanwyck
as his headstrong daughter.
"THE FURIES"
A Hal Wallis Production
A Paramount Release
Running Time: 107 Minutes
THE CREDITS:
Produced by Hal Wallis- Directed by Anthony
Mann. Screenplay by Charles Schnee. From a
novel bv Niven Busch. Director of photography,
Victor Milner. Film editor, Archie Marshet.
Musical score, Franz Waxman. Art directors,
Hans Dreier and Henry Bumstead.
THE CAST:
Barbara Stanwyck, Wendell Coray, Walter Huston,
Judith Anderson, Gilbert Roland, Thomas
Gomez. Beulch Bondi, Albert Dekker, John Bromiield,
Wallace Ford, Blanche Yurka, Louis Jean
Heydt, Myrna Dell.
through tastes and talents to take full advantage
thereof.
Perhaps the performance that will attract
the most attention and comment is that of
the late Walter Huston. His last picture
role before his death, its delineation parallels
the best of his countless preceding finegrained
contributions to stage and screen.
His is the part of the cattle baron, who
started from scratch and through the sheer
fortitude of an indomitable personality and
resistless drive rose to stratospheric estate,
only to be brought to his knees by a daughter
of comparably stern stuff—a gal whose
character he had molded in his own likeness.
The fact that Huston is killed in the picture's
closing sequence by a Mexican woman
whose family he had wronged, and that his
distinguished career was ended by death
shortly after "The Furies" was completed,
will give his part additional interest in the
minds of most movie patrons.
In all other respects, the interpretation of
the headstrong daughter by always-competent
Barbara Stanwyck is of equal excellence;
and even with such topnotch evaluation
the two are but one short thespian step
ahead of the remainder of the cast, most
especially Wendell Corey, Gilbert Roland and
Judith Anderson.
Lest the impression be given that the picture
has only strife, sturdiness and spectacle,
let it be recorded that there is romance
aplenty—two, in fact. There is the torrid,
volcanic passion existing between Stanwyck
and Corey, which shuttles between hate and
love, with the latter ultimately in control;
and the late-years marriage of Huston to
Judith Anderson, which wedlock and the
family connivance it engendered precipitated
the fight-to-the-finish situation between
father and daughter.
Resultantly, there is a sizable slice of their
preferred screen entertainment for that segment
of ticket buyers for whom the tender
passion is a must in any picture. Nonetheless,
the feature's greatest appeal for most spectators
will lie in its sterner facets—while
both angles can be utilized for the don'tspare-the-horses
merchandising with which
smart showmen will endow the film. Given
such exploitation, first runs should be modern
El Dorados and, from that point forward,
must-see word-o'-mouth will take care of continuing
the golden flow.
'^'-^^^
One of the lusty scenes showing Walter
Huston with his companions, Thomas
Gomez and Wallace Ford, in a moment of
jubilation.
It looks like prosperity is here with a
Grateful of money. At left are Barbara
Stanwyck and Walter Huston. At the
right are Louis Jean Heydt. Wendell Corey.
Walter Huston proposes a toast to Judith
Anderson, married to him late in life.
Among the film's technical details, the ones
most deserving of being singled out for special
kudos are the somber, mood-catching
photography of Victor Milner and the musical
score by Franz Waxman,
But it was the production guidance of Hal
Wallis and the skillful direction of Anthony
Mann which blended into a gripping, lightning-paced
photoplay the sterling qualities
listed herein, as well as others too numerous
to mention.
BOXOFFICE :: July 1, 1950