Western Roundup: The Furies (1950)

Western Roundup: The Furies (1950)

This month my Western RoundUp column takes a look at it The Furies (1950), an Anthony Mann western starring Barbara Stanwyck at the helm of a top cast.

When I wrote about it Forty guns (1957) here last May, I wasn’t planning to do a series on Stanwyck’s 50’s westerns later this year, but here we are! Forty guns led me to watch The violent men (1955), and these films together piqued my interest The Furys. The three films range from good to great; Taken both individually and as a group, they make a fascinating viewing.

Quality would be great The Furies in the middle of the three; Forty guns was my favorite for a number of reasons, including Stanwyck’s chemistry with her lead (Barry Sullivan). It’s interesting that Stanwyck’s role was also the most likable of the trio Forty gunsalthough this character was no less ambitious than the women she played in the other two films.

The Furies is the name of the ranch in southwest TC Jeffords (Walter Huston). TC is something of a wild man who has carved out his ranch territory by any means possible, including theft and murder.

Widowed TC has a strange…vicinity…relationship with his wayward daughter Vance (Stanwyck), who is threatened when he brings home a widow, Flo (Judith Anderson), he contemplates marriage. Smart Flo plans to ship Vance to Europe and take control of TC and his money.

However, there are flaws in Flo’s plan, including the fact that TC has paid creditors with counterfeit bills called “TCs” for years. When Flo threatens Vance’s control of the ranch, Vance schemes with banker Rip Darrow (Wendell Corey), whose father’s land was stolen by TC, to buy up the bills and take over the Furies.

There are plenty of subplots, with Vance being attracted to Rip while in turn being loved by an old friend, Juan (Gilbert Roland). The fact that Juan is a Hispanic “squatter” on the ranch is a blow to their enduring relationship, and it also seems that Juan’s love for Vance isn’t exciting enough.

In that sense, in addition to her oddly possessive physical relationship with her father, Vance has a masochistic streak and seems to enjoy being abused by Rip. A scene where she asks Rip to hit her is a head turner. In fact, Vance’s relationships with both her father and Rip are such that I’m honestly amazed this was all done by the censors in 1950.

Charles Schnee’s screenplay for this 109-minute film is based on a novel by Niven Busch, for whom the dark, flowery scripts were written duel in the sun (1946) and persecuted (1947). Touches of these films, including an unusual family relationship and deadly love, are evident in him The Furies — what how persecutedIt deserves to be called “Western film noir”.

The Furies has very stylized dialogues and staging just as exaggerated as duel in the sunalthough the film it reminded me of the most was the later one Johnny guitar (1954). My first viewing of both The Furies and Johnny guitar made me think, “This movie is very weird…but I think I like it.”

The Furies was one of three westerns directed by Mann and released in 1950; The first was the classic Winchester ’73 (1950) with James Stewart, and the other was the respected one The Devil’s Door (1950) starring Robert Taylor as a Native American addressing racism in the post-Civil War West.

I’ve seen a lot of Mann movies, including all of his Westerns with Stewart, the slightly different, over-the-top style of The Furies was surprising to me, but no less gratifying. The story seems like a mixture of Shakespearean tragedy and high melodrama.

Stanwyck is superb as the restless, unhappy Vance who wants three things: her father, the ranch, and Rip, and she has no intention of sharing them. Her physical reaction as she realizes the extent of Flo’s intrigue is mind boggling; What’s even more amazing is that the sheriff’s involvement is never mentioned, even if the characters don’t live in TC’s ranching kingdom.

Corey is good as the nervous Rip, who seems unaffected by Vance’s love and does quite a bit of planning on his own. Corey’s low-key, more low-key style has an impact on their relationship here, though at times I wish the role was played by someone who had more sparks with Stanwyck.

The sprawling story doesn’t give enough space to the wonderful Roland, and my only real criticism of the film is the disturbing way its plot ended. No more is said on this point to avoid spoilers, but next time I see the film I’ll fast-forward this sequence.

Anderson – who also appeared in the aforementioned one persecuted — couldn’t be better than Flo, who openly admits that her relationship with TC isn’t just for love, but for the money, which makes life that much more enjoyable. She’s certainly calculating, but not exactly mean; She seems to really like TC, and the consolation prize she offers Vance for taking on her role at the ranch is a “grand tour” of Europe. Flo, like others, doesn’t anticipate how far a Jeffords will go to get what he wants, with tragic consequences.

Huston is annoying as a cantankerous TC, but I suppose he’s meant to be too. Rounding out the fine cast are Thomas Gomez, Wallace Ford, John Bromfield, Albert Dekker, Blanche Yurka, Louis Jean Heydt, Frank Ferguson, Myrna Dell, Movita and Beulah Bondi in a small but fine role as a banker’s wife.

Black and white photography is by Victor Milner, along with uncredited Lee Garmes. The score is by Franz Waxman, the costumes by Edith Head. Hal B. Wallis produced for Paramount Pictures.

Stanwyck is well loved for her roles in crime, drama and comedy alike, but as these three films show, she’s had a wonderful run in westerns too. I recommend all three Stanwyck films I’ve reviewed this year for excellent viewing.

The Furies is available on Blu-ray and DVD from the Criterion Collection.

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– Laura Grieve for Classic Movie Hub

Laura can be found on her blog, Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings, where she has been writing about film since 2005, and on Twitter at @LaurasMiscMovie. A lifelong film buff, Laura loves classics like Disney, film noir, musicals and westerns. She regularly reports on classic film festivals in Southern California. Laura will be writing all about westerns at the Western RoundUp for CMH.