Blanche Fury

This dark, engrossing drama centers on a beautiful English girl(Valerie Hobson) who goes to live at her uncle's Gothic estate where she engages in an illicit affair with the head-strong steward(Stewart Granger). This is one of the Rank Studio's most impressive Gothic melodramas. It's rich in creepy, menacing atmosphere, and features solid direction by Marc Allegret and terrific performances by the multi-talented British cast. Most of these classic '40's British dramas were rightfully filmed in black and white. BLANCHE FURY was filmed in color, but color actually suits this film well and makes the wonderful Gothic architecture all the more enjoyable.

This Rank production is an interesting tragic drama during the 19th century , concerning about Blanche Fury (Valerie Hobson) , a young poor and ambitious woman . She receives an invitation by his cousins , the father , Simon Fury (Walter Fitzgerald) and son , Laurence (Michael Gough) for a job as governess at the Fury mansion . But there resides the headstrong Philip Thorn (Stewart Granger) , an obsessive steward who aspires to possession the manor , but he gets rights for his condition of illegitimate son . Blanche marries to wealthy son but then the illicit relationship between Blanche and Thorn originates a string of fateful happenings .

This is an entertaining Gothic-drama-romance plenty of passion , tragedy , murder and plot twists . Marvelous cast with top-notch acting . Excellent Stewart Granger as the vengeful and obstinate Philip and obsessed for the manor . Granger was in his English period when he usually played lush costumer (Saraband for dead lovers , Madonna of the seven moons , Caesar and Cleopatra , Fanny by Gaslight) and the main protagonist , Valerie Hobson (Werewolf of London , Bride of Frankestein) , after she married John Profumo , then Churchill's junior minister , she left the cinema when married , and later his resignation from politics caused by known 'Profumo scandal' in 1963 , after that , she dedicated behalf to mentally handicapped kids . Furthermore , it appears : Michael Gough , a future star in the British horror movies and Maurice Denham as Major Fraser . This haunting story packs impressive production design with attention to period detail , as enjoyable palaces and sweeping outdoors . The film is based on a 1939 novel of the same name by Joseph Shearing , a pseudonym for Marjorie Bowen . A prolific writer with a taste for the Gothic, Bowen also wrote "Moss Rose" which came to the screen in 1947 . Colorful and beautifully cinematography in pastel color , well photographed interiors shot at Pinewood studios , London , by Guy Green (David Lean's usual cameraman) and exteriors by Geoffrey Unsworth who replaced Ernest Steward . Evovative and descriptive musical score by Clifton Parker with habitual conductor musical of the Philharmonic Orchestra of London : Muir Matheson. The picture was wonderfully mounted and well directed by Marc Allegret . Rating : Better than average, well worth watching.

"Blanche Fury" is one of those films that is rarely aired on TV, impossible to find on video, and OUGHT to be released to DVD for magnificent production values, use of color, and all out dripping-with-Gothic eeriness. The leads are compelling (Valerie Hobson and Stewart Granger at both their primes). This is also one of those rare opportunities to see Michael Gough doing what he does best; behaving thoroughly despicably! (unfortunately, Gough is familiar to contemporary audiences pretty much only as Alfred the butler from the "Batman" films of the 90's, which is rather a crime since he's most proficient playing cads and sinister megalomaniacs).

Watching "Blanche Fury" is like diving head first into a Victorian Gothic romance novel, and is pulled off with style and panache in every sense. It's a film for revival houses, ripe for restoration and preservation on DVD/VHS, and would surely find an audience in today's society which seems pretty much preoccupied with escapism. Escape into the world of "Blanche Fury" and you might not want to resurface (yes, it's that good).

Blanche Fullerton accepts an invitation to go and work for her wealthy Uncle out on the Clare estate. Tho the estate is the ancestral home to the Fury family, the Fullerton's take the name of Fury to be their own and run the estate as the rightful heirs. Philip Thorn believes he is the rightful heir to the estate but just can't find the proof needed to claim what he feels is rightfully his. Once Blanche enters the estate the men of the home have their heads turned, and from that point on Clare estate, and the whole Fury dynasty, is in danger of going down a very dark path that can may only lead to pain and misery. Is the ape curse of the Fury's about to strike again?

There is a good chance that I'll be reviewing this picture with a hint of bias, for Blanche Fury has everything that I personally look for in a Gothic classic picture. Two lead stars firing on all cylinders, both Stewart Granger and Valerie Hobson positively ooze grace and quality amongst the glorious colour and corking costumes. The mansion of the piece is just perfect (Wootton Lodge, Staffordshire, England), a poetic stone built structure by day that is surrounded by rolling countryside, but by night it's a hauntingly monolithic place of dreams and simmering passions. The dialect perfectly befits the late 40s British setting, where the story itself is crammed with passions and dastardly motives, adulterous leanings and murderous intent. But above all else it's the ending that seals the deal, as our protagonists respective futures unravel in yet another trip down some dark twisty road.

Based on the novel written by Joseph Shearing (who was actually Marjorie Bowen), the inspiration for the story is a real life case from 1848, this itself carries with it no small amount of potency, adding still further a fleck of nastiness to the unfolding drama. Blanche Fury is very much one for those who like Gothic melodramas or uneasy mansion set thrillers, the likes of Dragonwyck, House Of Usher, perhaps even Alfred Hitchcock's wonderful Rebecca. It's tightly directed by Marc Allégret and acted accordingly, whilst also technically the picture scores high as the score (Clifton Parker) and the photography (Guy Green/Geoffrey Unsworth) gives the picture an all round quality production. Blanche Fury, as a story itself? Well it's a little gem from the golden sub-genre of Gothic melodramas. At the time of writing Blanche Fury is still searching for a wider, more appreciative, audience, so if you get the chance to see it then don't pass up the chance because it's a must for fans of the films mentioned above. 8.5/10

I first discovered this little gem on tv a few years ago and loved it , i taped it and for some unknown reason kept watching it over and over it has a kind of hypnotic pull to i mean you have to really get into, i guess its not for everybody but it has been held in some regard up until recently,martin scorseses mentioned this as one of his guilty pleasures in film comment years ago and popular film presenter and critic from australia bill collins said while presenting another film that this would have to be one of the best british films from the forties.I totally agree it has a great gothic feel and the decor is marvelous as is the estate it was filmed on it has good solid performances and stewart granger is espescially good.Take note of the gypsy elements because at the time these points were crowd pullers other granger films to watch out for with similarities - "moonfleet","caravan","saraband for dead lovers","madonna of the seven moons"