Young Fury

This routine outing from Lyles attempts to deal with social issues-troubled teens. The script is stiff and the action comes slowly, however, as in most A.C. Lyles pictures we have to watch to see who he drug out of the retirement home for one last cameo performance. In spite of the tension it trys to build, this one becomes a yawn.

1964's "Young Fury" served as the third of 13 A.C. Lyles B-Westerns from Paramount in the mid 60s, unusual in that the focus is not on the veteran stars, who still receive top billing, but on a variety of newcomers, none of whom went on to any prominence (Kevin O'Neal, younger brother of Ryan, later appeared in Bert I. Gordon's "Village of the Giants"). The top slots go to Rory Calhoun and Virginia Mayo, as Clint and Sara McCoy, the long split parents of young Tige (Preston Pierce), who grew up to become the leader of a gang of toughs who enjoy boozing and running roughshod over every town they invade. Papa Clint knows all too well the folly of what his son has become, as he too ran around with the Dawson gang when he was younger, serving time in prison after turning state's evidence, which has the vengeful Dawson (John Agar) hot on Clint's trail no matter where he goes. In a town already cowed by the 'Hellion Gang,' who aren't so adept at gunplay as they like to boast, Clint bides his time waiting for the inevitable showdown with Dawson, while Sara keeps a watchful eye on her hotheaded boy at the local saloon, ignorant of her true identity (he believes his father put her in her grave). John Agar, 3 for 3 thus far for A.C. Lyles, wears a sneer and a scar on his face, but is still too likable on screen to convincingly portray evil, while Richard Arlen's Sheriff Jenkins fails to survive the proceedings. Joe the Blacksmith is played by a very frail William Bendix, who only lived long enough to do two scenes prior to his death at age 58, while Ace the Bartender provides Lon Chaney with a decent enough cameo role, curiously one of the few townspeople the Hellions don't mess with (he successfully demands payment for a bottle of whiskey!). Like Agar, Chaney too was present in both previous Westerns, "Law of the Lawless" and "Stage to Thunder Rock," and did the next four as well: "Black Spurs," "Town Tamer," "Apache Uprising," and "Johnny Reno."

This western belongs to the AC Lyles Productions, specialized in former western stars recycling; not big big stars, only former lead actors of grabe B pictures or supporting characters of big productions, male or female. For instance Rory Calhoun, Lon Chaney, who were used several times by Lyles. Not all of them were garbage, some were OK, as this one, a good time waster, using young delinquency fashion in a western, but in that topic, this is rather bland.

A.C. Lyles took bits from High Noon, The Gunfighter, and The Wild Ones and mixed them together real well to come up with one of his better B westerns that employed some of Hollywood's beyond their prime players. Rory Calhoun and Virginia Mayo star as a gunfighter and his wife in Young Fury.

But the title comes from the group of young punks who come into Calhoun's town and take it over just like Marlon Brando and his gang did a century later. And they're led by Preston Pierce who is his Calhoun's son.

Rory left them when Pierce was just a toddler and Mayo gave him up to be raised by her brother who died and the kid was left to fend for himself. He doesn't know Mayo who runs the saloon is his mother and she prefer he not find out.

These punks are the least of Rory's worries. He's got the surviving members of his old gang led by John Agar out to get him for turning them in. And a town that rolled over for Pierce's hellion ain't likely to provide much in the way of assistance.

The usual complement of aged players populate this A.C. Lyles western that we normally expect. This was the farewell performance of William Bendix and Young Fury was released posthumously in his case. You can see he was in great distress due to his illness. I also think that some scenes were rewritten to cover Bendix up, personally I think Richard Arlen was given some of his lines.

Young Fury climaxes with a nice gun battle that was right out of High Noon. Exciting enough to please any western fan.

A.C. Lyles made a huge number of 'geezer westerns' in the 1960s. These were low-budget films featuring many older actors--actors that had long passed their prime. It gave these actors work and saved Lyles on his budget. Interestingly, Lyles tended to use the same actors again and again, as he seemed loyal to these folks--particularly the supporting actors. This film stars Rory Calhoun (43) and Virginia Mayo (45) but also had the VERY familiar Lyles actors, Lon Chaney Jr. (59), Richard Arlen (66) and John Agar (45). BUT, unlike the other geezer westerns, there was an unusual injection of youth in the film, as a gang of very young and hot-headed play a prominent part in the film.

The film begins with a gang of young western punks coming into a town and acting like fools. They pick up another member and learn that the leader's father is in a nearby town. And, since this young man had MAJOR daddy issues, he takes the gang to this town in search of revenge against the father that abandoned him. When they get to town, the gang run about acting tough--chasing away the sheriff and running roughshod over everyone. Eventually, they find the father (Rory Calhoun) but he quickly whips these young pups and shows them who's boss. However, a gang of much, much tougher hombres is coming. What's next? See the film and find out for yourself.

My biggest complaint about the film is the character Biff. Again and again and again, he goes off half-cocked and tries to kill their young leader. And, time and again, Biff gets beaten and the problems with Biff continue. Why didn't he just shoot Biff?! Who would be dumb enough to let Biff live AFTER he tries to stab you with a sword?! Huh?! However, despite this silly character, the film is actually pretty good. I liked the complexity of the characters (other than Biff) and the ending was enjoyable. A bit better than a time-passer.