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A classic example of a very well-made historical drama of the late 1940's. In every respect it is faultless, given the constraints of time and the story compression inherent in all movie making. There are simply no movie actors or actresses today who could play the star roles with the same enormous presence, dignity, grace, self-assurance, and acting skill manifested by the superb and striking Hobson and Granger---not to mention their precise and exemplary articulation of the English language. These were manifestly adults, not today's mumbling urchins posing as adults. Photography, production values, and historical accuracy are beyond praise. This was Valerie Hobson's personal favorite of her film performances.

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.

Like his contemporary James Mason who came up roughly the same time as he did, Stewart Granger seemed to be born to play in these romance novel roles. In Blanche Fury he's got a nasty grudge against the Fury family who have kept him working as a groom on their estate. He's one of them, but born on the wrong side of the blanket as they said in those days.

There's a dual focus in this film and it's on Valerie Hobson playing the title role as well. She's also knocked about a bit kind of like George Eastman in An American Tragedy, she's one of them, but only distantly. Still she's on the right side of the blanket and she determines to marry Michael Gough the heir to the estate for a life of ease and comfort.

Granger like the real life James Scott the Duke of Monmouth searched for a connection to his father King Charles II to prove he was heir to the throne. Didn't happen for him and didn't happen for Granger But what does happen is that he gets Hobson's mojo going far more than the insipid and privileged Gough does.

These are the ingredients of Blanche Fury and if you like these movies and read these novels you can pretty much guess what happens. Hobson and Granger are a stirring romantic pair, but Granger in his desire to improve his station goes quite a bit off kilter. Hobson has a choice to make and she makes it.

As for who gets the Fury estate. For that you have to see 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.

Although not having quite as impressive a CV as his brother Yves, director Marc Allegret is noted for his technical skill, elegant execution and for nurturing the talents of some fine French actors. Here he directs this loose adaptation of a Gothic novel which itself is based upon a true story.

It is a very stylish enterprise that boasts stunning cinematography by Guy Green and Geoffrey Unsworth and a sweeping score by Clifton Parker.

Stewart Granger teams up with Valerie Hobson. He is Adam, disinherited owing to his being born on the wrong side of the blanket and she is the Blanche of the title who has married for social position but comes to loathe her husband and father-in-law. Together they plan the perfect murder........

Granger and Hobson are very good together and are ably supported by Walter Fitzgerald, Maurice Denham and Michael Gough making his film debut.

Unfortunately a combination of a good cast and excellent production values does not guarantee a commercial success. Both Granger and Hobson felt that it didn't 'quite work' and her husband at the time, producer Anthony Havelock-Allan, said that the concept of a Gainsborough-type film with an 'edge' and featuring unsympathetic characters did not appeal to the paying public.

Sadly, the failure of this film was another nail in the coffin for Cineguild, formed in 1944 by Havelock-Allan, David Lean and Ronald Neame.

Allegret's film suffered the same fate as 'Saraband for dead Lovers', released the same year, also starring Stewart Granger. Both films can now be appreciated with the passage of time for their imagination, artistry and flair.

This film adaptation of the Marjorie Reynolds novel is more a hate than love story, as Stewart Granger's character becomes more and more obsessed with gaining what was lost to him through his supposed illegitimacy, the Fury estate, where he works as a caretaker, waiting for his revenge. Meanwhile, Valerie Hobson, in the title role, goes from being poor relation to mistress of the manor, via a loveless marriage to her widower cousin, Laurence, the only consolation (besides money and social status) being her young stepdaughter, Lavinia, whom she grows to love. After a time, she can't fight her feelings for Philip, and they have an affair, which leads to tragic consequences.

I won't spoil details; I'll just say that if you're looking for the classic Hollywood style happy ending, you won't find it here.

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

Valerie Hobson leaves a life of servitude and is welcomed into the home of her uncle - the Fury family. Here she meets Stewart Granger who just looks after the horses and believes he has a claim upon the estate and will stop at nothing to get hold of it.

Enjoyable enough, good looking but highly melo-dramatic period piece. Hobson is impressive in the lead as is Granger as the baddie - it's just that he's so constantly angry as is pretty much everyone else that the whole story is rather a downer. Not bad then and worth watching if just a little gruelling and spoiled slightly by a silly ending.

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"

This is another title I inexplicably missed out on over the years (a local Sunday matinée' TV screening and a late-night Italian-subtitled broadcast on the renowned "After Hours" program come to mind) which, having watched now, I was quite enthralled with. BLANCHE FURY is a typical yet reasonably absorbing Gothic melodrama – given added luster by its dazzling color photography, inventive décor, and even the odd stylistic flourish by Frenchman Allegret – made in the wake of the famed "Gainsborough school" romantic period pieces which began with THE MAN IN GREY (1943; a viewing of which accordingly followed this one in short order, since I had already by-passed it last year on a couple of anniversaries tied with star James Mason!) though, plot-wise, the film seems to have at least as much to do with that which is virtually the template for this type of fare i.e. "Wuthering Heights". In fact, here we have Stewart Granger (who was also in THE MAN IN GREY) forced to work as a stable-boy in his own family's estate – since he is illegitimate – while the present unrelated masters have taken up their name!; of course, he is contemptuous of this situation, though he finds a surprising ally – and love interest – in a cousin of the new landlords (Valerie Hobson) who turns up on the premises ostensibly to serve as governess to the little girl that stands to inherit the lot. Of course, she instantly charms the younger man of the house (a characteristically despicable Michael Gough) and proceeds to marry him, while carrying on with her Granger affair; about to be dismissed for his none-too-submissive attitude, our disgruntled hero conspires with Hobson to get rid of all the obstacles to their running the estate (since he intends to marry her himself) – the blame of which he proposes to lay at the door of a gypsy troupe who had been causing trouble in the area and even threatened the family specifically! – but, while she concedes to the death of Gough and his father, she takes exception to Granger's ruthlessness in the matter by wanting to dispose of the little girl as well. Needless to say, by reporting him to the proper authorities, she not only confesses to her own role in the plan, taints her reputation by being branded an adulteress but, most importantly, sacrifices her own happiness; the ultimate irony is that, just as Granger is being hanged, the little girl herself expires in a riding accident – leaving Hobson all alone, with-child (Granger's offspring), and sole owner of the tragic property! In conclusion, apart from the above-mentioned THE MAN IN GREY, I have SARABAND FOR DEAD LOVERS (1948) – yet another costumer featuring Stewart Granger – scheduled for the coming days

The film is one I only saw partially once, two or three years ago. I wish it was on Video or DVD. Other early Stewart Granger historic films are out - SARABAND FOR DEAD LOVERS and CAPTAIN BOYCOTT. This one was based on a novel by Joseph Shearing, the female novelist who used a male pseudonym. All her books were based on actual crimes - see my comments on the contermporary film SO EVIL MY LOVE, with Ray Milland and Ann Todd. Here, Shearing turns to the murder, at Stanfield Hall, near Norwich, England of Isaac Jermy and his son (incredibly named Isaac Jermy Jermy)in November 1848. The perpetrator was a farmer, James Blomfield Rush, who was a tenant of the Jermys but was on bad terms with them for a series of debts he owed them, and attempts to claim title to the farm and other properties. Complicating the matter was that the Jermys title to their estate was subject to a law suit. Rush dressed in a disguise, and walked over two miles in the dark to the estate, where he shot the Jermys down in their home, and then shot the wife of the son and their maid. Apparently he wanted no witnesses. Unfortunately there were too many. Also, his alibi was supposed to be his children's governess, Emily Sandford, and she turned out to be more truthful at his trial than he hoped. The trial was notable because Rush insisted in defending himself. It turned out that he had a fool for a client. Rush was found guilty and hanged. The full story is not quite used in the movie, but bits and parts of it certainly are.

Made by Cineguild between their Dickens adaptations, from the 1939 novel by Joseph Shearing, this failed to find the same favour with critics but audiences lapped it up. Directed with moody gallic elegance and passion by imported director Marc Allegret, it's definitely a cut above the competition from Gainsborough and looks fabulous, while the Technicolor camera sleekly glides about following the action (no tall order in those days; there was a terrible accident on the set when a crane carrying that monster lost it's balance). And it boasts a wonderful final shot.

Although Richard Winnington harrumphed "Let's have some bad lighting and perhaps a bit of good movie (sic)" and George Perry later called it "Cineguild's major aberration of 1948"; posterity had the last laugh when in 1990 it was proudly unveiled in a restored print at that year's London Film Festival.

In Victorian England, Blanche Fuller (Valerie Hobson) is on her last chance after losing a series of jobs. She had fallen to be a lowly servant after the death of her parents six years ago. She is not happy to work for Mrs. Winterbourne. She receives a letter from the Fury family. They are relatives estranged from her parents. They invite her to work for them as governess to little Lavinia. Her uncle tells her that they took the Fury estate when the last Fury died without a legitimate heir. Although servant Philip Thorn (Stewart Granger) is the son of Adam Fury, his Italian mother's marriage is in dispute. Blanche is told to take the name Fury.

I like this story in general. I like the two black sheep gathering to overthrow the family. I don't like the last act. It should be an action oriented finale. Certainly, Philip is ready to kill everybody. I also expect more done against the gypsies. I like some of the darker elements of this movie.

"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).

There is certainly something of the Daphne du Maurier in this melodrama about a dashing, but illegitimate son (Stewart Granger) obsessed with regaining an inheritance denied him from the right side of the blanket. When the "Fuller" family, who have legally taken possession of "Clare Hall" arrive, they send for their poverty stricken but independently minded cousin "Blanche" (Valerie Hobson) to come and live with them and ultimately, to marry the son "Lawrence" (Michael Gough). She mistakes Granger ("Philip Thorn") for a family member at the outset and the story tries to reconcile her own sense of duty - and ambition - with her smouldering love for "Philip". This is a good looking film with a plot that has plenty of twists and turns, though the ending is a bit too drawn out and melodramatic which rather drags the whole thing down a bit. The lead performances, and that of Gough, are good though and I found the story was just about intriguing enough to hold my interest.

Stewart Granger was never satisfied with his parts, he felt like always having to play superficial stereotypical rogues or heroes with nothing in them but some dashing presence, but all his appearances are excellent and surprisingly reliable for being so 'superficial', and he is always better than he thought himself. Valerie Hobson, on the other hand, was never better and more beautiful than here. It's her film, and she fills it up to the brim with striking beauty and a character of constantly increasing interest as she develops, a brave woman of much hardship behind her and even more expecting her. It's a dramatic story of passion and forbidden love, social injustice and family feuds with a curse since 700 years to top it all, and it takes a very surprising turning as the plot thickens and suddenly jumps into a precarious course of no return. Staffordshire is in the midlands between Birmingham and Liverpool, and the whole setting is in the rural part with soft hills and plains and deals a lot with horses - some of the tragedies here involve horses.

It's an efficient drama of love and destiny and how little man or woman can control it, but it is Valerie Hobson you always will remember from this film.

Is Marc Allegret a director?Or does he simply(but smartly) use others' talents?His most memorable pre-war movies are not really his.For instance ,"Fanny" owes everything to its actor,Raimu,and its writer,Marcel Pagnol:it is actually a Pagnol movie.Ditto "Entrée des Artistes" which is remarkable by Henri Jeanson's lines ("I wear my Légion d'honneur to impress the fool" ) and Louis Jouvet's acting genius.

A short English period occurred just after the war -when he other French directors such as Renoir and Duvivier worked abroad during the war.Which leads us to "Blanche Fury".This movie is par excellence an effort in which Allégret uses the others' skills.Objections remain:an arguable editing ,too much ellipse (the relationship Lawrence/Blanche is botched,and the pace is often too fast and hasty :again the Blanche /Thorn love affair is believable only because of the actors' splendid performances).

And the screenplay,however ,is wonderful:snatches of lady Chatterley,Jane Eyre ,the turn of the screw,My cousin Rachel,Wuthering Heights and more come to mind.Even Vincente Minelli's "home from the hill"(1960)!This is a romantic story par excellence. Heredity and fatality play a prominent part is this story of silence and fury:Thorn (a great Stewart Granger) is a bastard,but Blanche( a majestic Valerie Hobson) is akin to him,because,at the beginning of the movie,she's a governess,and only marriage can provide her with a place in the sun;but her husband is probably impotent :here the writers use a metaphor.his father wants him to show his authority over their valuable property,that is to say to be a man.At the beginning of the movie,Blanche is a go-getter,but as soon as she meets Thorn,her fate is sealed,she reacts to events ,she no longer initiates them.Ultimately,she will try to stop the impending disaster ,but what she does finally backfires on herself and turns it into a final Thorn victory.Thorn is much more complex than he appears at first sight:actually he should own the property and he sees the Fury family as impostors;his attitude with animals makes us side with him for a while.Then,when he's about to win,he treats the servants as his predecessors used to do,and we discover his love for Blanche takes a back seat to his love for the domain.Then the lovers' fate is sealed.

Color treatments are visually astounding :when we go from Blanche's deathbed to a flashback at the beginning,then the final pictures,hellish glimmering red glow ;Blanche's arrival in the castle,in a snowed up,misty landscape;the barns fire ,which seems to set ablaze the darkest night.

Afterwards,Allégret's career straightly goes downhill."L'amant de Lady Chatterley" which I haven't seen but which he may have intended as "Blanche Fury II" ,poor Brigitte Bardot's vehicles ("en effeuillant la marguerite') or abysmal works(a segment of the horrible made up of sketches movie "les Parisiennes") .His brother Yves was much better ("Manèges" "Dédée d'Anvers" "une si jolie petite plage" "les Orgueilleux").

"Blanche Fury" deserves to be seen anyway.

Valerie Hobson is the poor daughter of the family, called to the estate to be governess to little Sybille Binder; after her uncle and his son, Michael Gough, the girl is the heir. But Miss Hobson is ambitious, as, as is the estate's manager, surly Stewart Granger. He is the natural son of the last owner, and hungers to be master. So Miss Hobson marries Gough, but begins a passionate affair with Granger. Neither does she object when Granger, his legal courses closed off to him and ordered from the estate for no clear reason, murders Gough and his father.

It's one of two movies that Marc Allégret, a successful and commercial French director did in England, and a fine example of the sort of dark, romantic shopgirl fiction that made successful movies in the era, full of great, baronial halls and beautiful people filled with dark passions in rich, antique clothing. Granger and Miss Hobson do a swell job of that. Most of its strength lies in its beautiful camerawork, full of strong colors and broad vistas, For that we can credit its two directors of photography, Guy Green and Geoffrey Unsworth, as well as the lead camera operator, Oswald Morris.

There's a decent enough setup to this film, and Stewart Granger brings swagger and passion to the role of Philip Thorn, a property manager on an estate nursing an enormous grudge against his master. He believes he was the rightful heir to the property, you see, and is now forced to take orders from people who've not only acquired the property, they've taken the family name, Fury. Enter a family relation, Blanche (Valerie Hobson), a spirited young woman who marries the son, but whose eyes wander.

Granger's character is a nuanced one, showing moments of bravery against thieves and compassion for an injured horse, the latter in direction contrast to his master, but also moments of arrogance and violence. He carries most of this film, so much so that it probably should have been named Philip Thorn. With that said, Blanche shows strength in standing up for herself, early on with a pompous employer, later with her husband (whom she informs "I have no intention, contrary to the fashion of our times, of being ordered about my husband!"), and then even with Thorn himself. Granger and Hobson also show a degree of chemistry together, but unfortunately much of it feels muted due to the morality of the day.

Along those lines, the film doesn't quite reach the heights it could have because it stumbles into moralism down the stretch. Neither the transition to the courtroom drama nor the melodrama of little Lavinia attempting a jump with her horse worked very well for me. It felt like the film was too busy tidying up after itself when further passion, darkness, or something related to the ghost of Fury's ape would have served it better. Not bad though, if you're in the mood for gothic drama in Technicolor.