Stirpe dannata

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.

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.

The 18th century costumes, manor-house setting, and forbidden romance make this look like a bodice-ripper to the idle channel-flipper, but it's not. It's a twisted and effective suspense movie in a period setting, more like "Dangerous Liaisons" than Harlequin books. It's about a beautiful and willful young woman (Valerie Hobson) who doesn't like her rich clod of a husband, instead she has the hots for poor-but-gorgeous estate manager Stewart Granger. At first it's all forbidden kisses and steamy dialogue... until they kill her husband. Then, things start to get real, and get creepy. It's easy to get excited over forbidden fruit that looks like Stewart Granger, but a whole lot harder to deal with a murderer who wants to marry you for reasons that have nothing to do with romance. Especially when it's impossible to refuse him because you're an accessory to murder, even after he...(sorry, no spoilers). It's rather like Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt" or "Dangerous Liaisons", in which a well-to-do, polite exterior conceals a man and woman whose love has turned deadly. When I first saw this movie I was astonished at how good it was, and wondered why I'd never heard of it. It isn't a classic like "Kind Hearts and Coronets", but it sure grabbed me when I flipped across it. Between the solid performances by Hobson and Granger, the lush Technicolor photography, the steamy romance, and the creepy ending, this is one to look for. (I don't believe it's out on video, but is occasionally shown on AMC

"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).

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.