Mais Forte que o Amor

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.

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

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.

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.

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.