Yes, it's a crime film....but it's definitely not noir.
I watched "The Sound of Fury" because it looked like an old film noir picture. Well, altough Lloyd Bridge's performance was wonderful and very noir-like, the rest of the film didn't thrill me.
When the film begins, Howard (Frank Lovejoy) is out of work and very down about it, as he has a wife and son to support. He meets a very nice guy, Jerry (Bridges) and Jerry offers to find him work. Little does Howard realize that it's to be the driver while Jerry commits various crimes! At first, Howard is able to justify it to himself. But when Jerry ups the stakes and commits a truly horrific crime, he cannot live with himself.
While these crimes are occurring, Gil Stanton (Richard Carlson) reports on them for the paper. His boss urges him to sensationalize the stories more and more. So, when they finally do apprehend the criminals, there's a lynch mob mentality in the town.
This story is based on a real case...which makes it a bit more intesting....though not interesting enough. The bottom line is that there have been quite a few films about lynch mobs and most of them are a lot more interesting and have a clearer message. For me, give me "Fury", "They Won't Forget" or "Hang 'Em High" instead. Instead, "The Sound of Fury" goes way too far in trying to blame society for violence...so much so that it comes off as preachy and a bit naive.
When the film begins, Howard (Frank Lovejoy) is out of work and very down about it, as he has a wife and son to support. He meets a very nice guy, Jerry (Bridges) and Jerry offers to find him work. Little does Howard realize that it's to be the driver while Jerry commits various crimes! At first, Howard is able to justify it to himself. But when Jerry ups the stakes and commits a truly horrific crime, he cannot live with himself.
While these crimes are occurring, Gil Stanton (Richard Carlson) reports on them for the paper. His boss urges him to sensationalize the stories more and more. So, when they finally do apprehend the criminals, there's a lynch mob mentality in the town.
This story is based on a real case...which makes it a bit more intesting....though not interesting enough. The bottom line is that there have been quite a few films about lynch mobs and most of them are a lot more interesting and have a clearer message. For me, give me "Fury", "They Won't Forget" or "Hang 'Em High" instead. Instead, "The Sound of Fury" goes way too far in trying to blame society for violence...so much so that it comes off as preachy and a bit naive.
- planktonrules
- Jun 2, 2019