Capitaine Furie

This definitely isn't a bad film, but it is very standard.

It's a western, pure and simple, with none of the interesting bits that made Quigley Down Under such a blast. We have the put upon hero who rallies the people. The evil land baron. The good guys standing up to be counted.

The only real difference is that it happens in Australia, although good luck telling that, since the scenery bears as much resemblance to Aus as a fart does to a hurricane. Not even the two poor Kookaburras shown in one shot can convince me otherwise!

The acting here from all the main cast is good, especially Carradine, as usual. George Zucco plays the evil land baron as well as the man played all the dastardly villains he did in his long career.

There are a few good action scenes (check out where our hero uses a whip!), but other than that, this is a B Western through and through. I could almost hear the dialogue before it was spoken.

There's also the bad feeling that the hero is helping these "great pioneers" destroy the actual locals, as with most westerns from this time.

Fun, but you'll forget it almost as soon as it ends.

The best way to describe this film is by saying it's like an Australian version of ROBIN HOOD. In this case, the film is set during the penal colony days in Australia. George Zucco plays an unscrupulous jerk who buys up all the prisoners to be his indentured servants (though he treats them like his ranch is Devil's Island). In addition, he's power-mad and wants to force all the small nearby farmers to run away by having his thugs attack them one at a time. However, Brian Ahern plays an Irish patriot who was banished to the land down-under and he won't live like a slave, so he leads a small rebellion. With his group of suddenly free men, they embark on a campaign to unify and protect the small nearby farms from the evil Zucco.

Brian Ahern, not a familiar leading man, does a fine job and he is very ably assisted by Victor MacLaglen in a semi-comedic role. The film is exciting and fun, though a tad predictable--much like a Saturday morning B-adventure film from the era.

1939's "Captain Fury" is an undeservedly obscure venture behind the camera for longtime comedy producer Hal Roach, whose few non-Laurel and Hardy features include the famous "One Million B. C." This earlier effort, like "Of Mice and Men" from United Artists, brings together a spirited cast in a lighthearted adventure set in 1840s Australia, where the British banished many prisoners to spend the rest of their days in hard labor. Brian Aherne stars as Captain Michael Fury, among 300 new arrivals set to work the station of evil landowner Arnold Trist (George Zucco), in possession of many whip wielding guards to keep the prisoners in line. During a fracas involving light fingered tough Blackie (Victor McLaglen), Fury makes his escape, and becomes the happy captive of pretty Jeanette Dupre (June Lang), until overhearing Trist's henchmen threatening all the valley settlers to give up their homes or face dire consequences. Convincing the frightened townspeople to give him the chance to fight on their behalf, Fury orchestrates a jailbreak for several comrades, who spend the rest of the film making things difficult for the bad guys. While George Zucco (wearing a black toupee) is as evil as the part warrants, virtually all his henchmen are played for laughs, even Douglass Dumbrille and Charles Middleton (the latter does come to a surprisingly bad end however). Difficult to spot among the many convicts are plug uglies Rondo Hatton and Harry Wilson, while perennial Hal Roach favorite Charlie Hall can be seen as a gossiping townsman (pretty daughter Margaret Roach does well in a rare featured role). Best of all is legendary scene stealer John Carradine, given free reign to shine as one of the good guys, Roger Bradford, whose persistent cough (earning him the nickname 'Coughy') marks him as a terminal case right from the start. Having the time of his life cast against type, Carradine also surprisingly makes it all the way to the end, adding to the exuberant sense of fun by doing a running commentary on the beauties of life, kicking, pummeling, and generally distracting the villains until the final showdown opposite Zucco. In a busy year that included well remembered turns in "Stagecoach," "Jesse James," "The Hound of the Baskervilles," "Five Came Back," "Frontier Marshal," and "Drums Along the Mohawk," this must rank as one of John Carradine's very finest (and least appreciated) film roles.

Although lower-tier Hollywood mogul Hal Roach is deservedly best-known today for nurturing many legendary comedians over the years (especially the greatest comic duo in film history, Laurel and Hardy), his production company also made other types of movies – with the TOPPER movies (2 of which I have recently watched) and the celebrated original version of OF MICE AND MEN (1939; which I have just acquired) being arguably their best 'extracurricular' ventures. To a much lesser degree, Roach was a director himself and the well-crafted and, in hindsight, unjustly forgotten adventure film CAPTAIN FURY is perhaps his finest personal effort; for the record, I have recently also come across the prestigious prehistoric epic ONE MILLION B.C. (1940; starring Victor Mature and Lon Chaney Jnr.) and, on account of my positive experience with the film under review, plan to check it out presently. Anyway, CAPTAIN FURY may not strictly be swashbuckling fare but it is clear that Roach was following the classic Robin Hood/Zorro templates in this story of the titular Irish rebel (Brian Aherne) exiled to an Australian penal colony headed by a brutish landowner (George Zucco) who is also harassing the nearby settlers. Bonding with the fellow inmates – particularly incorrigible, thuggish thief Victor McLaglen and a sickly philosopher John Carradine – Aherne soon escapes to rouse the settlers against their oppressor. The excellent cast rounded up for this action-packed and amiable romp (that, for a 70-year old movie, features at least one extraordinary stunt involving a horse leaping down a waterfall!) is completed by the familiar faces of top-notch character actors like Paul Lukas (as a religious fanatic initially opposed to Aherne for setting sights on his daughter), Douglas Dumbrille (as Zucco's henchman), Charles Middleton, Claud Allister, Lumsden Hare, Mary Gordon, Edgar Norton, Billy Bevan, etc. Like the film itself, Aherne is a largely forgotten actor nowadays – despite having portrayed the legendary figure of King Arthur twice on screen in PRINCE VALIANT (1954) and LANCELOT AND GUINEVERE aka SWORD OF LANCELOT (1963) – but, seeing him cutting such a dashing figure here in the Errol Flynn mould, made me want to check out more of his work…and, indeed, his Oscar-nominated turn as Emperor Maximilian in William Dieterle's star-studded biopic JUAREZ (released just one month prior to CAPTAIN FURY) should be just around the corner! It is always so refreshing to take these nostalgic trips to the lightweight entertainment Hollywood provided during its Golden Age and, as in previous occasions, I have the former sexton friend (and renowned film buff) to thank for introducing me to this rare gem via his personal (and understandably hazy) 16mm print.

I've always wondered why Brian Aherne wasn't the star Errol Flynn was, when he was incredibly handsome, a good actor, and resembled the new Australian star. If you'd like to see him in his own version of Captain Blood, check out Captain Fury four years later. He plays an Irish convict sent to Australia, where he escapes his environment and forms a band of rebels.

This movie really isn't good. Much like we all forget about Errol Flynn's In the Wake of the Bounty for his sake, this is a good one to forget about for Brian Aherne's sake. I couldn't even make it all the way through, and if I couldn't sit through a movie with a handsome man in it, you know it has to be bad. I'm a fan of swashbuckling adventure flicks, but only when they're good. Stick with Captain Blood.