Son of Fury Reviews

Power is the title character in this adaptation of Marshall's swashbuckling period novel Benjamin Blake. Set in England during the days of King George III, SON OF FURY begins with a young heir to a dukedom (McDowall) being raised by his dastardly uncle, Sanders. The youngster has been snatched from his grandfather, Davenport, after the death of the boy's nobleman father. The boy grows into Power, a stablehand who is constantly abused by Sanders. Power is attracted to Sanders' beautiful daughter, Farmer, and, when Sanders catches them together, he mercilessly beats Power. Power runs away and boards a cargo ship bound for India. He's befriended by ragged sailor Carradine, and the two jump overboard and swim to the safety of a Polynesian island. There they amass a small fortune as pearl divers, and Power falls in love with native girl Tierney. Still, he has a score to settle, and he returns to England to get revenge against Sanders. Employing all the usual island romance cliches (an excess of tropic vegetation, clear serene pools of water, and revealing bathing suits, the island sequences sepia toned), SON OF FURY is a solid escapist adventure yarn. Guided by the adroit direction of Cromwell, the all-star cast never fails to hold one's attention. The casting, however, did not come easily for Cromwell and company. Originally Virginia Gilmore had been cast in the role of Sanders' wife, only to be replaced by the more regal looking Johnson (who not-so-coincidentally was director Cromwell's wife). Another role switch occurred with Cobina Wright, Jr., who was first cast as Sanders' daughter. The part was given to Farmer and, as it turns out, was her final role until THE PARTY CRASHERS in 1958. SON OF FURY was remade in 1952 as THE TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN CONDOR, filmed in glorious Technicolor, starring Cornel Wilde. Actresses Wright and Gilmore, though cut from their feature player roles, can still be observed in long shots in SON OF FURY if one looks closely.