Black Fury (1935) User Reviews

From The Working Class Studio, A Film For The Working Man

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 7 March 2007]

During the Thirties Warner Brothers had the reputation of being the working class studio and it was films like Black Fury that made for Warner Brothers that reputation. It was rare indeed to see another studio take stories about ordinary working people. Mostly they concentrated on the middle and upper classes because film was a form of escapism during the Depression. Black Fury coming out as it did in the middle of the New Deal was a timely reminder of the difficulties organized labor faced. Not coincidentally 1935 was the year that the Wagner Labor Relations Act was passed, an effort finally by the government to give labor some kind of equal footing with management. The need of the Wagner Act was to correct some of the abuses shown in films like Black Fury.

Paul Muni plays happy go lucky immigrant coal miner Joe Radek. A man admittedly who works hard and no one thinks of as any kind of brain. He gets used good and proper by the company to stir up the miners so they will strike and give the company an excuse to lock out the union and bring in scabs.

What you see with those miners living on subsistent wages in company towns was taken right from current headlines. It may be ancient history to us now, but it was very real for those people back in the day. The Pinkertons as represented by brutal and corrupt company policeman Barton MacLane had an unsavory reputation as strikebreakers and enforcers for management. That too is no exaggeration.

Muni, aided and abetted by former girl friend Karen Morley now seeing the error of some of her ways, sees what a chump he's been and takes some real direct action against the employers. It's spectacular I'll tell you that.

Though his acting style seems to have not worn well with some, not with me mind you, Muni was given a really rare tribute that year. His performance as Joe Radek was the second time a performer had a sustained write-in campaign for him for an acting Oscar. He finished second in the balloting to Victor McLaglen for The Informer and ahead of Mutiny of the Bounty nominees, Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, and Franchot Tone. The following year the Academy banned write-ins and that's been so ever since. Of course the following year Muni won his Oscar for The Story of Louis Pasteur.

We've moved on in America from an industrial to an information based society and films like Black Fury are now part of history. But it's a history we should not forget.

Very underrated film and one of Muni's best performances

[kinorajah · 7/10 · 30 October 2007]

"Black Fury" was the second film Paul Muni made after signing a lucrative and very unusual contract with Warner Brothers that essentially allowed him script approval and a great amount of creative control. Muni had been fascinated by the true story of a miner's strike in Philadelphia, and did extensive research, including meeting with a judge who had presided over the case.

I've seen all of Muni's films repeatedly and this is unquestionably one of his most accomplished and most unusual roles. For an actor who wast trained on the Yiddish stage and often played old men (even as a juvenile), it's remarkable that during the height of his film career, Muni never played a Jewish character. Joe Radek, a Hungarian immigrant, is probably the closest Muni ever came to playing a character that he "could have been" in real life -- he, too, was an Eastern European immigrant, of working-class stock, and had his parents been laborers instead of itinerant performers, he could easily have wound up like Radek. Radek is a child-like, life-of-the-party type who speaks in broken English, often in the third person ("Everybody love Joe Radek!") For students of acting history, it's the type of performance that you might expect from a "method" actor of a generation later; indeed, those who cite Brando's Stanley Kowalski as "breaking the rules" by speaking with a mouth full of food in a realistic fashion would do well to note Muni's performance here, as his speech is sometimes imprecise and in an early scene he breaks up a fight and makes a speech while gnawing his lunch.

The script is fairly decent -- although politically problematic, as it seems to go a bit far to get Joe elected as president of the new union, and presents unions as ineffective or corrupt (and management as greedy and uncaring, of course). At the time of its release, the film was well-reviewed, but the "controversy" over unionization meant that it was censored or banned in some areas, so it was not a box-office success. Still, Muni's performance was powerful enough that he received a "write-in" nomination for Best Actor -- a practice that has since been discontinued by the Oscars (Muni and Bette Davis, for "Of Human Bondage," were the only actors to receive write-in nominations).

It's also worth seeing for the excellent, uncompromising direction of Michael Curtiz; supporting performances (and they are ALL supporting in a Muni film -- he is unquestionably the star) are all well-played. Karen Morley is understated as Joe's would-be girl; John Qualen, who has one of the saddest faces in movie history, is excellent as Joe's best friend. The film's ending is a bit hackneyed from today's perspective, but quite effective.

"Black Fury" is one of about four dozen films from before 1936 that "should" be available on DVD, but isn't, and it's a shame. It is occasionally aired on cable and well worth a look if you are a fan of Muni or socially conscious films of the depression era (in the vein of "I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang," "The Grapes of Wrath," etc.)

Woman is for man like rain is for the dirty ground

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 7 August 2014]

Joe Radek (Paul Muni) is a simple-minded, hardworking immigrant coal miner who dreams of buying a farm and settling down with his girl, Anna (Karen Morley). But when Anna leaves him for another man, Joe falls apart and takes to drinking. In Joe's current state of mind, he's manipulated by a union buster (J. Carrol Naish) into revolting against the mining company. This has disastrous results for the laborers but Joe determines to set things right by any means necessary.

Paul Muni's only film with director Michael Curtiz. As was often the case with Muni, his performance can be seen either as brilliant or 100% ham. Whichever it is, I enjoyed it a lot. The cast is full of reliable Warner Bros contract players that are always fun to watch, especially great character actor J. Carrol Naish. It's not surprising this is from WB, the 1930s home of movies about the working class. Certainly interesting from a historical and sociological perspective as a view of labor issues in Depression-era America. It's also fine dramatic entertainment. Based in part on a true story of a 1929 incident at a mine in Imperial Pennsylvania.

A Closer Look at the Political Subtext

[dougdoepke · 28 October 2009]

Dynamic social conscience movie from the 1930's studio of record, Warner Bros.-- MGM may have had the glitz, but Warners had the heart. The film is no unmixed triumph. Muni over- acts, at times outrageously, yet most importantly there's no effort at prettifying the lives of the miners. The company shacks the miners must rent are unrelievedly dingy; the streets, narrow and drab; the women, unadorned in cheap house dresses. The only polish or comfort comes from company offices, but that too is understated. The underground sets look authentic-- closed-in, dirty and dangerous. No wonder the company keeps battalions of "cops" on hand. This "company town" is more like a penal colony than a work site, and I'm reminded of the old Tennessee Ernie Ford song "Sixteen Tons". Anyone thinking these conditions exaggerate should Google "Ludlow massacre" or "United Mine Workers of America" for historical insight.

The screenplay does a good job of weaving personal stories into the larger social context. At the same time, there are several topical points to note. First, there's a union-management agreement in place at the movie's outset. Neither side is fully happy, but work is proceeding (notice miners aren't paid for work not directly that of extracting coal!). Trouble is that strike-breaking companies like the one Croner (Naish) works for aren't making money during periods of labor calm. So, through Croner, they exploit lingering grievances to break the agreement, and make money. The screenplay casts them as the real villains, and not the union nor the company. Thus, the studio plays it safe by refusing to take sides between labor and management. And if miners are still unhappy, the script suggests conditions will continue to improve with the union behind them. Then too, once the various conflicts ( miners vs. strike-breakers; Radek {Muni}vs. Mc Gee {MacLane}) culminate, a federal government, depicted as justice-seeking, steps in to punish wrong-doers and guarantee the new agreement.

Thus, the government in Washington is cast in a non-partisan and positive light. At the same time, union and management are shown as able to reconcile their differences as long as there's no outside agitation. Now, this is in practical alignment with actual New Deal policy towards emergent industrial unions and newly installed federal bargaining rules (National Labor Relations Act). On the other hand, had the script wanted, Croner could have come from the political Left (Communist or socialist) instead of the political Right (strike- breakers). In historical fact, Roosevelt had to confront militant forces from both Left and Right in forging what became a Centrist labor policy that continued for decades. At the same time, the movie reflects much of that approach. Indeed, Warner Bros. was the New Deal's best friend in Hollywood as its many topical films from that period testify.

The movie does a good job of motivating the characters. The popular Radek becomes a vulnerable fall-guy for Croner once Anna (Morley) jilts him. Revealingly, both he and Anna are motivated by desires to escape the grueling life of the mines. Farm life may, in turn, be as burdensome, but at least you're your own boss. The very real problem of alcoholism is also hinted at in several scenes, it being the one escape open to the men. Note, however, that the screenplay remains vague on the demands of the break-away union faction, perhaps to keep the audience from taking sides over the strike. Something should also be said about that fine actress Karen Morley, a real-life labor activist in the actor's union. Her angular features bordered on prettiness, but were especially effective in registering icy determination, as a number of 30's films testify (e.g. Our Daily Bread, (1934).

Despite its many dated elements, the movie should not be looked at as a dead artifact. True, many of the awful work and living conditions depicted in the movie have since been overcome, thanks to labor's right to organize and bargain. Nonetheless, in our own time, many industrial jobs have been exported to low-wage countries, while coal as an energy source has been de-emphasized. Nonetheless, the basic conflicts between labor and management remain, whether blue-collar or white-collar, while government's role remains key. And in a sagging economy rife with unemployment and stagnant wages, old movies like Black Fury continue to resonate.

Enjoyable and well made...but I cannot see what folks saw in Muni's performance.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 22 January 2020]

Paul Muni was one of the most acclaimed and respected actors of his era...so much so that he nearly won the Oscar for Best Actor...as a write-in candidate! And, I must admit that when Muni is on, he's great. But occasionally I see a performance and wonder why it was so beloved...such as his over-the-top Eastern European-American, Joe Radek, in "Black Fury". Now I am not saying it's a bad film...just his performance.

As for the story, it's an interesting tale of both a union and management being manipulated into striking....and Joe is an unwitting dupe in the process. But, being a decent sort of guy at heart, he does what anyone would do in this situation...blow up the mine! Well, at least that's the crazy message you get in this picture!

Overall, an engaging and interesting film with many flaws...including its leading man's performance and the crazy vigilante message it promotes. A genuinely odd but entertaining picture.

This "Paul Muni fighting against injustice" drama was banned in mining towns

[jacobs-greenwood · 7/10 · 15 December 2016]

Directed by Michael Curtiz, with a screenplay by Abem Finkel and Carl Erickson that was inspired by Harry R. Irving's play Bohunk and an account by Judge M.A. Mussmano of the real-life case of Pennsylvania coal miner Mike Shemanski, this above average drama earned chameleon actor Paul Muni his third (of seven) Best Actor Academy Award nominations. He would go on to win his only Oscar the following year playing the title role in The Story of Louis Pasteur (1935).

Like in many of his (and Warner Brothers') films, Muni's protagonist is fighting against a societal injustice - in this case, the working conditions and wages of coal miners. The highly recognizable cast includes Karen Morley, William Gargan, Barton MacLane, John Qualen, J. Carrol Naish, Vince Barnett, Henry O'Neill, Joseph Crehan, Sara Haden, Willard Robertson, Ward Bond, and Akim Tamiroff, among others. Mike Mazurki also appears, uncredited, as a security force applicant.

Joe Radek (Muni) is a lovable lug of a coal miner who boasts that one day he'll marry Anna Novak (Morley), whom he greets every day on his way to the mines. He's saving his money in order to buy Sokolsky's (Tamiroff) farm, where they'll raise pigs. Radek currently boards in the mining company home of the soft spoken local union representative Mike Shemanski (Qualen) and his wife Sophie (Haden). But not everyone is happy with their pay etc. under the union's current agreement with the mining company's management. Newcomer Steve Croner (Naish) is the most outspoken about the unacceptable conditions. Unbeknownst to the other miners, Croner is really an antagonist paid by a manpower company to cause unrest and force a strike.

Even though the illiterate Radek claims to be on the verge of an engagement with "his" Anna, she is really in love with a mining company policeman, Slim Johnson (Gargan, in nothing more than a cameo; Bond plays another policeman), who she sees as her ticket out of an environment and way of life she finds suffocating. Slim, a friend of Radek's, isn't as committed to Anna as she is to him, but agrees to take her with him when he's reassigned to another mine in Pittsburgh. Radek has finally saved enough to buy Sokolsky's pig farm when he learns that Anna has gone. He is heartbroken and Croner exploits Radek's pain, his subsequent drunkenness, and his natural leadership ability to split the union. The miners side with the Croner influenced Radek, against Mike and union leader Johnny Farrell (Crehan), to strike. This leads to a falling out between friends Radek and Mike, who evicts Radek from "his" home.

At the time the mining company president John W. Hendricks (O'Neill) learns of the strike, he is unknowing with the responsible manpower company leaders, including McGee (MacLane), who promise to help him by supplying all the workers (e.g. scabs) and security he needs to keep the mine operational. Hendricks hires them; McGee then fulfills this new labor agreement by hiring a bunch of thugs to work with him on the security detail. Radek is disillusioned with it all when Croner disappears and he's expected to step into a role he's completely unprepared and unsuited to perform. He becomes a regular drunk until Kubanda (Barnett) finds him in a bar to tell him that Mike is being beaten up by McGee and company (including Bond's character). Even though Radek tries to prevent it, Mike is killed in the scuffle.

Distraught and disillusioned by love lost herself, Anna returns "home" to find changes in the mining town. She then finds Radek, who's been inspired by Mike's death to keep his former friends from ending the strike by returning to work, which Mike would not have wanted. Radek reluctantly shares with her his plan to rig the mine's entrances with dynamite to prevent the miners from working. Anna insists on helping Radek and eventually becomes his voice to persons outside the mine after Radek blows up a couple of the mine's openings and holds up inside it. Mr. Welsh (Robertson) becomes the company's negotiator with Radek; they use a mine telephone to communicate. Meanwhile, McGee is determined to find a way in to Radek. However, once he's inside, Radek dynamites the entrance (miraculously killing no one lest the film's ending would have to be different). McGee then becomes Radek's hostage as he keeps the mine closed for days, surviving by eating the bread he'd stolen beforehand.

Meanwhile, the government gets involved; their investigation exposes the manpower company and their illegal tactics such that mining company and union officials agree to restore to the original pre- strike agreement. This successful result from Radek's efforts, especially given his methods, is one reason this film was banned in mining towns around the world.

Classic Paul Muni FILM

[whpratt1 · 7/10 · 7 March 2007]

Never realized that Paul Muni, (Joe Radek) played in a film concerning miners in Pennsylvania and gave such an outstanding performance beyond anything I realized he had accomplished in his long career on the silver screen. In this film Joe Radek is an immigrant to this country, however, he is very clever in many ways and seeks justice for his fellow workers in the coal mine in which the town people work. Karen Morley,(Anna Novak) gives a great supporting role to this film and really loves Joe Radek and what he is trying to accomplish. The town is controlled by the coal mine owners and Barton MacLane,( McGree )along with William Gargan,(Slim Johnson/Company Police bully the people in the town along with J Carrol Nash,(Steve Croner) who all work against the miners and control their living conditions. There is a big problem trying to establish a Labor Union and there is a constant battle between the very poor and rich people of the community. Paul Muni gave the best performance I have ever seen in this Classic 1935 film, don't miss this picture.

Partly watchable but leading performance and poor production values hamper this one.

[alexanderdavies-99382 · 6/10 · 28 August 2017]

"Black Fury" was the only time Paul Muni worked with Michael Curtiz. Potentially, this film could have been great but it is far from that. Muni wasn't very keen on acting in films, his preference was always going to be the theatre. He wasn't able to tone down his acting style for the cinema for the most part and he often appeared to be playing a caricature. He is guilty of this in the film "Black Fury." He is too theatrical in his facial expressions, his body language etc. Paul Muni plays a simple but honest coal miner who unwittingly becomes involved in a bitter dispute between the workers and the management. Muni, along with other miners, is subjected to intimidation. Barton MacLane is cast as a villain (he usually was) who is sent to destroy the livelihood of all the coal miners in this small community. Technically, the film is a disappointment. It is all too obvious that the sets representing the town in question are all on a soundstage. The sets don't look real and the direction from Michael Curtiz tends to suffer. The story itself is actually quite good and the film maintains a steady pace. The climax is also effective.

Paul Muni tour de force

[F Gwynplaine MacIntyre · 9/10 · 14 December 2002]

In 'Black Fury', Paul Muni gives one of his best performances, and also appears on screen in one of his more plausible make-ups. This time he plays a Slavic immigrant, uneducated but keenly intelligent, working in an American coal mine. Muni's hair is dyed blond, yet looks realistic, and his own Eastern European facial features work with this characterisation ... not against it, as they did for some of his other roles. The film also features a fine performance from John Qualen, a prolific character actor whose film appearances were often marred by unconvincing and unnecessary foreign accents of the "yumpin' yiminy!" sort. In 'Black Fury', Qualen's flavour-of-the-month accent is less obtrusive than usual, and it actually works for the character he plays: a Polish-American miner.

Joe Radek (Muni) is a miner in a 'company town', where all the labourers are poorly-paid and live in squalid shanties. Radek and his fellow miners work in extremely dangerous conditions. The company that owns the mine also owns all the local businesses, and the local police force also work for the mining company. The cops have no interest in justice: they're bullies whose only concern is to keep the locals quiet and subservient to the company. The head cop is a slimy sadist named McGee, well-played by Barton MacLane. Radek's buddy Shemanski (Qualen) gets drunk one night and makes the mistake of criticising company policy: staggering home that night, he has a fatal 'accident' arranged by McGee's goons.

To call attention to various grievances, Radek fills the mineshaft with dynamite. He packs several days' worth of food for himself, then he takes McGee hostage at gunpoint and brings him into the mine. Radek chains McGee to the pit face, slightly out of reach of Radek's food supply. If Radek's demands aren't met, he's going to blow up the mine ... with himself and McGee inside. After they've been in the mine for several days, there's one harrowing shot of the starving McGee chained to the wall, begging Radek for food. The film ends with one of those slam-bang action climaxes that Warner Bros did so well, spiced with some social commentary that doesn't get too preachy.

The film boasts an excellent supporting cast, filled with actors who are (mostly) more obscure than usual, which helps us to immerse ourselves in the action. Karen Morley, quietly beautiful, gives a fine performance, and Michael Curtiz (a very underrated director) does his usual superlative work.

'Black Fury' is based on a story by Michael A. Musmanno, a Pennsylvania lawyer of Italian descent. Late in his life, Musmanno devoted several decades to writing a book called 'Columbus *WAS* First' (his emphasis), which purported to prove that no European explorers reached the Americas before Columbus. Musmanno's claims for Columbus have long since been disproven, but 'Black Fury' is an excellent film. I'll rate this movie 9 points out of 10.

Trivia note: Shortly after this movie was released, Warner Brothers released a Loony Toon starring Porky Pig as a hunter who had a dog named Black Fury. What a shameless plug!

early fight for workers' rights

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 27 May 2019]

Paul Muni became a Warner Brothers star, working with Bette Davis in the 1930s. Here, he's a worker in the coal mines, where working conditions are pretty rough. When the bosses push them harder and harder, and things are so unsafe, the workers decide to try to do something about it. Muni is Radek, who's having terrible luck in his home-life, so he pours his energy into fighting for worker rights. of course the bosses push back, and things get pretty violent when the replacement workers are brought in. Directed by Michael Curtiz, who was nominated numerous times in the 1930s and 1940s. Curtiz won one of the three Oscars given for Casablanca. none for Black Fury, but it's pretty good. some violence.

Trouble in the mines...trouble with Muni's accent and overacting...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 7 March 2007]

BLACK FURY could have been a straightforward story of miners being exploited by greedy bosses and directed by Michael Curtiz, that's what it ought to be. But at its centerpiece is the character of PAUL MUNI as a cheerful "honkie" coal miner with an accent thick enough to cut with a knife and chewing all the scenery in sight. Performances around him are uniformly good under Curtiz' strong direction, but he lets Muni get away with the some of the wildest bits of overacting he's ever done.

If you can sit through this one without cringing at Muni's overbaked job of acting, you may be able to watch the film more objectively than I did. Did I mention that the story is strictly on the depressing side? For starters, Muni's sweetheart (KAREN MORLEY) runs off to Pittsburgh with another man, police officer WILLIAM GARGAN, turning Muni's world upside down when he planned on marriage.

Disgruntled miners are upset by union bosses and the plot thickens as one of the miners (J. CARROLL NAISH) sets up Muni and his friends for trouble as he collaborates with the union leaders. Muni doesn't know he's being used as a scapegoat for the union. He only realizes it after Croner (Naish) leaves town with Muni held responsible for the resulting mess and riots. Every plot turn from then on plunges the story into darker territory with Muni caught up in a skirmish with police that causes the death of his best friend.

For the finale, Muni gets out of a hospital bed to bring about an explosive climax at the mine with girlfriend Morley returning to redeem herself in his eyes.

Summing up: Melodramatic mess despite strong direction by Curtiz, hampered by Muni's overwrought performance which some commentators have mistaken for good acting.

Best film of year

[kcfl-1 · 10/10 · 12 May 2012]

Let's look at 1935: I don't think there's anyone reviewing now who went to the movies that year, so we have to rely on video. I've seen about 100 films from that year; many have not been preserved. "The Informer"won the Oscar, and a worthy film it was. "A Night at the Opera," "ChinaSeas," "The Good Fairy" "Lives of a Bengal lancer," "Naughty Marietta,"and "The Devil Is a Woman" also came out that year, all great films. "Black Fury" was better than any of them. It's gripping from the first frame to the last. It's as realistically set, and politically sensitive, as any Hollywood film. The closest political thriller I've seen to it is "Massacre" (1934). I loved it for the big factors, like digging itself into an impossible hole, then managing to escape, and Muni's performance. Also for the small ones, like all the supporting performances and the fact that the union happens to be integrated.

Good Muni Vehicle-Black Fury

[arthur_tafero · 6/10 · 24 March 2022]

Although not as engaging as I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (Muni's best film of all time), Black Fury still catches a few accolades as a socially responsible movie of the 1930s, when several human rights violations were occurring in America's own society. Muni plays a minor caught between the rock and the hard place, and finds his own solution, which will be very satisfying to the audience. Catch this one.

Muni's Accent Makes It Tough To Enjoy

[ccthemovieman-1 · 4/10 · 8 July 2007]

If you can't understand what the lead actor is saying half the time, it's kind of hard to enjoy the film! That's what I encountered trying to watch this as Paul Muni, as a Polish coal mine worker, speaks in such a heavy accent I couldn't decipher what he was saying. It gets to be a frustrating experience. If this would come out on DVD with English subtitles, I'd be glad to give it another look.

Muni, almost always a fascinating actor, plays good-guy Joe Radek, a Pennsylvania coal miner who is used by his bosses to help them break the union. (This film is very pro-union, pro-working man.). They got Barton MacLane to play the heavy, something he was always good at doing. MacLane played the company boss. I always laugh at how these billionaire film makers always try to make management or the rich guys the evil ones. Maybe it's a guilty conscience from all the money they have made, but I see them more as big hypocrites.

However, I find no fault in any movie trying to help the coal miners who did, in fact, had it bad and deserved better. It was dirty job and a dangerous one. It still is, as far as I know, but conditions have to be a whole lot better than a hundred years ago so don't misinterpret what I said earlier: in many cases, management was "the bad guy" way back then. It's just that, in most cases, it has been the opposite case the last 50 years and now it's tough to be sympathetic to union causes

Anyway, Muni plays an interesting guy who you have to root for....if you can understand what he is saying with that accent.

How Green Was My Screenplay

[marcslope · 10 February 2003]

Paul Muni, David Thomson once wrote, was the '30s' idea of a great actor: He never looked the same twice. Here he's a hail-fellow-well-met Eastern European immigrant coal miner in a dreary Pennsylvania burg, deceived by union busters and weighed down by a ten-ton accent. Indeed the screenplay seldom rises above a fifth-grade literacy level, the better to illustrate the goodheartedness of these poor but honest laborers. But five minutes of Muni, and you've seen the whole performance -- a Zorba-the-miner "life force" who yells all his lines and sounds unfortunately like Steve Martin's wild-and-crazy-guy character from Saturday Night Live in the '70s.

Warners does come up with a convincingly grimy set and a capable stock-company supporting cast, but the dramaturgy is connect-the-dots. One miner shouts and sways the whole crowd, then another, then another -- what a gullible bunch this must be. The evil cops and management figures are so absurdly evil that nuance is lost. The third act does whip up to an exciting blow-up-the-mine climax, but then it's resolved in headline montages, as if Warners suddenly ran out of money, or film. And Michael Curtiz -- I didn't think this fine director was capable of this -- stages the crowd scenes clumsily, shifting point of view confusingly and slapping the mise-en-scene together hard, with loud music. Certainly the studio is on the side of the angels, arguing for a fair day's pay for a fair day's work, and as a '30s sociological curio the movie is not without interest. But Muni's monotonous bluster and an elementary script combine to create a cinematic cave-in.

Good despite a rare performance by Paul Muni.

[kevvportela · 6/10 · 2 April 2021]

Directed by Michael Curtiz, the story in a dramatic tone of a miner who leads the fight of the workers against the owners of the mines. It is entertaining from start to finish, the struggle of the workers and their different positions due to their contexts are visible and it is approached with a certain respect. In technical aspects it is tedious for the most part, it is noted that the intention was not the highlight of those resources but the plot itself. Very good setting and effects in the same way.

At an interpretive level it seemed strange to me, Paul Muni gives a striking performance and I am not saying it positively, he is seen over acting all the time and forced, instead of a rustic man he gives the image of a caveman, without a doubt it is not one of his best interpretations.

Considering the political climate of 1935 compared to today's, it's easy to see the importance of it then as compared to now.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 24 September 2023]

It's obvious as to why Oscar winning actor Paul Muni is considered an acquired taste, quite bombastic in a very unsubtle way and justifiably referred to as a ham. That came out of his acting training so he knew no other way, and if you can watch him in this, then you can sit through him in anything. He's a Polish immigrant who is ruled by his emotions, and while he gets a lot of support from his colleagues in this film, his methods and mannerisms are a turn off for many others. Corruption in the mining industry is the subject matter here, and it's not the first industry to come under attack from Warner Brothers which ironically could be compared to the mining company in the way it was run.

The film is very dark which is appropriate because it's a really dark subject matter that is being dealt with. The ensemble of contract players and free lancers are fabulous with Karen Morley (an actress who had her own political controversies) as Muni's girlfriend who walks out on him for another man, William Gargan, John Qualen, J. Carrol Naish and Barton MacLane as mine workers with differing loyalties, Sarah Haden as the world weary wife of Qualen and Mae Marsh as Morley's mother. Overall, it's still an important film even though it's rather heavy handed at times. But the grim world of this community is presented brilliantly by director Michael Curtis and director of photography Byron Haskin.

Black Fury- Incisive Labor Film ***

[edwagreen · 8/10 · 10 March 2007]

The fabulous Paul Muni gives another wonderful performance in this 1935 film.

With a genuine Slavic accent, Muni is superb as a coal miner who loses his girl (Karen Morley) to a company Policeman and goes on a drinking binge as a result. It is at this point that a gangster organization tries to create chaos within the union and Muni becomes their perfect foil.

J. Carrol Naish is excellent as the worker who works for this unholy organization.

Naturally, Muni's best friend is killed in a clash with company police and Muni, now sober, vows revenge.

Morley returns to Muni just in time as he goes down into the mine and starts blowing the place up. It's at this point that the film starts to go down, but with Muni's performance and the problems shown of what the coal miners had to endure plus the dishonesty in trying to break the union, all make for a very good film.

Furious and Filthy

[howdymax · 4/10 · 6 February 2003]

This is one dreary movie. It reminds one of the images conjured up in Upton Sinclair's "Jungle". The art direction is very much early Warner Bros with emphasis on dirt and grime.

It has to do with the personal descent of an ignorant bohunk miner in Coaltown. His girl runs off with a company cop, he's conned by an agitator into sabotaging the union, and when he's finally on his own personal skids, his best friend is beat to death by the goons. Geez, whatever you do, don't watch this if you're depressed. After what seems like a lifetime of self loathing, he is redeemed. His girl comes home, he avenges his best friend, and all is right with the world. Dreck.

Try to imagine Paul Muni's natural accent enhanced by an affected Eastern European accent. The result sounds like Yiddish with a mouth full of marbles. Add to that his over the top acting and plenty of dirt. The usually agreeable Karen Morley just looks depressed and bored. If I were in this movie, I would be depressed and bored. The only stand out in the movie is the irrepressible Barton MacLane. I think he is one of the few actors that would have been able to get through this without some kind of medication. Of course he gets his in the end.

I have the greatest respect for Michael Curtiz. In my opinion, he is one of a small club of truly gifted directors - despite his brutal reputation. He was able to create some really memorable stuff. Historical costume epics, mysteries, human dramas, and anything else they threw at him. He has never disappointed me - until now.

Divide & Conquer

[sol1218 · 8/10 · 15 December 2006]

**SPOILERS** Socially minded 1935 drama involving the attempted breaking of a coal-miners union in Coaltown PA. by using underhanded tactics on the part of management. Getting a trouble-making mole, or provocateur, into the labor union the union busting racketeers plan to have the union workers go on a disastrous labor strike in order to break their previous labor contract. Thus lose all the pay and benefits that they got through labor-management negotiations over the last twenty years.

The provocateur Croner, J. Carrol Nash, making himself out to be a man of the people, or working men, starts to get things going as soon as possible. Croner disrupts a union meeting with the miners there throwing away their union badges and walking out in disgust determined to form a rival union electing the very drunk and heart-broken Joe Radek, Paul Muni. Unknow to Radek he's Croner's and his boss' choice for union president. Joe's been on a drinking binge since his sweetheart Anna Novak, Karen Morley, left him for another man union company policemen Slim Johnson, William Gargan, whom she took off with for Pittsburg and a better life; Anna has this thing about a man in uniform.

Joe being used by the unscrupulous and union-busting Croner & co., and with him doing their dirty work, mindlessly starts a strike that leads the mine to be shut down. With all he workers unable to support themselves and their families make the unknowing pasty Joe Radek, Croner had since taken a powder and checked out of town, the most hated man in Coaltown. Things start to get really ugly when Croner's boss Jenkins, Purnell Pratt, sends in an army of scabs protected, from the angry unemployed miners, by company police lead by his second in command McGee, Barton MacLane. This leaves the strikers no choice, since they broke their contract, but to get back to work only with them signing away their hard fought rights and making them and their families nothing but slaves and indentured servants to "The Man", Jenkins, and his band of strike breaking thugs.

It's when Joe's former best friend Mike Shemasnski(John Qualen), he had since thrown him out of his home because of his involvement with the union busting Croner, was brutally murdered by McGee that he finally came to his senses and stopped drinking. With Anna also and unexpectedly coming back to Joe, Slim & Pittsburg didn't turn out to be the bargain that she thought that they would be, Joe finally took matters into is own hands.

Barricading himself in the coal mine Joe had it booby-trapped with explosives. Keeping the miners from coming back to work Joe thus throws their rights benefit's and away. Joe desperately holds off McGee and his police, in fact Joe later took Mcgee hostage, until the truth came out about the Jenkins/McGee attempt to destroy the miners union and then take it over. Making the coal mine a cash-cow for themselves and a prison for those who worked there.

Tension packed final as Joe puts his life on the line holding off McGee and his "boys" who tried to smoke and blast him out of the mineshaft with tear-gas and bullets. The truth is finally brought out into the open to not only the public and local miners but the entire nation of the sleazy attempt to destroy the Coaltown Miners Workers Union by Jenkins & Co. In the end even the US Government, from the President of the United States himself on down, and Federal Courts get into the mix by restoring all the rights that Jenkins and his ilk tried to take away from the miners. And yes both Joe & Anna get married at the end of the movie and live happily ever after on a farm, that Joe bought from the late Mike Shermanski, raising both pigs and a family of little Joe's and Anna's.

Being rich is better.

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 8 September 2005]

Rather standard working-class drama of the sort that Warner Brothers was turning out, though with more emphasis on the issue of unions and union-breaking than was usual. The usual stalwart support is present, such as Ward Bond and even Akim Tamirov.

Maybe part of the reason it doesn't have more impact on viewers these days is that the working class audience, living on the edge of poverty, doesn't really exist as a social consideration anymore.

The people who made this movie and the audience who lived this kind of life are now all dead. Far fewer people know what existence was like when it was constantly overcast by the threat of imminent poverty. In the Great Depression, during which the generation described by Tom Brokaw in his book "The Greatest Generation" grew up, unions were still controversial and there was a good deal of violence involved in the development of collective bargaining. Goons might bash in your head. A union organizer might be (and at least in one case was) castrated and murdered. And a miner might blow up a mine. One third of the nation was unemployed and there was no Social Security or Unemployment Benefits.

Well, no time for a history lesson here. And it's just as well because I know practically nothing of the history of industrial relations.

Considering it as a film, I can only echo what another reviewer, "Howdymax", in still another of his unusually perspicacious comments, has already said. The movie is Dreck.

Try to think of it as an historical artifact, like a Leni Lenape tomahawk or a Roman coin. It's no longer useful but it's oddly fascinating to see and handle. That may help you get past Mr. Paul Muni's outrageous overacting. If he could do it, he would chew up not only the scenery but the walls of the mine shaft, the Miner's Bar, his supporting players, the script, the director, the camera, and the viewer.

A gripping story. A worthy contribution to Warner Brothers' roster of social consciousness films.

[friedlandea · 9/10 · 22 March 2019]

The New York Times' reviewer in 1935 called this film "the most notable experiment in social drama since "Our Daily Bread." He meant it as a favorable comment, though he could perhaps have chosen a different drama for comparison, since "Our Daily Bread" came out only a year before, 1934. In any case, he was correct that "Black Fury" is a notable film. It reunites Paul Muni with his "Scarface" co-stars Karen Morley and Vince Barnett. It reunites Karen Morley and John Qualen of "Our Daily Bread" - a veterans' reunion, of sorts, of actors of social consciousness films. One was a genuine social activist, Karen Morley. She agitated for trade unions. She defied HUAC, for which she was blacklisted. She ran for public office as a Socialist (cheers from Bernie Sanders, no doubt). Counting " Black Fury," she played in three of the most political and potentially subversive pictures Hollywood produced in the 1930s, the others being "Our Daily Bread" and "Gabriel Over the White House." This introduces the question: is "Black Fury" a subversive social commentary? It involves coal miners; it cannot avoid social comment. No one paints a pleasant picture of the life of a coal miner. In Hollywoodian terms one thinks immediately of John Ford's "How Green Was My Valley" or Martin Ritt's lumbering "Molly Maguires." One, "How Green Was My Valley," pulls its punches. The other, "The Molly Maguires," muddies its message with misplaced love stories and heavy-handed moral debate. The best of the genre, John Sayles' "Matewan," comes closest to "Black Fury," with Kevin Tighe in the Barton MacLane role of Pinkerton goon and Bob Gunton as J. Carroll Naish's insider/traitor. Its story sticks to a focus. The punches land. The same is true of "Black Fury."

In my day I taught college. One semester we dealt with the Coal Creek War. a landmark in American labor history, a shooting war pitting striking Tennessee coal miners against state militia in 1891. I had the students read (inserting literature is never a bad teaching technique) the greatest coal miner story ever written, Emile Zola's "Germinal," depicting the miseries of miners in the 1880s. There's labor unrest, a terrible strike, characters literally starve to death, military repression, a massacre, the works. One of the students downloaded a copy of the French movie "Germinal" with Gerard Depardieu, subtitled. We all watched it. The students were outraged. "That's not it!" they exclaimed. "That's not it, doc. That's not what's in the book. Where's the dirt, the horror, the black lung, the heat, the backbreakingly low, narrow tunnels" (children, girls as well as boys, worked where men couldn't fit) "where's all that? I could work in that mine for a summer job." Zola's descriptions are intensely accurate. For his realist style he researched every detail. In this case he descended into the coal pits himself to see what mines were like. He never flinched. The movie version flinched. Considering that, "Black Fury" deserves credit. Working conditions will have been better in 1935 than in 1885. But still the mine looks unpleasant. The miners' shantytown is suitably bleak, far more insalubrious than the idyllic Welsh village in "How Green Was My Valley." It's not a place one wants to inhabit, or that one would choose to work a summer job.. It's not quite as foul as Sinclair Lewis' depictions of industrial hovels in "The Jungle," but it suggests poverty and desperation. Everyone wants to get out of it. Karen Morley's Anna dreams of paradise in Pittsburgh. Paul Muni's Radek would rather work on a pig farm. There's economic injustice. The miners complain of forced, unpaid labor; they are paid only for the coal the can haul out each day. (The same slave labor system infuriates Zola's miners of 1880.) The story pulls some punches. Workers are mistreated. But the villains are the Coal and Iron Police rather than the capitalists, though the capitalists are the ones who employ the Coal and Iron Police. The mine owner, played by the always-sincere Henry O'Neill, seems to be a nice guy. Calling out the capitalist system was a step too far. As far as it could go, "Black Fury" goes.

As a work of cinema "Black Fury" is great, classic Hollywood. Michael Curtiz carries it along, deploying his patented style of close-ups (think "Casablanca" or "The Sea Wolf") to heighten the tension. Paul Muni's half-Yiddish accent doesn't bother me. He is sometimes overheated. Of all the actresses he worked with, I think, Karen Morley fit him best. His style is histrionic. Hers is understated. It calms things down when he gets overwrought. John Qualen gives one of his best performances, a warmup for Muley Graves in "The Grapes of Wrath." Barton MacLane is, well, Barton MacLane. Also note Sara Haden cast somewhat against type as John Qualen's quiet, melancholic wife. They bring depth to characters who could have been cardboard caricatures. "Black Fury" is not the greatest social drama but, as the Times' critic said, it's "an experiment." It is well worth seeing.

Paul as a blond!

[HotToastyRag · 5/10 · 18 February 2019]

Did you know Bette Davis wasn't the only person whose name had qualified for the Academy Awards but was scratched off the list at the last minute? Paul Muni endured a similar snub for his role in Black Fury, a film about an ignorant coal worker who falls in love with Anna Lee, who doesn't love him back.

As you might expect from a Paul Muni movie, he gives a very energetic performance. And, as you might expect from a pre-retirement Paul Muni movie, he plays someone ethnic and is forced to put on an accent. In this movie, he's Polish, and while his accent does sound a little silly, his blond wig is incredibly cute. For me, the best scenes of the movie were those in the beginning. He's happy, well-liked by his friends, in love with Anna, and even sings while he dances with her. It's really adorable.

Then, the movie turns into a drama. What did you expect from a coal mining movie? There's an attack, a false accusation, a heartbreak, an angry response, and a less enjoyable second half to the film. If you're a Paul Muni fan like I am, you don't really have to sit through this one. For cute Paul, rent Hi, Nellie! and for dramatic, accented Paul, rent Bordertown.

One Against the World

[lugonian · 9/10 · 27 October 2019]

BLACK FURY (Warner Brothers, 1935), directed by Michael Curtiz, stars Paul Muni in another one of his neglected movie gems. Reportedly based on an actual 1929 incident involving a coal miner's strike, BLACK FURY reproduces both incident and play, "Bohunk" by Harry R. Irving featuring Muni playing an accented speaking, uneducated coal miner of a small mining town who helps form a strike without knowing it. Supporting him is Karen Morley, his co-star from SCARFACE (United Artists, 1932), formerly of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, featured in her only film role for the Warners studio.

Set in Coal Town, Joe Radek (Paul Muni), a Slavik born coal miner, lives with his best friend, Mike Shemanski (John T. Qualen), his wife, Sophie (Sara Haden), and children, Agnes (Edith Fellows) and Chris (Mickey Rentschler). Aside from both men working together, Joe deeply loves Anna Novak (Karen Morley), whom he plans to marry after saving up his earnings for a farm. Though she cares for Joe, Anna hates her coal mining town existence and would want nothing more than to get away from it. During a dance function at Slovak Hall, Anna breaks away from Joe long enough to be with Slim Johnson (William Gargan), the company cop, to tell him how she feels. Due for a job promotion in Pittsburgh, Anna asks to go away with him, but Slim, also good friends with Joe, feels it be better to wait awhile before breaking the news to him. The following morning, however, Joe is given a farewell note written by Anna found in her bedroom. Angry and upset, Joe gets himself drunk at the local bar. In the meantime, Steve "Chip" Croner (J. Carroll Naish), a new employer, working secretly under Henry B. Jenkins (Purnell B. Pratt), has already stirred up trouble among the miners for going on strike for better wages and working conditions. Because Joe is highly respected among his friends, Chip uses him to follow up his plan for a strike, and forming a union run by corrupt leaders. Because of his association with Chip, and made president of the union, Mike has Joe leave his home. Joe is then blamed for riots and miners losing both their jobs and homes. After Mike is beaten and killed by a corrupt union cop, McGee (Barton MacLane), Joe comes to his senses to form his very own one man war against this corrupt organization.

Aside from Karen Morley, it is also interesting spotting Muni's other SCARFACE co-stars as Vince Barnett and Tully Marshall in minor supporting roles. Other supporting players include Ward Bond, Akim Tamiroff, Samuel S. Hinds, Wade Boteler, Effie Ellsler and Addison Richards. For Muni's role of a Slavik coal miner who's catch phrase is: "You bet your life," this is something of a welcome challenge for his acting range, right down to nearly sounding like Austrian actor, Oscar Homolka from I REMEMBER MAMA (RKO, 1948).

In an introduction note about BLACK FURY by the late Robert Osborne on Turner Classic Movies, he went on to say of how Muni prepared himself for the role by spending time around actual coal miners to get the feel for his character living among poor surroundings. The final result is Muni giving a standout performance in a plot quite unlikely for 1935 audiences. Karen Morley serves the film well as the girl looking for a better way of life, while Barton MacLane makes his presence known by once again playing the bad guy.

Unlike Muni's prior film roles of THE WORLD CHANGES (1933), HI,NELLIE (1934), BORDERTOWN (1935) and DOCTOR SOCRATES (1935), BLACK FURY was singled out, along with I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (1932) to be commonly shown on commercial television from the 1960s to 1980s. New York City's WNEW, Channel 5, aired BLACK FURY frequently between 1975 and 1983. Nearly forgotten among Paul Muni's filmography, BLACK FURY has become available on video cassette (Key Video) and DVD. Cable television broadcasts consisted of Turner Network Television (1989-1993) and currently Turner Classic Movies (since 1994). Regardless of availability, BLACK FURY remains an underrated and sadly neglected motion picture that's actually better than expected. "You bet your life!" (***1/2)

Good potential ruined by Muni Performance

[tiberijegrozni · 5/10 · 3 March 2023]

I never thought I will resent movie because of the performance of the main actor but Paul Muni certainly made sure I do .

Overacting , Terrible accent , body language of Frankenstein and as much subtlety as elephant in the glass showroom that is Paul Muni in short for you .

Imagine Peter Lorre in this role and you would get movie with 9 score .

I am surprised Muni get to act in another movie after this fiasco .

Funny thing is that everyone around Muni plays their part perfectly . Union insider, his girlfriend, his best friend even Police officer.

To think that Michel Curtiz directed this makes me question if he was sober most of the time shooting it.