Desert Fury (1947)

The daughter of a Nevada casino owner gets involved with a racketeer, despite everyone's efforts to separate them.

Director:

Lewis Allen

Writers:

Robert Rossen (screenplay), Ramona Stewart (novel)

Stars:

John Hodiak, Lizabeth Scott, Burt Lancaster

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Hodiak	...	Eddie Bendix
Lizabeth Scott	...	Paula Haller
Burt Lancaster	...	Tom Hanson
Wendell Corey	...	Johnny Ryan
Mary Astor	...	Fritzi Haller
Kristine Miller	...	Claire Lindquist
William Harrigan	...	Judge Berle Lindquist
James Flavin	...	Sheriff Pat Johnson
Jane Novak	...	Mrs. Lindquist
Anna Camargo	...	Rosa

Storyline

Fritzi Haller is a powerful casino owner in Chuckawalla, Nevada. Her daughter Paula (having quit school) returns at the same time as racketeer Eddie Bendix, who left under suspicion of murdering his wife. Paula and Eddie become involved; each for their own reasons, Fritzi, Paula's old beau Tom, and Eddie's pal Johnny try to break up the relationship. Then Eddie's past catches up with him in an unexpected way.

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Plot Keywords:

gay subtext | nevada | racketeer | casino | bridge | 

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Taglines:

Two men wanted her love ... The third wanted her life !

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 August 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

Desert Town

Filming Locations:

Piru Mansion - 829 & 837 Park Road, Piru, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Wallis Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Feb. 1958, a reissue of this film was in wide release by Paramount on a double bill with another western, California (1947).

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Goofs

At 40 minutes in, when Tom Hanson (Burt Lancaster) pulls up to where Paula Haller (Lizabeth Scott) is and parks, the car is at an angle to the walk, but then all of a sudden it is parallel with the walk.

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Connections

Featured in The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender (1997)

User Reviews

Desert Fairy

Oh god, what a petrie dish fry up! DESERT FURY is literally hysterical, like a shrill daytime soapie with cinema values. Made in 1947 in perfect glossy Technicolor to distract you from the beserkness and tawdry storyline, this is one terrific exercise in censorship busting antics that managed to fulfill it's reputation. Lizabeth Scott, like a naughty green fairy loose from a bottle of Absinthe, Wendell Corey as the housewife to creepy-teeth gangster mate John Hodiak, Burt Lancaster pretending he doesn't know and Mary Astor the battle cruiser mother each out vie each other in every scene with a regular exchange of niceties followed by face slapping or tantrum and threat. Every scene, like a roundelay of temperament. DESERT FURY is genuine queer cinema. With incest hinted, guns and car tyre screeching, sinister sunglass wearing and cactus pricks everywhere, this wacky hussy of a film makes for a terrific couch night with friends who have never seen it.