The Furies (1950)

A firebrand heiress clashes with her tyrannical father, a cattle rancher who fancies himself a Napoleon; but their relationship turns ugly only when he finds himself a new woman.

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Charles Schnee (screenplay), Niven Busch (from a novel by)

Stars:

Barbara Stanwyck, Wendell Corey, Walter Huston

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Vance Jeffords
Wendell Corey	...	Rip Darrow
Walter Huston	...	T. C. Jeffords
Judith Anderson	...	Flo Burnett
Gilbert Roland	...	Juan Herrera
Thomas Gomez	...	El Tigre
Beulah Bondi	...	Mrs. Anaheim
Albert Dekker	...	Mr. Reynolds
John Bromfield	...	Clay Jeffords
Wallace Ford	...	Scotty Hyslip
Blanche Yurka	...	Herrera Mother
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Bailey
Frank Ferguson	...	Dr. Grieve
Charles Evans	...	Old Anaheim
Movita	...	Chiquita (as Movita Casteneda)

Storyline

The 1870s, New Mexico territory: T.C. Jeffords is a cattle baron who built his ranch, the Furies, from scratch. He borrows from banks, pays hired hands with his own script ("T.C.'s"), and carries on low-level warfare with the Mexicans who settled the land but are now considered squatters. He has enemies, including Rip Darrow, a saloon owner who's father T.C. took land from. His headstrong daughter, Vance, has a life-long friend in one of the Mexicans, her heart set on Rip, and dad's promise she'll run the Furies someday. Her hopes are smashed by Rip's revenge, a gold-digger who turns T.C.'s head, and T.C.'s own murderous imperialism. Is Vance to be cursed by fury and hatred?

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Plot Keywords:

new mexico | cattle baron | father daughter conflict | father daughter rivalry | private currency | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

14 August 1950 (UK)

Also Known As:

Almas em Fúria

Filming Locations:

Empire Ranch, Sonoita, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wallis-Hazen

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cinematographer Lee Garmes shot part of this film, uncredited.

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Quotes

Dallas Hart: [as she's leaving] I never could see what they see in the thin ones.
Vance Jeffords: It's not what they see.

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Connections

Featured in Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire (1991)

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Soundtracks

The Great T. C. Roundup
(uncredited)
by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans

User Reviews

As good as Mann's best

This Antony Mann Western is little-known compared to his collaborations with James Stewart or Man of the West or a good number of other Mann films, but it's an equal to his best work. Barbara Stanwyck and Walter Huston (in his final performance) star as a daughter and her father, powerful ranchers who own the titular land. Their relationship, much as the title suggests, has a psycho-sexual tinge. When men call on Stanwyck, her father balks. And when hoochies cling to Huston, well, then things get real ugly! The Furies shows Mann bringing a lot of his noir skills to the Western genre. One can easily see how that genre influenced Mann's characterizations, but, in terms of film-making, he had largely moved on. The Furies is just dark and often nasty. I have to wonder why the film is so little known. My thought is that almost all Westerns feature male protagonists, with the most notably exception being Johnny Guitar. I'm not going to rag too much on that film, because I do like it, but The Furies is far superior. Stanwyck was rarely better. I might actually rate this as her best. Huston went out on one of his best performances. It's hard to believe he died before the film was even released with as much energy as he shows. My only real complaint with the movie is that it peaks too early. The standoff at the Herrera's fort is one of the greatest sequences in the history of the genre, and it's so good that the remainder of the film drags a bit. Still, a masterpiece. Thanks again, Criterion!