ellenirishellen-62962
IMHO,Treasure Of The Golden Condor is owed its proper respect,in some ways an improvement of Son Of Fury.No offense to Ty fans,but Cornell Wilde was terrific,more beefcake than Powers,and Macready better looking and more menacing as the treacherous uncle.Interesting that the original prologue had the uncle killing the brother and his wife.Macready was much more menacing lauding over Fay Wray how the brother preferred someone else to her.Granted,we got to see some Sanders beefcake in the pugilist scene,which certainly explained the "lesson in pugilism" in Golden Condor,and perhaps why the uncle was such a brute,who can forget how Sanders looked positively psychotic while almost beating his nephew to death (perhaps why Macready wasn't quite as ferocious in Golden Condor,but near lethal anyway!).Both have outstanding supporting casts,but both deserved to be judged fairly as very good films!Hated Sanders acting effete in the courtroom,mocking Ty's defense.
funkyfry
I enjoyed this film a lot -- Tyrone Power is absolutely in top form in the role of the title character, Benjamin Blake, a man robbed of his inheritance and accused of being a bastard by his father's brother, the villainous Sir Arthur Blake as performed in high style by George Sanders. From the very first scenes there's this strong animal quality to Sanders, who's depicted as an expert fistfighter and an extreme sadist. Power insists on maintaining his dignity throughout being treated by his uncle as a slave, but the movie loses me a bit when he falls in love with his uncle's daughter, who after all would be his first cousin. She's pretty much obviously worthless in the first place. Frances Farmer was handed the unenviable role and she does a good job with it. Gene Tierney is the real love interest in the film, somewhat ridiculously cast as a native island beauty. Tierney isn't much of an actress but this is one of those fortunate roles where she doesn't really have to -- she just lets her fantastic chemistry with Power do the talking for her. They even let her have the first half of the movie as a silent role essentially since her character can't speak English, and it does wonders for her.The movie's just stuffed full of fantastic character actors. Dean Stockwell plays the young Benjamin. Elsa Lanchester appears in an interesting early bit as a prostitute with a sense of pride. John Carradine has a fun appearance as the man who jumps ship with Power and dives for pearls on the island. Carradine looks awesome in the sailor costume, and he brings a world of pathos to this film, really convincing us that once he's discovered the island and the simple joys of life that he no longer wants to go back to civilization and be wealthy within the structures of that unjust society. Blake under the influence of the same kind of impulse as his friend comes back to society changed not only in the status of his wealth but in the diversity of his perspective. And happily, this makes the eventual conclusion seem fitting instead of contrived or convenient.John Cromwell's directing is nice for the way he frames every scene very firmly within its social or environmental setting. Like in the ballroom scene where Power woos Farmer, which represents his desire for the aristocratic lifestyle, the frame is full of ornament and movement when first we open and focuses on the intrusive figure of Power in his masquerade coming onto the scene. It's a very good movie, but if I had any complaint it would be to the lack of moral ambiguity of any kind of Power's character. There should have been more of an edge to his anger and his desire for vengeance, and that would have made his lust for the Farmer character more believable and the contrast between his younger and older selves more marked. But the movie has an agenda to present Power as a hero throughout the entire film, which damages the possibility for interesting character development. Power himself is capable of much more subtle acting, but he's also good enough or competent enough to basically drop such pretense in a film like this and lean on his strong charisma and presence to carry the film.
Terrell-4
If Son of Fury were the title of a paperback novel, we'd expect a bodice-ripping, heavy- breathing Regency romance. What we have is a highly professional Darryl F. Zanuck adventure of surprising innocence and charm. Everything about the movie, from the actors to the script to the cinematography, features such a high level of craftsmanship that the few corny moments pass quickly. Please note that elements of the plot are discussed. During the reign of George III, Benjamin Blake (Tyrone Power) is thought to have been born on the wrong side of the blanket, leaving his father's rich, titled inheritance to Ben's wicked uncle, Sir Arthur Blake (George Sanders), now baronet and the master of Breetholm Manor. Benjamin as a boy (Roddy McDowell) had been raised by his kindly grandfather until Sir Arthur at last located him. Sir Arthur is taking no chances about that inheritance and turns Ben into a stable hand on the estate. But Ben, now grown into a man, hates his uncle and has eyes for his uncle's daughter, Isabel (Frances Farmer), a young woman we fear may have inherited her father's nasty ways. Ben rebels, fights Sir Arthur and is whipped, then flees and catches a ship from England. He learns from a shipmate of a South Seas island where oyster pearls practically cover the ocean floor. By trickery they escape the ship, are accepted by the natives, dive for a fortune in pearls, and Ben meets a lovely young native woman. He names her Eve (Gene Tierney). Then it's back to England to hire a lawyer, save his grandfather from debtor's prison, win a court fight to reclaim his inheritance, give Sir Arthur a beating and learn the tricky nature of Isabel. What's left for a rich young man? Well, one thing would be to turn his estates and wealth over to all those loyal workers, then show up unexpectedly at that South Seas island and run across the sand to embrace Eve. The story, even as predictable as this, is told with such professional attention to naivety that we cheer for Ben, hiss his uncle, and even find the unlikely conclusion satisfying. Three things make this movie work as well as it does. First, is the script. The story is one set of clichés after another, yet the script doesn't wink at us or assume we're too simple-minded to notice. It treats Ben and the people he meets with matter-of-fact story-telling that doesn't dawdle over the kisses or make too big a thing over the beatings. In other words, the script keeps the story moving. Second, are the actors. Tyrone Power, in my view, often was too earnest for his own good. But here that earnestness is just right for Benjamin Blake's character. Power's handsomeness also works. At 32, he still has that youthfulness that quickly turned into maturity after his World War II years. There also are plenty of opportunities for Power to be bare-chested in this movie. It's reassuring to see a movie star with a reasonably good build who doesn't display the current style of inflatable pecs from too many visits by a personal trainer. And has there ever been so accomplished a condescending villain than George Sanders? His Sir Arthur is unprincipled, self-satisfied and dangerous. He proves he's no coward when it comes to fist-fighting. John Carradine plays Caleb Green, the sailor Benjamin joins to find pearls. Carradine was a fine actor, as lean as a green bean who all too quickly learned a good paycheck could come as easily from self-caricature as from acting. He plays a good guy here, a true friend of Ben's and a man who discovers he can be happy with what he has. There are many other memorable characters...Elsa Lancaster as a prostitute with a heart of gold, another cliché but Lancaster turns the woman into someone we hope has a future...Dudley Diggs, so ripe and forgotten now, as the lawyer Bartholomew Pratt and Benjamin's deus ex machina...Frances Farmer, beautiful and calculating, who lets us know when she's aroused by breathing through her mouth...Harry Davenport as Ben's aged grandfather, kindness itself...and Roddy McDowell as young Ben. He was one of the best of Hollywood's child actors and is completely believable here. Gene Tierney was a lovely but, in my view, limited actress. She's great to look at, though, whether diving for pearls or leading a hip-swiveling dance accompanied by drums and grunts. Third, is the production values Zanuck lavished on the film. The dollars Zanuck spent all show up on the screen, with impressive sets ranging from the elaborate Breetholm Manor, including a ballroom full of lavishly dressed aristos pointing their toes, to a desperate debtor's prison, from the courts of justice to the idyllic island paradise. The black and white cinematography is outstanding. The camera lingers over the carefully lit Gene Tierney almost as often as it does over Tyrone Power.
