Leofwine_draca THE SOUND OF FURY is an interesting slice of crime and melodrama based on a real-life case of the 1930s. Seen today, it's partially of interest for being caught up in the McCarthyist witch hunts, with director Cy Endfield decamping to Britain to churn out classic after classic (HELL DRIVERS and ZULU, I'm talking about you) while Lloyd Bridges turned informant. The story is about a couple of small-time guys who are involved in a kidnapping that goes horribly wrong, which is all quite straightforward, but things get really interesting when they're taken to jail. The film slowly builds to one of the most powerful climaxes I've ever seen from the era, a power helped by the very strong performances of the lead actors.

Claudio Carvalho The unemployed Howard Tyler (Frank Lovejoy) is desperate for a job since he is married with children and his wife Judy (Kathleen Ryan) is pregnant. When he meets the "bon vivant" Jerry Slocum (Lloyd Bridges), the stranger offers a job position to Howard. Soon he learns that Jerry is a small-time thief and his job would be to drive the getaway car after the heist. Howard improves the life of his family and tells that he is working in the night shift of a factory. Meanwhile, the journalist Gil Stanton (Richard Carlson) that works in a tabloid is assigned by the owner to promote the thefts to increase the selling of newspaper. When Jerry kidnaps the son of a millionaire, he brutally kills the man and forces Howard to help him to dump the corpse in the sea. Then he asks for ransom to the family. When the boy is found, Stanton incites the population telling that the abductors are monsters. When Howard and Jerry are arrested, a mob threatens their lives in front of the police station. How will the police officers protect the prisoners?"The Sound of Fury" is a film with a simple storyline and an impressive conclusion. The manipulation of the masses by the "brown press" (tabloid) to sell newspapers is impressive and the consequence is scary. The reaction of the uncontrollable violent mob is the best part of this movie and shows the power of the free press, for the good or for the bad. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Justiça Injusta ("Justice Unjust")

Panamint The entire cast delivers high-caliber acting, particularly Frank Lovejoy and Lloyd Bridges. Bridges is unforgettable as the psycho "Jerry". Cliff Clark, the ultimate movie cop, is perfectly cast as a police chief.A brutal, unrelenting tone is maintained throughout the film, and the film-makers use a sledgehammer approach to convey ideas, unnecessarily so in my opinion. OK I get it, you don't need to clobber me to hammer things into my mushy little brain.Newspapers are portrayed in a devastating manner similar to the old Edward G. Robinson classic "Five Star Final", and with similar effectiveness although with an even more heavy hand. But the message holds up whether 1930's, 1950's or with today's sensationalized multi-media delivery of various "movement"-style causes that can result in violence by impressionable or disgruntled individuals who injure or kill innocent civilians or police officers in extreme cases.Harsh, loud, impactful but rather unsatisfying as an overall well- rounded movie, this is a somewhat unusual film that is watchable mainly due to the outstanding performances.

bob the moo When Howard Tyler moved his family out west to California, he did not plan for unemployment to push them as close to breaking point as it has. Down on his luck, Howard is hanging out in a bowling lane when he meets the charismatic and generous Jerry Slocum. Slocum offers him a job that will pay really well and Howard gratefully accepts. When he learns that he is the driver in the robbery of a grocery store, he has misgivings but none that cannot be drowned out by the relief of having plenty of money in his pocket for the first time in years. However one thing leads to another and it is not long before Howard finds himself exceeding what he is willing to accept being part of but yet unable to get out.A late night "noir" double bill on channel 4 caused me to stumble across this film despite never having heard of it before. Although not strictly a noir, the film is an effective drama that does rely on the "normal" guy drawn into a destructive world of crime. The plot offers lots of potential in the dark content and is still good even if it doesn't really deliver on it. The narrative focuses on Howard's descent and I was surprised by morally quite how simplistic it all was. Howard's inability to deal with what he does is straightforward and the clear fate served him by the script is also quite easy. The media plays a part in the shape of journalist Gil Stanton and I hoped this would produce something of real insight but mostly he and other characters seem to exist to vocalise the moralising part of the script. They do make more of it towards the end but I wanted more in the way of consistency.The moralising and simplicity across the film does rather make for a weaker second half but the "descent" is by far the best part of the film. In terms of delivery it offers more dramatic scenes but this also means more meat for the actors to work with. Lovejoy's desperation but yet conflict is written across his performance and at its best is pretty good. Unfortunately for him, he is totally in the shadow of a really enjoyable turn from Lloyd Bridges. Bridges is cool, arrogant, angry, slick, vain, violent and unpredictable and he is easily the most memorable part of the film. Inexplicable then that the script lets him disappear for the vast majority of the second half of the film – his absence is felt. Carlson tries to be the heart of the later debate but he cannot do it and comes over quite insincere and simplistic. Ryan, Locke, Jergens and others are so-so.Overall then this is an interesting moral drama that has plenty of good moments in the first half and plenty of potential in the second half's moralising. Bridges and Lovejoy deliver well in the first half. While it is a real shame that the second half feels weak, simplistic and no where near as intelligent and challenging as I wanted it to be, it is still pretty dark and interesting for the period and should be recognised for that.