Must See Movie...

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Blistering performances.

I'm not sure if Victor Mature is suited to a Western. I didn't think much of him in 'My Darling Clementine'. He was okay in 'Kiss of Death', but it was Richard Widmark that made that film, not Mature. What this film lacked was someone for Mature to play off and react to rather than just being the lead. In 'Samson and Delilah' he had a good script and a good director. This film doesn't have a good script, although you could argue that the direction was good. If Mature had a good script, or a good actor to play off, then maybe it would have lifted his performance. If a film totally relies on Mature then it's not going to stand the test of time. Such is the case with this film.

Fury at Furnace Creek is directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and collectively written by Charles G. Booth, Winston Miller and David Garth. It stars Victor Mature, Glenn Langan, Coleen Gray, Albert Dekker and Reginald Gardiner. Music is by David Raksin and cinematography by Harry Jackson.When General Blackwell (Robert Warwick) is accused of instigating an Apache massacre, he refutes the allegation so strongly in court he keels over and dies. With the family name tarnished, the estranged Blackwell brothers (Mature and Langan) must put aside their differences to hopefully unearth the truth and clear their father's name.Nice. Without bringing new dimensions to this formula of plotting, Fury at Furnace Creek is stylish and doesn't take the easy narrative options so prevalent in other Westerns of the 40s. Sure, the standard action quotient is adhered to, with Apache attack, pursuits, saloon shoot-out and the good versus bad finale, but screenplay and scripting has an intelligence about it; and the cast performances coupled with Jackson's shadowy infused black and white photography, make this well worthy of a look by the Western faithful. 7/10

Don't be put off with the misnomer of the title to this little known picture! Fox's FURY AT FURNACE CREEK (1948)is a neat little atmospheric western with a literal screenplay by Charles Booth from a story by David Garth. Expertly directed by Bruce Humberstone it is crisply photographed in Monochrome by Harry Jackson and well played by a good cast. In the leading role is Victor Mature playing a man, who with his estranged brother (Glenn Langan) sets out to clear the name of his army Colonel father (Robert Warwick) who dies suddenly during his military trial after being accused of leaving the fort at Furnace Creek undefended against marauding Apaches resulting in the massacre of its occupants.Humberstone directs in commanding fashion and the story is fully fleshed out with an array of interesting characters - the likes of leering baddie Albert Dekker, the nervous Reginald Gardiner and two players fresh from the studio's "Captain From Castile" the year before Jay Silverheels as the Apache chief Little Dog and Roy Roberts as Dekker's equally crooked associate. In the female lead is Colleen Grey who rejoins Mature after "Kiss Of Death" the year before. And there's an amusing turn from Charles Kemper as the town drunk who, because the town has no jail, is chained to an enormous tree trunk which he must carry on his shoulder if he wants to move around. The only problem I had with the movie is the poor music score. I am hugely surprised at composer David Raksin who cheapens the movie with his awful music which consists of nothing more than orchestral versions of the cowboy ditty "Don't Bury Me On The Lone Prairie". Perhaps Fox music head Alfred Newman was responsible - who knows? But there is no dramatic scoring whatsoever in the picture which I found to be apathetic and doctrinaire. And it could have done with a little musical help here and there!Nevertheless, it's Mature's movie and as usual he gives a likable, workmanlike performance. An actor who never had his fair dues from critics Mature was one of the most underrated actors in the business. He never won any major awards or plaudits for his work and once said of himself "I'm no actor and I've got a scrapbook at home full of reviews to prove it". Yet he was more than convincing in such films as "Kiss Of Death", "Cry Of The City", "My Darling Clementine" (great as Doc Holliday), as the Greek slave Demetrius in "The Robe" and its sequel "Demetrius & The Gladiators". And lest we forget his iconic portrayal of Samson in DeMille's "Samson & Delilah". DeMille insisted that Mature was the only actor who would look the part. He turns in a surefooted and admirable performance here too in "Fury At Furnace Creek" which will not be out of place in any western collection. It is a good looking DVD too with nice and sharp black & white imaging. Extras include a poster gallery, a behind the scenes gallery and there's a good trailer which is somewhat marred by the excessive hard sell of the movie by one of the studios' top stars none other than Gregory Peck would you believe?

I like old westerns and sometimes I think I saw all the good ones, so finding this one was quite a surprise. The story is about a region where they start finding silver. As it was Indian property, they conceive a plot to grab the land from them. General Fletcher Blackwell gets his name dirty because they think he is behind this plot. Victor Mature and Glenn Langan are the General's sons who go to Furnace Creek to try to clean his name. There is a very funny character called Peaceful who likes to drink and gets arrested, but as there is no jail they tie him to a tree trunk. Peaceful still manages to go to the bar carrying the enormous trunk on his shoulder. Coleen Gray is the girl who falls for Victor Mature but is not certain that he is a good guy. An above average western.