Effie
**
Where Everything is Beautiful and Everyone Dies:
The titular Blanche Fury and her lover Philip Thorn are outstandingly beautiful people. Their clothes are elegant and perfectly cut. The vast estate on which they live is richly appointed. It is full of expensive furniture and many servants. They are passionate, and very much in love with each other.
Unfortunately for them…
their lives are playing out in a Gothic genre film set in the Victorian era.
Too bad, beautiful people.
It was nice knowing you.
**
Everyone dies.
Blanche’s uncle dies. Her husband dies. Her step-daughter dies. Philip dies. Blanche dies. All five main characters die.
Dead, dead, dead.
Blanche Fury (1948) isn’t set in a just world, nor was it filmed in one. In the 19th century, unacknowledged bastard sons did not inherit their fathers’ estates. One hundred years later, movie censor boards made sure that murderous characters met nasty fates. In either case, immorality did not go unpunished.
With this in mind, does the plot even matter?
No, not really.
What are we left with, if everyone dies?
What are we left with, if everyone is unlikable?
What are we left with, if the plot is unremarkable?
Beauty.
The forceful coupling of actors Valerie Hobson and Stewart Granger as the literally cursed lovers is enough to keep one’s eyes on the screen for most of the film. They play well together, and are mighty believable as the calculating, passionate, and ultimately antagonistic partners-in-crime.
Blanche Fury is a highly stylized film that looks like a series of old, haunting paintings strung together. The shots are framed in an extraordinary manner. Indeed, its greatest value is in its visuals: sets, costumes, cinematography, and the actors’ wonderful expressiveness. Amidst this aesthetic banquet, words are almost unnecessary (Stewart Granger’s charmingly contemptuous voice notwithstanding).
Picture Perfect:
**
Blanche Fury (1948)
Illicit Love is a Killing Thing:
[The film uses a framing device. We meet and leave Blanche as she is on her deathbed. The rest of the action is one prolonged flashback.]
This is our introduction to Clare Hall:
Blanche is clearly dying:
The doctor gives her drugs, because she is in labor:
A Recipe for Disaster in 5 Easy Steps:
Step #1-Start with two beautiful but disaffected people:
Blanche is a gentlewoman forced by the death of her parents into service as a lady’s companion. It’s not the best job for her, as she doesn’t like being bossed around. After being fired from yet another position, the woman at the employment bureau is not happy to see her. “So it’s you again, Miss Fuller. And you’ve lost another situation with your independent ways.” She receives one more chance, and it looks like this:
She gets a walloping sixteen pounds a year to look after this demanding old lady.
She’s ever-so-grateful:
+
Philip Fury Thorn is the bastard natural son of the late owner of Clare Hall, Adam Fury. Poor Philip had the ignominy of seeing his family home go to non-relatives whilst being kept on as the steward. They even took his father’s last name (in order, one presumes, to preserve it for future generations). It is hard taking orders from the new owners, since he looks just like dear old dead dad:
Step #2-Throw them together in close quarters:
Before she can off her employer, Blanche is invited to go live with her Uncle Simon (Walter Fitzgerald) and Cousin Laurence (Michael Gough). There was some kind of quarrel between her father and uncle, but we are not given any details. Whatever it was, it was bad enough for her father to take to the grave. All is well now, as Blanche shall be the governess to her cousin’s daughter! Off she goes:
Well, this isn’t scary at all:
Guess who she mistakes for her cousin?
Step #3- Give them common enemies:
For what it’s worth, only one of them hates the child!
Blanche and Philip come together due to equal parts passion for each other and loathing for Simon and Laurence. Blanche grows to dislike her newly found family for obvious reasons: they are tedious and stodgy, and hold all of the power. Philip, for his part, cannot abide these upstarts living in his ancestral home–a home that should very much be his.
Naturally, this doesn’t stop Blanche from marrying her cousin. After all, being lady of the manor is considerably better than working as the governess for 25 pounds a year + a clothing allowance.
Step #4-Sit back and watch their passion flame out of control:
Even though Blanche literally just married Laurence, she spends part of her wedding night with Philip. Granted, her sop of a husband is off engaging in stupid plot-forced nonsense when he’d be better off romancing his bride. And, of course, there is the undeniable fact that Philip Thorn looks like Stewart Granger. Things go from adultery to murder within a matter of days, such is their passion! So long Simon, so long Laurence!
Step #5-If you’ve done steps 1-4 correctly, the lovebirds will naturally turn on each other:
In Conclusion:
Even the deepest of passions can be undone by a heart full of vengeance.
One of our villains is more villainous than the other, but they have their reasons for doing what they do. Neither Blanche nor Philip is inherently evil: they’ve both endured a lifetime of injustice and heartache. Unfortunately, in the end, degrees do not matter. In their world, fate is fate and immorality is always met with death.
**
In order to preserve your viewing pleasure, I’ve omitted a couple of huge plot threads.
**
Blanche Fury (1948):
- Starring: Valerie Hobson; Stewart Granger; Michael Gough; Walter Fitzgerald; Susanne Gibbs; Maurice Denham; Sybille Binder; Ernest Jay; Cherry London
- Directed by: Marc Allégret
- Written by: Audrey Erskine-Lindop and Cecil McGivern (screenplay); Hugh Mills (dialogue); Joseph Shearing (novel) (uncredited)
- Music by: Clifton Parker
- Cinematography by: Guy Green (photographed by); Geoffrey Unsworth (exteriors)
- Production Design by: John Bryan
- Art Direction by: Wilfred Shingleton
- Costume Design by: Sophie Devine (Sophia Harris of Motley)
90 minutes (Technicolor)
Notes:
The casting is superb, from the top down. Especially touching in her few scenes is young Susanne Gibbs as Lavinia Fury.
Blanche Fury was adapted from the 1939 novel written by Joseph Shearing, aka Marjorie Bowen. She was an incredibly prolific writer, under her own name as well as a few male pseudonyms.
Blanche Fury is loosely based on a true story.
In all fairness, the young Michael Gough was better looking in real life than he is in this movie. See:
Michael Gough, of course, went on to play Alfred Pennyworth in the Batman movies. He actually had a long and wonderful career. His turn as Laurence Fury came extremely early: it was his third role.
If you look deep into the credits for this film on IMDB, you will see an even younger Roger Vadim listed as an (uncredited) assistant director.
Blanche Fury was partly filmed at Wootton Lodge.
**
◊Effie is our Film correspondent. She (shockingly) prefers House Peters’ profile to John Barrymore’s.
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A girl would have to be dead not to swoon at the sight of Stewart Granger.
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Teenage me wouldn’t have agreed with you.
However, adult me has come to her senses. 🙂
Question: How do vampire girls feel about Mr. Granger?
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I love, LOVE this review! I love how smart and witty and insightful it is. I’ve not seen this film (I tend to shy away from Stewart Granger), but I HAVE to see this one.
Thanks so much for joining the blogathon with this fabulous review. 🙂
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Thank you, Ruth!
I’ve always run hot and cold about Mr.Granger, but this film is in the plus column. He’s perfect for the role of Philip Thorn. His beautifully menacing voice, his patrician manner, his slightly contemptuous attitude, even his flaring nostrils all come together here, and the result is great.
The film is currently showing on Netflix in the US. Perhaps it is available in Canada, too?
Thanks for including me in the blogathon. It was a lot of fun.
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Really enjoyed your witty and perceptive post. I agree, both Granger and Hobson are just too beautiful here, so it’s easy to overlook all their not-so-nice doin’s. And doing it it Technicolor, with gorgeous gowns and sumptuous decor, makes it all quite palatable. A case of rooting for the bad guys in this one.
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Thank you so much for your kind words.
Blanche Fury is just a beautiful movie. Fortunately, it is an all-around well-acted beautiful movie.
In some ways, it is really hard not to root for Stewart Granger in this film. He’s been totally, royally screwed out of the life that should be his. Sure, his bloodline triumphs in the end, but still.
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Wow. All I have to say is wow… THAT was intense!!! Haha! Loved your review and all the accompanying pictures 🙂
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Haha, thanks! It’s a beautiful, well-acted, and occasionally ridiculous movie. It is a lot of fun! I’m glad you enjoyed the review. It’s nice to see you back on WordPress.
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You’re welcome! Haha I think I have extra fun reading your review of it because I feel like I’m watching it with a friend who’s giving me all the dirty details and good snippets 😛 Thank you, it’s great to be welcomed back 🙂
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Mission accomplished, then. 🙂 Too bad we weren’t in the same room watching this movie, because that means we’d have eaten lots of amazing baked goods!
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Haha oh my goodness, YESSSS!! It would have been AMAZINGGG! 🙂
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Reblogged this on Rogues & Vagabonds.
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Thanks for the reblog, Sarah!
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Th showcasing of this twisted love story, gone awry is brilliantly written. Watching right now!
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Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed the review.
Please let me know what you think of the movie! I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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I have not seen this but now I have to! I like all the actors (you’re so right about the beautiful leads) and just the images you have here look gorgeous. Thanks for bringing this one to my attention and to the blogathon.
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It is just a beautiful movie, all-around. It’s well-acted, too, for what that’s worth. The plot is a bit absurd in spots, but the movie is soooo beautiful that it doesn’t matter!
This blogathon was so much fun, as it was last year. I love taking part in it…
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Great review and agree that it’s Valerie Hobson and Stewart Granger that keep you captivated. I’d never really considered them as villains – not because they’re ‘good’ but because the film makes it so easy for the viewer to overlook their dastardly deeds.
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And their motivation is quite understandable, too.
However, when you try to off a small child…you are a villain!
As for Blanche, she’s in more of a grey area.
But, everything they do is so beautiful and perfectly framed in a halo of light that their bad deeds almost don’t matter. Almost.
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“Things go from adultery to murder within a matter of days, such is their passion!” – Haaaaaaaaa!
Now I HAVE to see this movie and I basically shy away from costume dramas. Maedez, you have a sprightly wonderfully wry way of writing that made me breeze through your essay. It was a delightful read. As for “Blanche Fury”, I now must look for it. I’ve always liked Granger’s flaring nostrils and stone cold beauty even though I’m not a big fan of his. You’ve made the movie sound like a great ride as well. Thanxxx! I guess if one is going to be a villain, you might as well look gorgeous while doing it. ( Note to Self: Watch More Costume Dramas! )
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Thanks so much for your extremely kind words. I am glad you enjoyed the post.
I’m not a huge fan of Granger’s either, but there is no denying his suitability for this role. He and Valerie Hobson are a perfect match in this film.
Costume dramas are so much fun, even the cheesy ones.
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