Fury at Furnace Creek

The title "Fury at Furnace Creek" is a little bit of false advertising. There's not much fury in this movie. This movie is more of a detective story than a western. That's fine. I enjoyed the mystery. It just wasn't what I was expecting. "Fury at Furnace Creek" is a beautiful looking, well acted (mostly) movie. Even though I enjoyed "Fury at Furnace Creek", I can't see myself watching it again anytime soon.

A superior B Feature. Mature and Langan are the sons determined to prove their father, the commander of a lonely cavalry outpost, acted correctly and was not responsible for the fort's destruction in an Indian attack. In doing so they expose a plot by Dekker to buy up cavalry land rich in mineral deposits for a pittance. Script and direction give the production a stylish edge. It's not the question if Victor Mature is a good actor or not. I wouldn't like to decide this. It's like real life: Some real people also leave the impression of being bad actors. It's Mature's face that is interesting. It looks not only attractive, but uncommon, too. Behind it seems to be much more than you can immediately see, waiting to be revealed at any moment, wherefore it's interesting to watch him.

Bruce Humberstone directed mainly B pictures - competently, by and large, but nothing too memorable. FURY AT FURNACE CREEK is an odd name to give a Western, but there is high quality written all over it. The direction is assured and even inspired, resting on strong dialogue, convincing characters, unexpected twists, superior cinematography - the horse rides and chases against desert background might just rate the finest I have ever watched - and far better than average acting.

Victor Mature posts one of his best performances, in line with MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, KISS OF DEATH, ESCORT WEST, his roles as Demetrius in three different films, and - to me the jewel in the crown - his self-deprecating performance in Vittorio de Sica's AFTER THE FOX, as a has-been actor. In FURY, Mature dominates the screen. His scenes with lovely Coleen Gray convey a chemistry that contrasts with the film noir-like tones of this Western, where murder is being planned against Captain Walsh, remarkably played by Reginald Gardiner, as a decent man who is sinking into alcohol because of his betrayal of his commanding officer, General Blackwell, who reportedly issued an order that caused the massacre at Fort Furnace Creek.

Albert Dekker as top villain Leverett; Charles Stevens as murderous hispanic gunhand José Artego; and Charles Kemper as Peaceful Jones, the comic relief carrying a large tree trunk, are unforgettable.

Glenn Langan plays the other Blackwell brother. I would have liked to see a more developed part there. Langan does well enough with what he is given, but his sudden exit down a stream strikes me as unsatisfying in an otherwise top grade Western. The other star is lost to a disappointing soundtrack reminiscent of STAGECOACH (1939).

Despite those drawbacks, I would include FURNACE among the 20 best Westerns ever made. Real must-see.

At the beginning of the film, Captain Walsh (Reginald Gardiner) announces to a group of folks on a wagon train that he and his cavalry were ordered back to their fort by General Blackwell. These people beg the cavalry to stay, as there are hostile Indians in the region...but he leaves. Not surprisingly, the settlers are soon massacred. The problem is that the General insists he never ordered the Captain back to the fort...and the Captain insists that he did. At a court martial to decide the case, General Blackwell drops dead on the witness stand and no one is able to prove anything...and the General dies with a stain on his record.

After his father's death, Captain Blackwell (Glenn Langan) goes off looking for proof that his father was not responsible for the settlers' deaths. At the same time, unbeknownst to him, his ne'er do well brother, Cash (Victor Mature) is also investigating under cover. Considering Cash is a professional gambler and an embarrassment to the family, he can poke around much better than his brother and soon infiltrates a gang who appear responsible for the massacre...and their toady, Captain Walsh. What's next? See the film.

This is a very good western in many ways. The biggest plus is the plot. About 95% of all westerns have three basic plots....but this one is different. The other big plus is Victor Mature, an A-list actor, starring in the film. Often in the 1950s, Fox and the other studios would usually use B-listers (or C-listers) for westerns and the A-list ones for the prestige pictures. Here, however, you get Mature as well as a pretty good villain (Albert Dekker). All in all, very good...nearly earning a 9.

When a general gives an order to divert a military escort from a wagon train to the remote Fort Furnace Creek, the Apache leader "Little Dog" sees his chance to reduce everything to rubble... The horrified authorities proceed to court-martial the general, but he dies on the witness stand and it falls to his two, estranged, sons, to get to the bottom of this mystery. One, "Rufe" (Glenn Lankan) a soldier; the other "Cash" (Victor Mature) an astute gambler handy with his six-gun. The latter gets to the town where one of the chief witnesses against his father "Capt. Walsh" (Reginald Gardiner) has take refuge in the bottle. Clearly seeing he has something on his mind, "Cash" attempts to find out what. The arrival of the other brother, the murder of "Walsh" and a note that might clear things up all feature as the story comes to an head - appropriately, in the burnt out ruins of the fort. It's a solid, action-packed adventure that gives Mature a chance to be more than the usual swarthy, sandalled hero. Coleen Grey ("Molly") introduces the tiniest element of romance, but nothing to clutter the quickly-paced plot that amalgamates just about every theme from the genre. Some effort has been put into the production, and I quite enjoyed it.