The plot of "Blanche Fury" is very loosely based on an actual Victorian murder case. A young woman named Blanche Fuller is employed as the governess for the granddaughter of her rich uncle Simon, who has taken the surname "Fury" after inheriting a stately home and country estate from a distant relative, Adam Fury. Desperate for status and position, Blanche marries her widowed cousin Laurence, the father of the little girl she is looking after, but the marriage is not a happy one. Dissatisfied with the cold and unloving Laurence, she begins an affair with Philip Thorn, Simon's handsome steward.Thorn, however, thinks that he should be more than just Simon's servant. He is the illegitimate son of the otherwise childless Adam Fury and believes that his parents were secretly married; if this were true he, and not Simon, would of course be the legitimate heir to the estate. When he fails to find any evidence of this secret marriage, he and Blanche conspire to murder Simon and Lawrence, believing that the local gypsies, who have a grudge against Simon, will be blamed for the killings. (The film's treatment of the gypsies, who are portrayed as violent, thieving vagabonds, would doubtless be regarded as offensive today). Thus begins a cycle of bloodshed and retribution. (One scene seems to be a deliberate borrowing from a very similar scene in "Gone with the Wind, made a few years earlier).The British cinema during this period could often be overly restrained, even when dealing with subjects which might have called for a more openly emotional approach; "Brief Encounter" and "The Browning Version", for example, are two films which take the stiff-upper-lip approach to the subject of marital infidelity. Just occasionally, however, the British could go to the opposite extreme and produce some full-blooded, screaming melodrama, both in contemporary ("The Madonna of the Seven Moons") and in historical ("The Wicked Lady") dramas. Thorn is played by Stewart Granger, who seemed to specialise in handsome but dangerous rogues, especially in period dramas. (He also starred in "The Madonna of the Seven Moons"). Blanche is played by the lovely Valerie Hobson who, fifteen years later, was inadvertently to be caught up in a notorious scandal herself; she was the wife of John Profumo, the Conservative cabinet minister who was forced to resign over his affair with a call- girl. Unlike some other historical melodramas from this period, such as "The Wicked Lady" or the American-made "Dragonwyck", "Blanche Fury" abandons the gloomy, Gothic, film-noir-influenced black- and-white look for vivid colour. (Like "An Ideal Husband" it can perhaps be seen as an early example of the "heritage cinema" style). It shows, moreover, just how well this alternative approach could work. Rather than using a dark, gloomy style to emphasise the dark deeds of Blanche and Thorn, director Marc Allegret chooses to contrast those deeds with the beauty of the rolling English countryside (on the Derbyshire-Staffordshire borders) and the grandeur of a Georgian stately home (called Clare Hall in the film, but actually Wootton Lodge). Allegret's reasoning was presumably that, as Thorn's motive for the murders was the sin of covetousness, it was necessary to show just what he was coveting in all its full glory. (Blanche seems to have been motivated by her guilty passion for Thorn as much as by financial greed, but in his case it is clear that he loved the estate far more than he loved her). Despite its political incorrectness, "Blanche Fury" remains a very watchable example of a passionate forties melodrama. 7/10

This is a hidden gem. It resembled Gone with the Wind, in its production values, with Valerie Hobsons performance a stand out revelation. She was a beautiful and superbly talented actress and I am ashamed to say that I had never seen any of her other performances. She was top notch. Granger was at the top of his delivery too, always putting his best foot forward to inspire the female fans. This is an example of an intelligently made film with charm, wonderful colour and production values and a good strong story line. It satisfies but does not stupefy. The acting is perfect in this melodrama genre piece. Great work and a great watch. Enjoy !

Blanche Fury (1948)A highly romantic and somewhat familiar tale of a penniless young woman moving into a house with wealth. It's a British affair, literally...it's both a forbidden love story and a highly structured tale of the class structure in 19th Century England. It's also in full Technicolor, and so has a rich, beautiful, warm quality. In all it's an impressive little period piece film, but you have to like this kind of story to get through it happily.The leading woman is not the compelling innocent that Joan Fontaine pulls of in "Rebecca," or "Jane Eyre." In fact, she a little offputting--not because she strong, but because she's a little practical, not a romantic type, and movies like this work with types. The leading man, the embittered and handsome Stewart Granger, is better, and as his role increases the movie gels. The plot does have some dramatic turns, if turns is the word. It's better to say that it has some really ruthless moments, though you can slightly see them coming. The motive is love, though, and in love everything is possible, if not exactly a good idea. And this devious violence is some explanation for the unsympathetic nature of our main woman, the title character. Fury, by they way, is just the last name of the family in question.The house, by the way, is a real mansion in England, Wooton Lodge. And the life it depicts is probably pretty accurate, though the mischief of the gypsies is hypothetical.

Blanche (Valerie Hobson) gets invited to Clare mansion by her uncle Simon (Walter Fitzgerald) to be governess to his grand-daughter Lavinia (Suzanne Gibbs). His son, Laurence (Michael Gough), stands to inherit the estate and sees Blanche as his future wife. The surname that they take is "Fury", after generations of descendants with that name, and Blanche is told to adopt the new surname. However, Simon is not a true "Fury". The only person with a claim to being a true "Fury" is Philip Thorn (Stewart Granger) who is the illegitimate son of Adam Fury. Simon keeps Philip employed as a servant and both he and Blanche are warned not to socialize by Simon. The story sees Philip trying to prove his rightful inheritance while Blanche is pushed into a marriage with Laurence.....however, destiny intervenes for Philip and Blanche....Its a good story thats well-acted by all. The version that I watched was slightly too dark in that I couldn't really make out what was happening in the night scenes. However, the colour, costume and settings add to the atmosphere - you may guess the ending but it doesn't take any of the enjoyment away from the story.It was a better film than I thought it would be.