Young Roddy McDowell (Ben) is forced into slavery by his devious uncle George Sanders (Arthur). Sanders is scared that Roddy may be able to prove his real identity and take over the estate that Sanders is currently presiding over. Sanders wants to keep his eye on Roddy and sadistically punish him at the same time. McDowell grows into Tyrone Power and is soon off to pursue his own fortune as he goes on the run. He vows to return to a waiting Frances Farmer (Isabel) and to settle his own score with Sanders.The four main actors/actresses in this film had tragic outcomes in their lives and this is interesting in itself - the two main female leads spent time in mental institutions. With regards to the female cast, the best is Elsa Lanchester (Isobel) as the prostitute whilst top-billed island girl Gene Tierney (Eve) doesn't do much. In fact, the film is pretty boring whenever she is on screen and we have to endure some pretty inane dialogue. Turning to the male cast, it is George Sanders that excels as the villain of the piece and John Carradine (Caleb) plays a likable buddy for Tyrone on the island. A mention must also go to lawyer Dudley Digges (Bartolomew) who is very funny.Where would you rather live – on a stately home in Bristol or on a tropical island? That's the choice for Tyrone. Does he choose wisely?

I was surprised by 'Son of Fury', not expecting much, but it's actually beautifully constructed, with terrific writing and wonderful turns by the actors. Power is as solid as I ever saw him, Sanders is stupendous, and Dudley Digges straight out steals the show as the Barrister that no-one would ever want to battle. The tale of a man who starts poor, goes away to a South Pacific Island in order to seek rare pearls (for wealth), plotting his return to London to claim the estate and title that he's been cruelly denied and is rightfully his, to do so, using money to fight, to exact his revenge, but in the end give it all up to return to the Island and the heart-melting Eve (Gene Tierney) (for love) is beautifully told and tremendously touching.The great strength of this movie is its sharp observations about the great fraud of the class system, human rights, and what's really important in life. Digges (as the Barrister Pratt) sums things up at one point by saying, "Because they know it is only a sham that keeps the likes of them up and you down. The sham of blood. The truth is a man's a man whatever you name him."Hear hear. Those old movies, they did it well.

Based on Edison Marshall's 1941 novel entitled "Benjamin Blake," 1942's "Son of Fury" is a rip-roaring swashbuckler that features nary a single sword fight, despite taking place during the reign of George III (that would be between 1760 and 1820); there ARE several instances of most impressive fisticuffs, however. In the film, we meet young Benjamin, played with wide-eyed appeal by the 13-year-old Roddy McDowall. Suspected of being illegitimate in birth, Benjamin lives with his kindly gunsmith grandfather (Harry Davenport) until the fateful day when his cruel uncle, Sir Arthur (the typically excellent George Sanders), fetches him to Breetholm Manor and, fearing that Benjamin will one day be able to prove his ancestry and claim his inheritance, makes him a stable boy. Benjamin grows up to be a handsome young man, and now, as played by Tyrone Power (riding high on the success of 1940's "The Mark of Zorro"), after several violent turns with his uncle, flees to Polynesia to make his fortune. Entering into a pearl-diving endeavor with fellow sailor Caleb Green (an untypically likable John Carradine), he makes his pile, falls in love with a beautiful native girl who he dubs Eve (Gene Tierney, in her seventh film), and returns to Bristol to claim what is his. But many surprises await him on his return...."Son of Fury" is a marvelous adventure film, given the A-list treatment by 20th Century Fox. It features handsome production values, rugged direction by John Cromwell (father of modern-day actor James), and a beautiful score by Alfred Newman. Acting by one and all is first rate, including Frances Farmer (as Benjamin's bitchy cousin) and Elsa Lanchester (as a barmaid who helps Ben escape from the law). Tyrone and Gene make a wonderfully romantic pair in this, their first teaming; they would go on to appear together in 1946's "The Razor's Edge" and 1948's "That Wonderful Urge." Gene's many fans should enjoy the awesome sight of her doing a convincing, hip-shaking, hulalike dance in this film; she does manage to convince as a Polynesian, with only a few dozen lines of broken English (still, more than the six lines of dialogue she had in her third film, "Tobacco Road"). She is simply gorgeous here, and when Tyrone takes her to wife at one point and declares "No bride was ever more beautiful," the viewer is not inclined to argue. In her 1979 autobiography "Self-Portrait," Gene tells us that the film shoot on "Son of Fury" exposed her to mental illness for the first time; not her own (that would come over a decade later), but rather in her costar Farmer, who was just starting to evince symptoms and would be institutionalized two years later (and stay in mental hospitals for a good eight years). One would never know it, though, based on Farmer's fine work in this film. Actually, though, every single aspect of this film is just perfect; I just loved it from beginning to end. And at that end, in which every character gets precisely what he or she deserves, the viewer will likely feel inclined to stand up and cheer. Without giving away too much, let me just say that those who have seen such marvelous entertainments as "Dodsworth" and "Dark Passage" might know the type of crowd-pleasing final scene that is in store for them. "Here is rousing, robust, romantic entertainment," the trailer for "Son of Fury" proclaimed, and I could not agree more. Watch it alone or with the entire family; it is a perfect film for adventure-loving guys, romance-seeking ladies, and kiddies of all ages. More than highly recommended.

This is a pretty entertaining film that works pretty well due to decent writing and an excellent villain in the form of George Sanders. The film begins with a young boy being forcibly taken from his loving grandfather and the boy is made a stable boy for a rich baronet. It seems that this rich guy (Sanders) is actually the kid's uncle but instead of being kind, he treats the kid like dirt. The reasons are because the uncle wants to keep the family fortune for himself AND because something about his dead brother and his wife bother him so intensely that he wants to make their child's life hell. The boy is played by Roddy McDowell, but after the first 15 minutes or so, he is "Hollywood aged" and is played by Tyrone Power. Power is very good in the film, but a few macho scenes didn't seem all that plausible--especially after seeing his rather scrawny frame once he took his shirt off part-way through the film.Well, Power cannot stay at the manor to take the abuse forever, especially since the uncle seems intent on eventually killing him--beating him savagely and making up a story that Power attacked and tried to kill him! So, he runs off to sea and meets up with a friend, John Carradine --in one of his non-crazy or monster roles. Together they plan to jump ship, make their fortunes and return to England. Well, all this DOESN'T go exactly as planned and Power meets a beautiful native girl played pretty convincingly by Gene Tierney. What happens next I really don't want to divulge--it would spoil the film's many surprises. However, the film does have many twists and surprises--especially at the end and enough that it elevates this film above the norm and makes it very watchable--nearly earning it a score of 8.