Desert Fury (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
Lizabeth Scott stars as gorgeous 19 yr. old husky blonde Paula Haller, daughter of powerful Nevada saloon/casino owner, Fritzi (the great Mary Astor) called the Purple Sage in Lewis Allen's lurid 1947 film noir crime thriller, 'Desert Fury'. Paula quits boarding school, heads home to a small mining town, & falls for gambler/racketeer, Eddie Bendix (John Hodiak); who has just come home from L.A. after having left quickly when his 1st wife died under suspicious circumstances.
Eddie & Fritzi were once romantically involved. So now Fritzi - who has a bad reputation & wants the best for her daughter - hires Paula's reputable old lover, nice-guy cop Tom Hanson (Burt Lancaster), to try to distract her rebellious daughter's affections away from cheap gangster Eddie to separate them. A myriad of love triangles {even a seemingly homosexual one concerning Hodiak & a character played by Wendell Corey} & deadly plot lines ensue.
This steamy film noir contains overwrought melodramatics, absurd romances, & preposterous plot points that were hard to swallow, for me. But, despite its credibility issues, the film still managed to keep a powerful hold over me; thanks mostly to the charismatic performances by its intriguing cast, & and the stunning look of it all; that's a huge credit to Edward Cronjager & Charles Lang's vibrant Technicolor cinematography -- just incredible. I also enjoyed Miklos Rozsa's moody music.
Entrancing as Lizabeth Scott is, and good as Hodiak & Lancaster are ... it is veteran thespian Mary Astor who upstages everyone else. This movie plays like a strange dream. There is a surreal quality to it all. As mentioned, the absurdity of the plot points prevents me from loving this movie. It's also a downer of a movie with an artificial happy ending tacked on. Still, this is an odd duck of a movie, especially for 1947, and I kinda sorta dug the bizarreness of it all. Mild recommendation.
Eddie & Fritzi were once romantically involved. So now Fritzi - who has a bad reputation & wants the best for her daughter - hires Paula's reputable old lover, nice-guy cop Tom Hanson (Burt Lancaster), to try to distract her rebellious daughter's affections away from cheap gangster Eddie to separate them. A myriad of love triangles {even a seemingly homosexual one concerning Hodiak & a character played by Wendell Corey} & deadly plot lines ensue.
This steamy film noir contains overwrought melodramatics, absurd romances, & preposterous plot points that were hard to swallow, for me. But, despite its credibility issues, the film still managed to keep a powerful hold over me; thanks mostly to the charismatic performances by its intriguing cast, & and the stunning look of it all; that's a huge credit to Edward Cronjager & Charles Lang's vibrant Technicolor cinematography -- just incredible. I also enjoyed Miklos Rozsa's moody music.
Entrancing as Lizabeth Scott is, and good as Hodiak & Lancaster are ... it is veteran thespian Mary Astor who upstages everyone else. This movie plays like a strange dream. There is a surreal quality to it all. As mentioned, the absurdity of the plot points prevents me from loving this movie. It's also a downer of a movie with an artificial happy ending tacked on. Still, this is an odd duck of a movie, especially for 1947, and I kinda sorta dug the bizarreness of it all. Mild recommendation.