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Lang's Fury stands the test of time.

Monday Jul 11, 2005.     By Joel Wicklund

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If "Metropolis" (1927) and "M" (1931) were the only two films he had ever made, Fritz Lang's place in movie history would be secure. "Metropolis" had more influence on the imagery of science fiction than any film ever made, and its inspiration can be clearly seen in modern movies ranging from the great (1982's "Blade Runner") to the terrible (this year's "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith"). "M" changed the psychological dynamics of the thriller forever, paving the way for everything from Hitchcock's "Rope" to "The Silence of the Lambs."

While those two touchstones loom large over his career, Lang had a long and prolific career with many more memorable films. Fleeing the oppression of the Nazis, he left Germany (and his wife, who had embraced the Third Reich) in 1933. After a year in Paris, he came to America. His first film here was "Fury" (1936), an uneven but still powerful condemnation of mob justice that recently made its belated DVD debut.

Spencer Tracy stars as Joe Wilson, an honest working man with plans to marry his beloved Katherine (Sylvia Sidney). While driving out to meet her, he is stopped by a small town sheriff's deputy. A kidnapping has taken place and through some pretty flimsy evidence (including some peanuts in his pocket), Joe is held as a suspect.

Despite the sloppy police work, Joe seems certain to go free once his background is fully checked. But some idle gossip at a barbershop spreads like contamination, sweeping much of the town into a rabble of rage, intent on punishing the accused without waiting for an official charge, let alone a trial.

The tiny police force is unable to hold off the mob and a politically timid governor refuses to call in the National Guard. The horde overtakes the jail but their efforts to remove Joe from the premises are thwarted when they can't get the keys to his cell. Instead, they set the building on fire and even dynamite it, seemingly dooming the innocent man (and his poor little pet mutt) to a gruesome end.

Presumed dead, Joe actually escapes when the dynamite brings down one of the building's walls. Instead of making his survival known, he hides away in his brothers' home, plotting with them to bring his persecutors to justice for the murder they almost committed. A changed man, Joe now seeks only revenge, even letting Katherine believe he is dead for fear of undoing his scheme.

Through his brothers, Joe gets the district attorney on the case. Katherine's testimony, some newsreel footage, and a crucial piece of evidence seem to ensure the key figures in the mob will get the death penalty in court. So the film's central question becomes whether Joe is willing to show more mercy than he was granted, or if his anger has overtaken his own morals.

Made at MGM (known more for its glossy musicals and melodramas than its hard-hitting dramas), "Fury" was not immune to studio interference, including the imposition of an ending that Lang hated and most viewers will have a hard time swallowing. The film is also marred by some surprising overacting by Tracy, usually one of Hollywood's more effectively understated leading men. As a whole, the movie is also better in the scenes that build to the jail fire than in the courtroom sequences that follow.

Despite those complaints, "Fury" still has enough exceptional moments to warrant repeat viewings. With some probing camerawork and masterful composition, Lang depicts an urban nightmare thick with tension. Tracy's desperation as the mob overcomes the police is countered by an unexpected show of affection for his dog (a star pooch who would later earn immortality as Toto in "The Wizard of Oz"). But this brief glimpse of humanity is quickly overcome by the gleeful, sinister eyes of the mob watching their inferno rise. Lang also subtly keeps the pace building even in the more talky sequences in the second half of the film, letting overlapping dialogue lead from one scene to another.

In spite of MGM's efforts to sanitize it, "Fury" remains a streetwise feature. The sexual subtext in the exchanges between Tracy and Sidney in the opening scenes adds plenty of suggestion to their otherwise wholesome romantic dialogue. There is some wonderful dark humor in the barbershop scene involving the proprietor's grisly impulses. And those who remember Bruce Cabot from his stiff performance as the romantic lead in "King Kong" will be pleasantly surprised by the convincing seediness he brings to a key role as the town's primary bad apple.

Lang would make better films in his years in America, including "You Only Live Once," "Man Hunt," "The Woman in the Window," "Scarlet Street" and "The Big Heat." But while no masterpiece, "Fury" shows that even when his projects were compromised, the distinctive edges of a Fritz Lang film remained pretty sharp.

Available separately or as part of a "Controversial Classics" box set, Warner Brothers' "Fury" DVD boasts nearly pristine image quality, a theatrical trailer, and a unique audio commentary track featuring filmmaker/historian Peter Bogdanovich and actual recordings of Lang (who died in 1976) from interviews Bogdanovich conducted with him in the mid-1960s.

Films featured in DVDetours™ may be difficult to find at many video stores but are widely available from some of the online rental services, such as Netflix, Green Cine, QwikFliks and Blockbuster Online. Inventories vary from company to company and DVDetours has no connection to any of these services. © 2005 Joel Wicklund