In 1860's England, proud but poor Blanche Fuller has had her fill of being a companion to rich, crochety old ladies. Ambitious and very strong-willed, Blanche doesn't have the personality to be a successful long-term employee to those who patronize her, so she has left a whole host of positions prior to the one which begins the film. A way out of the despised situation arrives in the form of a letter from her wealthy uncle, Simon Fury. Due to differences of opinion between her father and her uncle, the families have long been estranged; however, Simon is in need of a governess for his motherless granddaughter, Lavinia, and Blanche is offered the position. Accepting immediately, Blanche takes up residence at Clare---the ancestral estate her uncle has recently acquired from the Fury family. (At the time of the property acquisition, Simon Fuller chose to take on the Fury name as well.)
The estate's steward, Phillip Thorn (Stewart Granger), believes he is Clare's rightful owner, as his father was Adam Fury. However, since documentation proving the marriage between his mother and Adam Fury has never been found, his legitimacy is denied, as is his claim to the property. Unwilling to accept such circumstances, Thorn has become obsessed with finding a way to make Clare his own.
Simon's son, Lawrence, asks Blanche to marry him, and through her acceptance, she becomes mistress of the estate. Though Blanche and Phillip Thorn had gotten off on a bad note, they soon become lovers; with Thorn obsessed with obtaining what he believes to belong to him, and Blanche, ambitious and having no love for her husband, the two put in plan a motion to murder those standing in the way of what they want. Whether their plan is successful or not will play out in the balance of the film.
While not out on DVD, the film is available through Net Flix instant viewing and on YouTube.
Happy viewing!
The estate's steward, Phillip Thorn (Stewart Granger), believes he is Clare's rightful owner, as his father was Adam Fury. However, since documentation proving the marriage between his mother and Adam Fury has never been found, his legitimacy is denied, as is his claim to the property. Unwilling to accept such circumstances, Thorn has become obsessed with finding a way to make Clare his own.
Simon's son, Lawrence, asks Blanche to marry him, and through her acceptance, she becomes mistress of the estate. Though Blanche and Phillip Thorn had gotten off on a bad note, they soon become lovers; with Thorn obsessed with obtaining what he believes to belong to him, and Blanche, ambitious and having no love for her husband, the two put in plan a motion to murder those standing in the way of what they want. Whether their plan is successful or not will play out in the balance of the film.
While not a spectacular film, Blanche Fury is, nevertheless, solid and interesting...a definite 3 stars for me. I had never heard of Valerie Hobson prior to seeing her here, but that doesn't matter. She was quite believable as Blanche. I really liked Stewart Granger in his role. Though his Phillip was an obsessed, driven, mostly unlikable man, I enjoyed the way Mr. Granger brought him to life. Plus, he's always great to look at! I might have rated the film higher had there not been some plot developments which I found totally inconsistent with the times. Since I don't want to provide spoilers, I will just say that with the information which came out at the trial, I didn't find the townspeople's response to be in keeping with the era being portrayed. For that reason, I decided to downgrade to 3 stars.
While not out on DVD, the film is available through Net Flix instant viewing and on YouTube.
Happy viewing!
