Tue 8 Aug 2017
Archived Western Movie Review: YOUNG FURY (1965).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , Western movies[7] Comments
YOUNG FURY. Paramount Pictures, 1965. Rory Calhoun, Virginia Mayo, William Bendix, Lon Chaney [Jr.], Richard Arlen, John Agar, Preston Pierce, Jody McCrea, Merry Anders. Story & screenplay: Steve Fisher. Producer: A. C. Lyles. Director: Christian Nyby.
An outlaw who’s turned against his former gang (Rory Calhoun) returns to his hometown to make a stand against them, but in the meantime his son (Preston Pierce), having grown up alone, has formed his own gang of hooligans, and his burning desire is to spit in his father’s face for deserting him.
This mixture of the standard western with the juvenile delinquent saga of the 50’s misses on almost all cylinders, Richard Arlen, as the stalwart but luckless sheriff, might be pleased with his role in this movie, but except for William Bendix in a cameo part, nobody else.
PostScript: William Bendix died in 1964, and this was his last movie role. He played both dim-witted villains and comedy roles with equal ease. I can’t think of anyone who did it better.
August 8th, 2017 at 8:30 pm
Other than what I said about this movie when I wrote this review, I have to admit that I don’t remember anything else about it. The cast consists of a lot of old-timers, not quite including Rory Calhoun, but the fact is, his western movie-making days were almost over when he made this one. That he was old enough to play the father only reinforces the idea.
And as the son, Preston Pierce certainly made no lasting impression on me. Checking his resume on IMDb, he made four TV appearances in his lifetime, and six movies, of which this was the first.
August 8th, 2017 at 8:32 pm
I did not actually know, but spoke to A.C. Lyles on a variety of subjects, and he was not in any true sense a producer, but was a marvelous publicist, which was is route at paramount. So, no surprise that his personal films included a lot of people who had been successful. As for your assessment of the film, critical as your summary reads, it is, way too generous, although I agree Richard Arlen is welcome.
August 8th, 2017 at 11:11 pm
Too little, too late, and mostly either too old or too little talent. A pity to waste that cast, but wasted it is, though Arlen was appearing in a couple of these late shots at the “adult” Western staple of the late fifties.
This is the type film that reinforces Brian Garfield’s statement that they should have retired the Western film with Gary Cooper’s death, or at least declared a moratorium on the American ones until some fresh ideas developed.
August 8th, 2017 at 11:50 pm
Quite a few good westerns released after Gary Cooper’s death. Too many to name.
August 9th, 2017 at 4:24 am
The A.C. Lyles westerns were a sad bunch, particularly compared to the B-Westerns done by producer Alex Gordon at the same time.
August 9th, 2017 at 10:08 am
Producer A. C. Lyles has come up so often in the comments that I’ve decided to add him to the credits at the top of the review.
August 9th, 2017 at 11:11 pm
Barry,
Yes some great Westerns, but there was a period in the early sixties when the genre floundered with too many of these retrospective of aging actors Westerns. Even then some decent Westerns were made, but it is still a decent point made for a few years.