The Furies (1950)

Sensational! This Anthony Mann western (one of three he directed in 1950) was not a success when first released and for many years was in the shadow of Mann’s other 1950 masterwork, WINCHESTER 73 but time has been kind to THE FURIES and it’s amazingly fresh. The term Freudian western is applicable here. The iron willed daughter (Barbara Stanwyck) of an equally strong willed cattle and land baron (Walter Huston) finds herself beset by both a cold hearted gambler (Wendell Corey) and her father’s new wife to be (Judith Anderson), the combination of which threatens to destroy her intense personal relationship (as in Electra complex) with her father. A taut screenplay by Oscar winner Charles Schnee (BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL) and based on a novel by Niven Busch (DUEL IN THE SUN) under Mann’s dexterous direction gives birth to a complex and daring western. Stanwyck and Huston are superb here and their scenes together positively crackle. With Judith Anderson, Gilbert Roland, Beulah Bondi, Albert Dekker, Thomas Gomez and John Bromfield.