Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake (1942)

Written by CinemaSerf on June 26, 2022

Tyrone Power makes for quite a stylish hero in this tale of a young boy "Ben" (initially played by a young Roddy McDowell) who is dispossessed of his rightful inheritance by his avaricious uncle "Sir Arthur" (George Sanders). His childhood just one long grind under his uncle's unkindly boot, he stows away on a ship to the South Seas where, with his shipmate "Caleb" (John Carradine) they amass a fortune in pearls before a passing Dutch frigate takes him home again, this time wealthy enough to challenge his previous persecutor and claim his title, estate and his girl - the daughter of his unscrupulous uncle - "Isobel" (Frances Farmer). It's a bit sluggish at times, this - but a few fun cameos from Elsa Lanchester and Dudley Digges as the wily "Benjamin Pratt" lead us nicely to quite a lively bit of fisticuffs and an ending that is really quite fitting.