Fury (1936)

100% of critics liked it
(13 reviews)
86% of users liked it
(2,773 ratings)

Fritz Lang's first American film is a vigorous and perceptive indictment of mob law, starring Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sidney. Katherine (Sidney) leaves her boyfriend, Joe Wilson (Tracy), behind in their Midwestern hometown when she takes a job in another city. Joe is a decent, hard-working soul,… More Fritz Lang's first American film is a vigorous and perceptive indictment of mob law, starring Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sidney. Katherine (Sidney) leaves her boyfriend, Joe Wilson (Tracy), behind in their Midwestern hometown when she takes a job in another city. Joe is a decent, hard-working soul, who wants to save up to buy a gas station and looks forward to the future when he and Katherine can get married. A year later, Joe is traveling to meet Katherine so that they can be married. Driving through a small town, Joe is stopped by a deputy sheriff waving a shotgun. Apparently there has been a kidnapping, and the fact that Joe has peanuts in his pocket circumstantially incriminates him in the crime. Joe is arrested and jailed. As Joe sits in his jail cell, the local townspeople begin to talk and whisper and spread rumors. Finally, a lynch mob forms and heads toward the jail. The mob tries to storm the jail and frustrated over their inability to penetrate the prison walls, they set the jail on fire. Joe barely manages to escape ("I could smell myself burning"), but the mob thinks that Joe has been burned to death. Behind the scenes, and with the help of his brothers, Joe tries to rig the verdict in the impending trial of the 22 vigilantes. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 36 min.
Directed By: Fritz Lang
Written By: Bartlett Cormack, Fritz Lang
Genres: Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1936 Wide
On DVD: May 10, 2005

Critic Reviews

Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
The film's message is resonant far beyond the moment of its creation, speaking even to our modern-day political reality.
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Study of mob violence featuring early Spencer Tracy.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
The DVD, part of Warner's Controversial Films (Advise and Consent, Bad Day at Black Rock). contained illuminating commentary from writer-director Peter Bogdanovich and interview with the film's genius helmer Fritz Lang.
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Unforgettable attack on lynch mobs - extraordinary drama
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Probing mass psychology and mob violence in a small-town, Lang's first American film, starring Spencer Tracy, expresses his pessimistic view of human nature that defines all of his American ones.
Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
An important milestone in the career of one of the great directors of silent and sound cinema
Doug Cummings, Filmjourney
Fury offers a striking portrait of the structure of society; its assorted classes, organizations and technologies, and methods of law and order...
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
Image and sound quality is serviceable but this is still one of the most noteworthy DVD premieres of the year.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
Lang's first English language film seemed to anticipate the horrors at Abu Ghraib as far back as 1936.
Dan Lybarger, Nitrate Online
While marred by a pat ending, Fritz Lang's examination of lynch mobs is still terrifying.

Read all 10 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Randy T

Fritz Lang's first American film after fleeing Nazi Germany and the oppression of Adolph Hitler. A predecessor to the classic film noir of the 1940s and 50s, Fury has a wealth of elements which would later define the noir style. Outstanding performances from Spencer Tracy and… More
Fritz Lang's first American film after fleeing Nazi Germany and the oppression of Adolph Hitler. A predecessor to the classic film noir of the 1940s and 50s, Fury has a wealth of elements which would later define the noir style. Outstanding performances from Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sidney help cement this 'wrong man' courtroom drama as a true timeless classic.
AJ V

I loved this movie, Tracy is an innocent man fighting for his life, and everyone wants to kill him! It's so exciting and suspenseful. A must see.
Stella D

it's still a powerful film about mob mentality and perhaps more about anarchism than lynching since it ignores the obvious racial issue. otherwise it seems a pretty glaring omission since at least 80% of lynching victims were black. i have to believe the studio wouldn't… More
it's still a powerful film about mob mentality and perhaps more about anarchism than lynching since it ignores the obvious racial issue. otherwise it seems a pretty glaring omission since at least 80% of lynching victims were black. i have to believe the studio wouldn't allow it to be referenced for commercial reasons. the film can also be read as anti-democracy given that the original title was mob rule. thx v :) mgm invades warner territory of socially conscious films. great performance by spencer tracy as everyman.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In "Fury," Joe Wilson(Spencer Tracy) and Katherine Grant(Sylvia Sidney) are madly in love and want to get married but times are tough and she has to take a job teaching in another city. Joe vows to come get her once he has saved up enough money. He… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "Fury," Joe Wilson(Spencer Tracy) and Katherine Grant(Sylvia Sidney) are madly in love and want to get married but times are tough and she has to take a job teaching in another city. Joe vows to come get her once he has saved up enough money. He invests in a gas station which thrives by its close location to a new racetrack, saving up for a car in the bargain.(He works there with his two brothers(Frank Albertson & George Wolcott) who he persuaded to have nothing to do with a local racketeer.) On the way to collect his fiancee, Joe is stopped by the police and held on suspicion in a local kidnapping case. But the public hears something else and rumors spread...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Fury" is directed by Fritz Lang who left Germany one step ahead of the Nazis. The movie is a powerful cautionary tale about lynching that still resonates today. It should be mentioned that Lang could not mention race but then he did not have to.[/font]
Henrik S

A grim tale of a man searching for vengeance after being unrightfully lynched by a small-town American mob. Firtz Lang's handwriting can be spotted all over the move, moral ambiguity, the disgusting animal that is the nameless common man, burlesque characters and a very bold,… More
A grim tale of a man searching for vengeance after being unrightfully lynched by a small-town American mob. Firtz Lang's handwriting can be spotted all over the move, moral ambiguity, the disgusting animal that is the nameless common man, burlesque characters and a very bold, figurative direction. Spencer Tracy opens up during the latter half of the movie, when he finally turns into an avenging broken man. The rest of the cast is solid and believable. The story is not the key of the picture, but the questions of justice, right and wrong, self-righteousness and so forth and here, Fritz Lang shows that the was a pioneer of avant-garde movie making, preparing the way for such emblematic masters of ambiguity such as Lars von Trier.

Cast

            Spencer Tracy as Joe Wilson

            Sylvia Sidney as Katherine Grant

            Walter Abel as District Attorney

            Bruce Cabot as Kirby Dawson

            Edward Ellis as Sheriff Hummel

            Walter Brennan as "Buggs" Meyers

            Frank Albertson as Charlie Wilson

            Erville Alderson as Plumber

            Herbert Ashley as Oscar

            Leila Bennett as Edna Hooper

            Clara Blandick as Judge's Wife

            Ward Bond as Objector

            Frederick Burton as Judge Hopkins

            Ralph Bushman as Young Teacher

            Nora Cecil as Albert's Mother

            George Chandler as Milt Jackson

            Harvey Clark as Pippen

            Charles Coleman as Innkeeper

            Alexander Cross as Guard

            Esther Dale as Mrs. Whipple

            Jack Daley as Factory Foreman

            Helen Flint as Franchette

            Mary Foy as Woman

            Roger Gray as Stranger

            Jonathan Hale as Defense Attorney

            Ben Hall as Goofy

            Sherry Hall as Court Clerk

            Edna M. Harris as Woman

            Raymond Hatton as Hector

            Harry Hayden as Lockup Keeper

            Sam Hayes as Announcer

            Daniel L. Haynes as Taxi Driver

            Howard Hickman as Governor

            Robert E. Homans as Guard

            Arthur Hoyt as Grouch

            Si Jenks as Uncle Billy

            Clarence Kolb as Pippen/ Burgermeister

            Edward J. Le Saint as Doctor

            Murdock MacQuarrie as Dawson's Friend

            Wally Maher as Man

            Edwin Maxwell as Vickery

            Mira McKinney as Woman

            Esther Muir as Girl in Nightclub

            Franklin Parker as Man

            Victor Potel as Jorgeson

            Eddie Quillan as Peanut Vendor

            James Quinn as Dawson's Friend

            Bert Roach as Waiter

            Christian Rub as Ahem

            Sid Saylor as Baggage Clerk

            Will Stanton as Drunk

            Carl Stockdale as Hardware Man

            Arthur Stone as Durkin

            Frank Sully as Dynamiter

            Gertrude Sutton as Mrs. Tuttle

            Minerva Urecal as Bessie

            Guy Usher as Assistant Defense Attorney

            George Walcott as Tom Wilson

            Morgan Wallace as Fred Garrett

            Huey White as Man

            Duke York as Taxi Driver

            Tom Mahoney as Bailiff

            Frank Mills as Dawson's Friend

            Janet Young as Woman

            Raymond Brown as Farmer

            Ted Offenbecker as Defendant

            Edwin J. Brady as Dawson's Friend

            Dutch Hendrian as Miner

            Albert Taylor as Old Man

            Tommy Tomlinson as Reporter

            Al Herman as Dawson's Friend

            George Offerman as Defendant
See full cast