The Sound of Fury

The Sound of Fury

The Sound of Fury

Retitled 'Try and Get Me' for re-release, this crime drama flows better under its original title, with 'Fury' referring to swelling mob anger as an unemployed father confesses to aiding in the murder of a man he was holding for ransom. And yet, while angry mobs and the sort of sensationalistic newspaper reporting that encourages mob hysteria are important factors, they are left to the final third of the movie with the bulk of time spent on the budding friendship between the father and psychopath who lures him into a life of crime. This is a positive in that the film exposes the vulnerability of men without steady jobs and bills and personal pride to contend with. The first hour of the movie also gives Lloyd Bridges a chance to a shine in a tricky turn that requires him to talk and act sanely with a wild streak bubbling just beneath the surface. The final half-hour of the film is less effective than it could have been though. The film's messages are hammered home with the newspaper reporter character bluntly told "as a journalist you have a great responsibility" and "men don't live in a vacuum". Lead actor Frank Lovejoy also has a hard time playing mentally unhinged in a credible manner. With such a solid first hour though, this is a difficult movie to overlook and it remains well filmed towards the end, with lots of creative camera angles, even when the material turns didactic.

The unemployed Howard Tyler (Frank Lovejoy) is desperate for a job since he is married with children and his wife Judy (Kathleen Ryan) is pregnant. When he meets the "bon vivant" Jerry Slocum (Lloyd Bridges), the stranger offers a job position to Howard. Soon he learns that Jerry is a small-time thief and his job would be to drive the getaway car after the heist. Howard improves the life of his family and tells that he is working in the night shift of a factory. Meanwhile, the journalist Gil Stanton (Richard Carlson) that works in a tabloid is assigned by the owner to promote the thefts to increase the selling of newspaper. When Jerry kidnaps the son of a millionaire, he brutally kills the man and forces Howard to help him to dump the corpse in the sea. Then he asks for ransom to the family. When the boy is found, Stanton incites the population telling that the abductors are monsters. When Howard and Jerry are arrested, a mob threatens their lives in front of the police station. How will the police officers protect the prisoners? "The Sound of Fury" is a film with a simple storyline and an impressive conclusion. The manipulation of the masses by the "brown press" (tabloid) to sell newspapers is impressive and the consequence is scary. The reaction of the uncontrollable violent mob is the best part of this movie and shows the power of the free press, for the good or for the bad. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "Justiça Injusta ("Justice Unjust")

A harrowing indictment of lynch mob violence, The Sound of Fury (AKA Try and Get Me) pulls no punches. Out of work family man Frank Lovejoy gets involved in small time stick-ups with sociopath narcissist, Lloyd Bridges (yes, the Sea Diver star). Eventually, they progress to kidnapping. Bridges' true character comes out and leads to murder. Lovejoy's family man breaks down, drinks heavily and confesses his duplicity to a woman he has picked up. She goes to the police and the two are arrested. A local scandal sheet starts whipping the community into a frenzy, an announcer actually calls for a lynching on the radio and soon a mob takes out Lovejoy and Bridges as they await trial. That's it -- and that last scene is absolutely terrifying. This was a courageous movie to make at the height of the McCarthy era (1950). The story was inspired by a 1933 lynching in San Jose of two kidnapping suspects; a murder by mob that was actually condoned by then Calif. Gov. James Rolph. The movie conveys a real ambiance of poverty and grittiness beyond the typical film noir posturings of the era. Lovejoy and Bridges are at their best. The Lovejoy character is sympathetic and fragile while the Bridges character is a true predator. And dig the weird narcissism and almost gay vibe that Bridges gives off when he poses in the mirror for Lovejoy at their first meeting. Director Cy Enfield was gray-listed and split for the UK where he did the great Hell Drivers (1957) and Zulu (1964). This is his forgotten masterpiece and actually outdoes the similar Fury (1936) by director Fritz Lang.

Watched this film tonight for the first time and expected a standard film noir but got a thrilling story of a heartless killer (Lloyd Bridges), a man whose life is spiraling out of control (Frank Lovejoy) and an ending that left me speechless. I am shocked that this film is not talked about more in the lists of the best noirs of all time.

This sad history really happened on thirties in San Jose California and later a book and on fifties into a movie about a jobless guy played by Lovejoy who try gets a job without success, so find a clever guy Lloyd Bridges as Jerry Slocum who invite him to a little job as night driver, after few works they made a kidnapping and end up killing the victim, Tyler now is a disturbing person who is involved in a murder, Jerry actually the brain in all this mess trying to get the money, but all fall down after Tyler had a nervous breakdown, it's about how the press can pressure all people to make revenge for ours hands, the movie is good, although l'd never saw so realistic acting from Lloyd Bridges like that fantastic!!! Another character to be mentioned is Velma played by gorgeous Adele Jergins who is a woman to pursuit an easy life, great Noir from the Cy Endfield!! Resume: First watch: 2017 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

Frank Lovejoy is a veteran who never was sent overseas during the war. He can't find a job to support his wife (Kathleen Ryan) and little boy. Angry, embittered, and perhaps a little guilty, he falls in with bad guy Lloyd Bridges who sport platinum cuff links and seems to be enjoying himself all over the little California town. Bridges offers Lovejoy a job as his wheel man. Just a couple of minor stick-ups, nothing serious. But the robberies escalate into the kidnapping of a college boy from a rich family. Bridges, an envious psychopath, kills the kid out of spite. Both Bridges and Lovejoy are caught and jailed but several thousand people break into the jail, beat the men, and pass them outside overhead like serving platters where they meet vigilante justice. I haven't seen it since I was a kid but the memory of that climactic collective murder still makes me wince. It's impossible to comment on the performances, or on much else for that matter, after the passage of so many years but unless my brain has turned to tofu, I'm compelled to recommend the film. I remember Lovejoy as being a little stiff but Lloyd Bridges giving a dead imitation of a caged animal. Kathleen Ryan was winsome. And there is a touching portrait of a desperately lonely lady who hooks up with Lovejoy. It was made at the height of the anti-Red hysteria in Hollywood, a time when subliminal pro-communist messages were being read into cinematic trifles. And the advertising campaign that accompanied this release seemed almost to goad the audience into mindless mob action. Get in on the ground floor of the explosive rage for justice! That sort of thing. In other words, hang the Reds. It was completely at odds with the message of the movie itself, which was that ordinary guys can get sucked up by circumstances and find themselves suffering the same fate as those who are truly evil. Oh -- and mobs can be dangerous. (If you're a social psychologist, think "risky shift".) Out of all the simple black-and-white crime melodramas that appeared in the post-war period, this is one of the few that had me by the lapels. Based on a real incident in 1930s San Jose, California. If it shows up, be sure to catch it.

Lloyd Bridges always gives good value whether as a complete villain, as here, or as a hero- remember Sea Hunt? Sea Hunt was my favourite TV series when I was an impressionable kid. I also loved him in the Airplane movies, showing a real talent for comedy. He is the best thing in this B movie. Most of the other actors I am sure were not professionals and Frank Lovejoy was not up to par either and usually I have quite liked his performances. I am watching it as I type this and am far from impressed by it - brave treatment of a dark subject or no. The actress who plays the manicurist is close to appallingly bad. Where were the razzies when we needed them? I am interested enough to see it through ,however, so it cannot be quite as bad as I am painting it. There are lots of film noir movies from this era that were so much better. This could have been superb with a better, more able cast (Lloyd Bridges aside). I think a lot of this was dubbed later so it affects the acting and atmosphere.