BLANCHE FURY
1948

"Blanche Fury" is a classic example of a very well-made historical drama of the late 1940's. In every respect it is faultless, given the constraints of time and the story compression inherent in all movie making. There are simply no movie actors or actresses today who could play the starring roles with the same enormous presence, dignity, grace, self-assurance, and acting skill manifested by the superb and striking Hobson and Granger, not to mention their precise and exemplary articulation of the English language. This was Valerie Hobson's personal favourite of all her film performances. It was also Roger Vadim's first film. 

The film, though not credited, is actually based on a 1939 novel of the same name by Joseph Shearing (1885-1952), a pseudonym for Marjorie Bowen, who based all her books on actual real life crimes.

M.E. Clifton James, who appears as the prison governor, is most famous for his real-life impersonation of Gen. Bernard L. Montgomery in the run-up to D-Day. 

PLOT:
This dark, engrossing drama centres on a beautiful English girl, Blanche Fuller, who accepts a job as governess from her wealthy cousins who have adopted the name Fury since they acquired the ancestral home of the Fury family. There, she engages in an illicit affair with the head-strong steward, but her illicit passion for the vengeful, obsessed Philip Thorn sets off a string of tragic events.

CAST
Valerie Hobson ... Blanche Fury
Stewart Granger ... Philip Thorn
Michael Gough ... Laurence Fury
Walter Fitzgerald ... Simon Fury
Suzanne Gibbs ... Lavinia
Maurice Denham ... Maj. Fraser
Sybilla Binder ... Louisa
Ernest Jay ... Calamy
Townsend Whitling ... Banks
J.H. Roberts ... Doctor
Alan Jeayes ... Mr. Weatherby
Edward Lexy ... Col. Jenkins
Arthur Wontner ... Lord Rudford
Amy Veness ... Mrs. Winterbourne
Cherry London ... Molly

Director: Marc Allégret

RUNNING TIME: 90 MIN