Foxfire *** (1955, Jane Russell, Jeff Chandler, Dan Duryea, Barton MacLane, Mara Corday, Frieda Inescort, Celia Lovsky) – Classic Movie Review 8825

‘Living every impassioned page of Anya Seton’s great best seller!’ Director Joseph Pevney’s 1955 Technicolor romance action drama Foxfire stars Jane Russell as a New York socialite called Amanda Lawrence who meets and quickly marries half-Apache mining engineer Jonathan Dartland (Jeff Chandler) on holiday in Arizona, where he hopes to find gold in an abandoned Apache mine.

But the macho Jonathan’s jealousy and rages upset Amanda, threatening their marriage, while prejudice and fear threaten his gold excavation. Will there be gold and golden days ahead for the duo?

The alluring star playing, the stalwart support (especially Dan Duryea as Dr Hugh Slater, Barton MacLane as mine boss Jim Mablett, Mara Corday as Slater’s nurse Maria and Celia Lovsky as Princess Saba) and the screenplay’s culture clash give this rather feebly scripted romantic drama some substance and keep the interest engaged. It is also attractively filmed at Kingman and Oatman, Arizona, as well as at the Apple Valley Inn, California, and in the Universal Studios, California.

Chandler sings the title song Foxfire, for which he also wrote the lyrics to music by Henry Mancini.

The screenplay is written by Ketti Frings, based on novel by Anya Seton.

Also in the cast are Frieda Inescort, Robert F Simon, Charlotte Wynters, Eddy Waller, Arthur Space, Phil Chambers, Robert Bice, Lillian Bronson, Dabs Greer and Hal K Dawson.

Pevney cast Allison Hayes as Maria but that Universal-International insisted on Corday and Hayes left the studio soon after.

It is the last American film photographed and released in three-strip Technicolor.

It was in the middle of being shown on the ocean liner Andrea Doria when she was struck and sunk by the liner Stockholm on 25-26 July 1956.

Foxfire is directed by Joseph Pevney, runs 91 minutes, is made and released by Universal-International, is written by Ketti Frings, based on novel by Anya Seton, is shot in Technicolor by William Daniels, is produced by Aaron Rosenberg and is cored by Frank Skinner.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8825

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