Fury at Furnace Creek ** (1948, Victor Mature, Coleen Gray, Glenn Langan, Reginald Gardiner, Albert Dekker, Fred Clark, Robert Warwick) – Classic Movie Review 13,138

Brothers Cash and Rufe Blackwell (Victor Mature and Glenn Langan) try to prove their general father did not give an order that resulted in Apache Indians massacring a wagon train and an army fort. 

Director H Bruce Humberstone’s 1948 20th Century Fox black and white Western film Fury at Furnace Creek is written by Charles G Booth, and stars Victor Mature, Coleen Gray, Glenn Langan, Reginald Gardiner, Albert Dekker, Fred Clark, and Robert Warwick.

Brothers Cash and Rufe Blackwell (Victor Mature and Glenn Langan) are trying to prove that their general father General Fletcher Blackwell (Robert Warwick) did not give an order that resulted in the Apache Indians massacring both a wagon train and also then troops at Furnace Creek army fort in 1880.

The army captain Walsh (Reginald Gardiner) says he had orders sent by General Blackwell forcing him to abandon the wagon train and the Indians hid inside the wagons to gain access to the fort. Despite denying that he sent the order and there being no written evidence of it, General Blackwell is blamed and court-martialled, but has a stroke and dies on the witness stand.

Cash (Victor Mature) uses an alias and gets himself hired by mining boss Leverett, and Rufe (Glenn Langan) also arrives in town under a false identity. Town café waitress Molly Baxter (Coleen Gray), whose father was killed at the fort, blames General Blackwell.

This 20th Century Fox Western can’t quite pull itself out of the regular rut, but it is interestingly set up and plotted, and is decently made, with Albert Dekker a good villain as mining boss Leverett, the real killer, easily upstaging the star duo.

Shooting took place near Kanab, Utah.

The cast are Victor Mature as Cash Blackwell, Coleen Gray as Molly Baxter, Glenn Langan as Rufe Blackwell Reginald Gardiner as Captain Walsh, Albert Dekker as Leverett, Fred Clark as Bird, Charles Kemper as Peaceful Jones, Robert Warwick as General Fletcher Blackwell, George Cleveland as Judge, Roy Roberts as Al Shanks, Willard Robertson as General Leads, Griff Barnett as Appleby, and Jay Silverheels as Little Dog.

Fury at Furnace Creek is directed by H Bruce Humberstone, runs 88 minutes, is made and released by 20th Century Fo, is written by Charles G Booth and Winston Miller, based on a story by David Garth, is produced by Fred Kohlmar, is shot by Harry Jackson, and is scored by David Raksin.

Release date: April 30, 1948 (US).

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,138

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