The Sound of Fury (1950)

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The Sound of Fury (1950) – C. Endfield

Launching from the same true incident that was the basis for Fritz Lang’s Fury (1936), Cy Endfield’s film also tells the story of mob violence that ends in lynching.  However, The Sound of Fury really turns the screws on Frank Lovejoy’s down-and-out California transplant, showing him to be guilty (at least by association) whereas Spencer Tracy was wrongly accused in the earlier film.  So, this film is a true noir, as Lovejoy’s first mistake leads inexorably to his tragic downfall.  Things are all the tougher to take because he has a wife and a child, one of the reasons that he gives in to the easy money available in the life of crime offered by slick and sleazy Lloyd Bridges (who provides a tremendous incarnation of the sociopath).  So, on the one hand, we understand that social forces have led to Lovejoy’s bad decision, but on the other hand, we can see Bridges is an amoral opportunist.  When the mob descends on them, we know it is wrong tarring Lovejoy and Bridges with the same brush – but Bridges doesn’t deserve lynching any less.  A subplot showing how “yellow journalism” has incited the crowd is a little less effective and more didactic, but viewers can grasp the take home point that democracy requires a fair trial that isn’t biased by the press. The fact that this democratic ideal was subverted here (and in the real incident) makes this a dark and troubling film indeed.