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| Stewart Granger and Valerie Hobson |
Because of her parents' deaths, Blanche Fuller (Valerie Hobson), is forced to work as a domestic, but then she hears from her formerly estranged Uncle Simon (Walter Fitzgerald) that he wants her to come to his estate and be governess to his widower-son's little girl, Lavinia (Suzanne Gibbs). Blanche finds herself in grand surroundings, and meets two men: Lawrence (Michael Gough), who is Simon's son and Lavinia's father; and bitter Philip (Stewart Granger), who is the illegitimate son of a Fury, has no claim on the estate, and runs it for the others. Our heroine is rechristened Blanche Fury at her uncle's direction. As Philip tries to find proof of a possible marriage between his father and mother, which would change everything, he finds himself falling in love with Blanche and vice versa. A marriage takes place, but perhaps one that isn't based on love ... Blanche Fury has interesting characters and situations, fine cinematography by Guy Green, and a good score by Clifton Parker, but it suffers from the fact that its two lead actors are only so so. Philip is basically an intense Heathcliff-type character, but aside from a couple of moments, Granger [Footsteps in the Fog] plays him so laid-back as to be laughable. Hobson [Werewolf of London] is better, but it's still not a great performance. Fitzgerald, Gough [Konga], and the assorted character actors do nicely, however.
Verdict: It holds the attention but never quite convinces, although it has an uncompromising ending. **1/2 out of 4.
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