Never having been satisfied with the column title “Overlooked (or Obscure) Goodies,” which appeared in the final two issues of volume 3, I am now quite happy to alter it to the more prosaic but heartfelt “Movies Worth Rediscovering.”  Each issue I will highlight a quartet of films that I feel deserve to be remembered by viewers, or perhaps discovered for the first time.

 

Fritz Lang’s first American film is an indictment of mob violence, as innocent man Spencer Tracy is held for questioning in a local kidnapping case and the angry townspeople demand their own brand of justice.  The mob destroys the jail in its lust for vengeance and presumably kills Tracy.  His brothers then bring suit against twenty-two of the perpetrators for murder and the case goes to court.

Fury (1936) is occasionally outlandish and melodramatic, yet accurately portrays the manner in which people, encouraged by each other into false and dangerous bravado, not only stoop to murder but then — reputedly for the good of the community — attempt to deflect responsibility to the government for their rash and foolish actions.

The story’s first half begins slowly but quickly builds momentum as word of Tracy’s incarceration spreads through town.  The mob action unfolds rapidly and explosively, just as it has in far too many real occasions.  The film’s second half deals with the district attorney’s murder case against the mob participants, all of whom deny even being present.  Lang’s social commentary is even more caustic here, although he leaves room to pity the people who try to kill an innocent man.

Foreign-born newcomers to America tend to see our society differently — and often with sharper clarity — than we do, and that is certainly the case here.  A true classic. ✰ ✰ ✰ ½.  (6:2).