A Day of Fury

1956 "The story of Jagade... last of the maverick killers!"
6.3| 1h19m| NR| en
Details

Town marshal Alan Burnett life is saved by a stranger he meets on the trail. His rescuer turns out to be Jagade, a gunslinger just returned after years away, who finds when he gets into town that he can't abide the peace that has been settled between "his" people (i.e. the saloon-keepers, gamblers, etc.) and the righteous, "respectable" folk.

Director

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Universal International Pictures

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Reviews

GarnettTeenage The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.
PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Cissy Évelyne It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
bkoganbing Two of television's best known cowboy heroes, Dale Robertson from Tales Of Wells Fargo and the Range Rider Jock Mahoney star in this unusual western about a town full of hypocrites. Imagine High Noon had we probed a bit deeper into the town of Hadleyville and its citizens who would not back up Gary Cooper and you have A Day Of Fury.Notorious gunslinger Robertson arrives in the town and the townspeople are righteously aroused. They want Marshal Mahoney to just run this guy out of town. But Mahoney's life was once saved by him and with no wants or warrants out on him, Robertson is a free man until he actually commits a crime.Which works out fine as Robertson bit by bit turns things around completely and it's the marshal these fine citizens turn on. You have to see how he does it, more I will not say. There's also the complicating factor that Mahoney's fiancé Mara Corday has history with Robertson.A trio of standout supporting performances come from Jan Merlin as a local tough, John Dehner as the town minister, and most of all Dee Carroll as the spinster school teacher who is a repressed and tragic figure.Mahoney and Robertson have some good chemistry in their scenes. A nice mixture of antagonism and respect goes into their dialog.A Day Of Fury is a real sleeper of a western. Caught it by accident almost, glad I did.
chipe I liked this movie when I first saw it many years ago. Today it seems even better -- a good, well planned, logical, noir-like story (even if a mite unrealistic); and good acting and production values. I recommend it highly.I can see why it got a low vote here (not many action scenes, few outdoor scenes, many talky scenes, the bad guy is the main character). It is surely an unusual Western -- strong on character and moral symbolism.Here are some observations (including some mild spoilers):-- the ponderous forward to the film describes it as the "final chapter" of untamed gunfighters standing in the way of "civilization." At the end of the film, Mahoney asks Robertson why he didn't just leave, and Robertson replies that there was no other place to go, as though the town of West End was the last place for him to assert his way of life.-- Robertson had no gang (other than errand-boy Merlin). He got his way by force of character and paying the blacksmith, barber, et. al. high sums to give up their principles and work on Sunday.-- it was interesting that bad guy Robertson saved Marshal Mahoney's life at the start of the film, so it was implied throughout that Marshal Mahoney was protecting Robertson out of favoritism/repaying a debt. But actually, Robertson never broke the law till maybe the end when he liquored up some guys to try to lynch Mahoney. The town council could have (but didn't) enact any blue laws! -- an early several minutes scene shows the expert, economical direction: Robertson arrives in town and shows his skill with a gun, his arrogance, distrust of the courts and familiarity with Mara Corday, the Marshal's intended. Mahoney soon shows up to defend Robertson. Mahoney gets credit for killing the man actually shot by Robertson while saving Mahoney. Most of the important characters (preacher, Miss Timmons, the Judge. etc.) are introduced.-- There were many well written lines in the film. One of my favorites is when Mara Corday expresses to her fiancée Mahoney that she is afraid that with Robertson free to do as he pleases, she might revert to her old saloon girl life. Mahoney replies, "I'm sure of you even if you're not sure of yourself." -- the supporting acting was fine, especially Jan Merlin and Dee Carroll (Miss Timmons) and the preacher. Remarkable the way all the many supporting characters were so quickly fleshed out, each with their own quirks.-- neat the way Robertson can manipulate the men and women in town because he understands how they tick and preys on their weaknesses, except Marshal Mahoney -- he has integrity, and Robertson (and the townies) wonders if it is because Mahoney is afraid of Robertson or is in debt to Robertson for saving his life or is simply a rock-solid lawman.-- had to feel sorry for beautiful Corday. She is grateful to the town for accepting her as a reformed saloon girl. She sneaks (so the town won't know) into the saloon to beseech Robertson to go off with her to save the town. He says no, but she is seen sneaking out of the saloon. The townsfolk (including her once-friendly Judge-landlord) kicks her out, and she won't be accepted in anyplace decent, so Mahoney has to take her to a hotel in town. And after Mahoney is jailed, she is about to be forced out of town with Robertson.
whitec-3 A well-turned screenplay, efficient editing, good small-scale production values, and tense directing make A Day of Fury much better than most Westerns.Dale Robertson is a better actor than his reputation, but all 3 leads are limited in range. The best role and performance are the Preacher by John Dehner, who helps any film in which he appears. Most Westerns present ministers either as comic-cowardly milquetoasts or as unrealistic studs who give up their guns for the good book. When changes unsettle the town, Day of Fury's Preacher is the first to lose his temper and threaten violence, but then he's embarrassed by his own failing and horrified that his parishioners turn into a lynch mob.The plot plays an interesting variation on the classic Western formula of the Old Wild West struggling to survive in or against the Cleaned-Up Bourgeois Town. The taciturnity of Robertson's Jigade fairly inverts the man-of-few-words Sheriff typically played by Joel McCrea or Randolph Scott into a Mephistophelean villain who quietly but steadily chips and shatters the thin veneer of civilization until the townsfolk break down into drunken irresponsibility, foolish greed, and vengeful terror. Jagade's opportunistic power compromises the town's Sheriff, played by the physically imposing Jock Mahoney, whose taciturnity can only dwindle to mute puzzlement until the wild card in Jagade's deck--the punk gunman Billy Brant--changes the game and creates a clear path of action for the law.The sets are few, but the director keeps moving the characters across each other in well-defined space. The film's most impressive quality is to open with an atmosphere of uncertainty that steadily escalates into tension or dread. But its most interesting feature is that the anti-hero Jagade seems to have orchestrated the story as a suicide note.
phantom-47 I really like these Universal-International colour westerns made in the 1950s. This one was very probably the movie that got Dale Robertson the starring role in "Tales Of Wells Fargo" on TV (which I loved when it first appeared).The chief extra reason why I like this movie though is the other main star was Jock Mahoney, in his usual understated style. He, of course, had previously starred in that superbly action-packed series "The Range Rider" and later "Yancy Derringer".