Fury (1936)
(Fritz Lang, US 1932, 92 min., 35mm)
Joseph Mankeiwicz’s first film as producer of A-level titles for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was also Fritz Lang’s first American film as director. Mankiewicz chose a socially conscious story that might have seemed more at home at Warner Bros. It was inspired by the story of a pair of men in San Jose a few years earlier who were murdered by a lynch mob after kidnapping allegations put them in jail. The film stars Spencer Tracy in a similar situation as Joe Wilson, stopped along the road on his way to visit his fiancée (Sylvia Sidney) and detained based on circumstantial evidence. When the townspeople hear that a kidnapping suspect has been arrested in their town, their impulses turn ugly and they head for the jail where the sheriff, the press, and Joe are waiting. Some of Lang's more bombastic touches were struck from the release, and the film encountered resistance from studio head Louis B. Mayer because it veered from the escapist fare MGM was known for. Despite this, the film was promoted heavily, made money, and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Story.