I love this movie so much

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

I think far too much has been made of the alleged homosexual undertones supposedly in the film. Others have suggested that Eddie the hood was really Paula's father, but that can't be true, because Fritzie says Eddie used to work for Paula's father. What doesn't make sense is how Fritzie can moralize about Eddie walking out on her years ago, when obviously Fritzie herself walked out on Paula's father to be with Eddie to begin with.The movie, while stretched out, does come to a stirring climax. However, the casting of the film leaves something to be desired. At the time of the filming, Astor was 41, Lancaster 33, Hodiak 32, and Scott 25. In real age terms, we're asked to believe Astor had baby Scott at 16, then (perhaps at 18, before Scott as a baby knew who Hodiak was), ran off with Hodiak, who would have been 9 years old at the time. It makes no sense unless we suspend disbelief to think that Hodiak is as old as Astor, let alone that Astor and Hodiak would ever have had romantic sparks. It would have made more sense to cast someone older than Hodiak, but that wouldn't seem plausible that a mid-40's man would be as weasely and self centered as Hodiak behaves. Also, we're asked to believe that Scott, playing a nineteen year old despite her worldwise 25 year old real age, would swoon over the oily Hodiak while blithely ignoring the tall, chiseled visage of Lancaster. Hodiak was named "box office poison" in 1948.But I digress. The truth is, we're always asked to believe all sorts of improbable things when a story is being told, and we go along. And once you go along with this premise, the movie is a tremendous amount of fun. Could it have been made better? Of course, but don't let that keep you from enjoying the film noir parts of it that are excellent.

Copyright 15 May 1947 by Hall Wallis Productions, Inc. Released through Paramount Pictures Inc. New York opening at the Paramount: 24 September 1947. U.S. release: 15 August 1947. U.K. release: November 1947. Australian release: 27 November 1947. 8,656 feet. 96 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Girl falls for out-of-town gambler with murky past.NOTES: Film debut of Wendell Corey. Also Lizabeth Scott's first color film. Shooting time: 72 days. Locations: Sedona (northern Arizona); Navajo Reservation (north of Flagstaff); and the small mining settlements of Cottonwood and Clarkdale.COMMENT: An odd film - but not without interest. The basic plot is typical soapie fare which allows an ultra-glamorous heroine to emote against richly glossy interiors and spectacular mountain locations. Unashamedly, it's a Lizabeth Scott vehicle. Stunningly made up and costumed, she receives more close-ups than anyone else in the cast, and if she fails to give more than a superficial earnestness to her characterization, who will notice?Enveloped in all the trappings of Hollywood expertise at its most pointedly glamorous, Desert Fury pre-dates Ross Hunter's Universal veneers - and easily outclasses them in sophistication and style. Lang's atmospheric photography, Rozsa's haunting music, Perry Ferguson's sets, Edith Head's costumes skittle the Universal talent. Admittedly Lewis Allen's direction is no more than ordinarily competent (which places him only marginally ahead of Douglas Sirk), but this one has a script by Robert Rossen no less and a strong support cast including Wendell Corey making a memorable debut as the vicious man-behind ("Eddie Bendix? I'm Eddie Bendix. I've been Eddie Bendix all these years. Why don't women fall in love with me?")John Hodiak is effective as the hollow Bendix, while Mary Astor displays an appropriately dominating manner as a strong-willed "operator".Burt Lancaster has a rather thankless role as the "other man". He has stated that his part was built up at Wallis' insistence - which we can well believe - and it's certainly true that he handles himself with his usual assurance. (The rest of the players, including Kristine Miller who is rather prominently billed, and silent star Jane Novak, have strictly minor roles.)All in all, Desert Fury is so attractive to look at - and the music so spellbinding to listen to - it doesn't much matter that the script has a great deal of furious talk but (aside from the climactic chase in which everything is magically put right) little furious action.

Wow Lizabeth Scott was no winner of an actress. She is just dreadful. I can't see how any producer thought she was gonna be the next big thing back in this day and time. She's basically a short version of Lauren Bacall with half the talent.A noted gambler comes back to town to lay low. The town holds bad memories for him because his wife died in a supposed car accident there. It haunts him all the while he's there. He gets involved with a lot of the old friends he knew from there including an old flames daughter. She's young and stupid and is basically clueless about everything. The local deputy likes her and she the same but she decides to take to the local thug/gambler instead. Her mother and the deputy warn her about him but she doesn't care. She goes against their advice and soon...sparks will soon fly.I didn't go into this one with high hopes because I saw Lizabeth Scott's name in the cast. She was never anything special and in this she show's why. Her portrayal of a 19 year old "I'll do what I want" daughter of a local gambling house owner is just laughable. We get a young Burt Lancaster as the Deputy and the great Mary Astor as the mother but when your working with Lizabeth Scott, all the talent there was in this oozed away with her terrible performance. I mean this one had a really decent cast. With John Hodiak and Wendell Corey playing the heavies I thought maybe it could work but nope. The really unbelievable performance by Ms. Scott threw all that other talent right out of the window.I personally have no problems telling any one to save your time and watch something else but this film has one good thing going for in that there's a little twist in the film you try and try to figure out but won't...until the end. The twist is actually pretty good and after I learned it I had one of those "A-ha" moments. It may be a nothing moment to other viewers of this film but it sewed up a lot of questions I had.

After quitting school, the nineteen year-old quicksilver Paula Haller (Lizabeth Scott) returns to Chuckwalla, Nevada, where her mother Fritzi Haller (Mary Astor) is a powerful owner of the casino Purple Sage. Paula meets the racketeer Eddie Bendix (John Hodiak), who is suspect of murdering his wife and is also returning to the town with his friend Johnny Ryan (Wendell Corey), parked on the bridge nearby Chuckwalla and she greets him.Paula does not have a good relationship with her mother Fritzi and when she sees how unpleasant Eddie is for her, she begins a relationship with the crook. Sheriff Tom Hanson (Burt Lancaster), who is an old friend of Fritzi and has a crush on Paula, advises her about the character of Eddie Bendix. Johnny, who is very close to Eddie, also tries to break up their relationship. But the resolute Paula does not give up easily until she knows the past of her beloved Eddie."Desert Fury" is a disappointing film where the most interesting element is the ambiguous relationship of Johnny Ryan and Eddie Bendix. In the present days, it is very clear that they are more than friends and Johnny is jealous and in love with Eddie. But the subterfuge adopted by Lewis Allen to disclose their bond in 1947 is witty. The colors of this film are also very bright, but in the DVD it is very clear the scenario in studio. Lizabeth Scott, performing a rebel character ahead of time, is impressively beautiful but does not convince as a nineteen year-old girl. My vote is four.Title (Brazil): "A Filha da Pecadora" ("The Daughter of the Sinner")