The Furies

The Furies is a 1950 American Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Wendell Corey and Walter Huston in his final film performance. Based on the 1948 Niven Busch novel of the same name, its plot follows the ruthless daughter of a tyrannical rancher in 1870s New Mexico Territory who struggles with her stake in his estate. Released in August 1950 by Paramount Pictures, the film was a financial failure but would gain a reputation as a "Freudian Western" and is recognized among Mann's greatest contributions to the genre. In 2008, the film was released on DVD in the United States by the Criterion Collection. Plot Temple Caddy "T. C." Jeffords is an elderly, tyrannical and arrogant cattle baron who owns a sprawling property in the New Mexico Territory called the Furies. He harbors special contempt for the Herrera family, who are squatting on the property. T. C.'s beloved daughter Vance is as obsessed with wealth and as ruthless as is her father, although she has a secret, close bond with Juan Herrera, whom she has known since childhood. However, Vance seeks a suitor who can run the giant ranch with her once her father dies. She falls in love with Rip Darrow, who believes that a portion of the Furies' land is rightfully his and holds a grudge against T. C. Vance is shocked when Rip accepts a $50,000 bribe from T. C. to stay out of her life. In town, Rip owns a saloon that he calls The Legal Tender, and he also opens a bank near it.