Based on real-life events, Black Fury brings viewers deep into Depression hard times. . . and into the heart of Joe Radek, a simple, hardworking coal miner used and thrown away by racketeers eager to muscle in on the unions. Paul Muni, who personified 1930s anguish as the doomed hero of l Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang, makes Joe an unforgettable character: likeabIe, headstrong, too easiIy led and finaIIy a towering force for justice as he takes on company goods single-handed. As sinewy and visceraI as the overworked men it celebrates, BIack Fury puIls no punches, which may expIain why it was banned in PennsyIvania, the state where this cIassic from CasabIanca director MichaeI Curtiz is set. |