Fury (retitled Brave Stallion in syndicated reruns) is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1955 to 1960.[1] It stars Peter Graves as Jim Newton, who operates the Broken Wheel Ranch in California; Bobby Diamond as Jim's adopted son, Joey Clark Newton, and William Fawcett as ranch hand Pete Wilkey. Roger Mobley co-starred in the two final seasons as Homer "Packy" Lambert, a friend of Joey's.

The frequent introduction to the show depicts the beloved stallion running inside the corral and approaching the camera as the announcer reads: "FURY!...The story of a horse...and a boy who loves him." Fury is the first American series to be produced originally by Television Programs of America and later by the British-based company ITC Entertainment

Outdoor footage for the series was filmed primarily on the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, California, throughout the five-season run of the series. Some of the earliest footage for the series was shot on the Garner Ranch in Idyllwild, California, and one episode included footage shot at Jungleland USA in Thousand Oaks, California.

SYNOPSIS

The story begins with two young boys fighting on the street. As Joey Clark, the winner of the exchange, walks away, the loser attempts to throw something at him, but the object goes through a nearby window. The store owner quickly pins the blame on Joey, who has been labeled a troublemaker from past incidents. Rancher Jim Newton witnesses the incident and follows along as Joey is taken before the judge to clear the boy's name. After learning that Joey is an orphan, Newton takes him home to his Broken Wheel Ranch and begins adoption proceedings.

A typical plot involved a guest star who falls into mischief or was rebellious or disorderly, and got into trouble, but is subsequently rescued by Fury. In most episodes, Fury allowed only Joey to ride him, but occasionally others were allowed the honor of mounting Fury if they had done a good deed for the horse. One of the original concepts of the show was that Fury remained a "wild" (untamed) horse, that would not allow anyone but Joey to ride him or even come near him. In several episodes, people would see the calm interaction between the horse "and the boy who loved him," and assume that the horse must be broken, but when they tried to put a saddle on him, Fury would rear up and attack them.

Numerous episodes focus on youth organizations, including the Boy Scouts, Big Brothers, Junior Achievement, 4-H Club, Little League, and even the Girl Scouts. A 1957 episode is dedicated to Fire Prevention Week.

PRODUCTION

NBC was only filming two new shows in 1955: Fury and the nighttime anthology Frontier, so when Peter Graves was cast, he believed it to be a prime time show and was disappointed to find out otherwise. However, the show's rating exceed that of many prime time shows at the time.

Graves was on a five-year contract that he did not renew in 1959, so John Compton was signed to a contract to take the place of Graves. However, the show went to repeats instead for the remainder of its run and Compton was never used.

The horse was owned and trained by Hollywood horse trainer Ralph McCutcheon. It was a saddlebred stallion named Highland Dale, who McCutcheon called "Beaut" as he had originally starred in Black Beauty. MHe also appeared in films including Lone Star (1952) and Giant (1956)

FILMING

Much of the outdoor footage was shot on the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth,[7] where the "Fury Set" was built in 1955, specifically for the series. This set included a small house, a cabin, corrals, and other features, but it was dominated by a large barn. In addition to being used throughout five seasons of Fury, the set was used in many films, including Fury at Showdown (1957) and The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959), and in other television series, including Bonanza and Cimarron Strip, before it burned to the ground in the massive Newhall/Malibu fire of fall 1970.

Some of the earliest footage for the series shot on the Garner Ranch in Idyllwild, California. One episode, "Packy, the Lion Tamer", which premiered on January 2, 1960, included footage shot at Jungleland USA in Thousand Oaks, California, and occasional footage appearing during the series was shot at Corriganville Movie Ranch near Simi Valley, California.

EPISODES

JOEY FINDS A FRIEND

Joey, a young orphan boy, is befriended by Jim Newton. Joey moves into the ranch with Jim, and the Fury series gets its theme.

JOEY'S FATHER

A stranger shows up claiming to be the natural father of Joey.

THE SEARCH FOR JOEY

Joey gets bitten by a dog. To check for rabies, a search team is formed to find the dog.

DAME TROUBLE

Joey's first experience with love comes in dealing with Fury's attraction to a mare.