The Hurricane

Unrated

11/9/19371h 44m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ South Sea Adventure Calls ~

Overview:

A Polynesian sailor is separated from his wife when he's unjustly imprisoned for defending himself against a colonial bully. Members of the community petition the governor for clemency but all pretense of law and order are soon shattered by an incoming tropical storm.

Director:

John Ford

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$2,000,000.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

based on novel or book
freedom
south seas
hurricane
honeymoon
tahiti
prison escape
jail
black and white
wedding
accidental death
shark
tropical island
racial prejudice
white man's burden
south sea island
told in flashback
ethical dilemma
marital discord
disaster movie
colonial era
missionary priest
schooner
tribal people
fidelity
primitive civilization
law and order
polynesians
colonial justice
french criminal code
missionary doctor
sadistic guard

Cast

Jon Hall

~ as ~

Terangi

Dorothy Lamour

~ as ~

Marama

Raymond Massey

~ as ~

DeLaage

Mary Astor

~ as ~

Mme. DeLaage

C. Aubrey Smith

~ as ~

Father Paul

Thomas Mitchell

~ as ~

Dr. Kersaint

Jerome Cowan

~ as ~

Captain Nagle

Al Kikume

~ as ~

Chief Mehevi

John Carradine

~ as ~

Guard Captain

Kuulei De Clercq

~ as ~

Tita

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 3 year(s) ago
7
This is all about the last ten minutes - and those largely forgive the preceding 100 which produce a rather dull, south seas melodrama as Jon Hall "Terangi" is imprisoned for defending himself against a bully. The intransigent French Colonial Governor "DeLaage" (a suitably maniacal Daniel Massey) makes it his mission to ensure that the rule of law prevails, and that "Terangi" is suitably punished - despite the caring interventions of a loquacious, frequently over-imbibed, Thomas Mitchell ("Dr. Kersaint); quite a poignant performance from local cleric C. Aubrey Smith ("Fr. Paul") and his own wife Mary Astor ("Mme. DeLaage"). Indeed, under the brutal administration of the hard labour camp by John Carradine the misery of our young captive is only compounded, especially as his unsuccessful escape attempts - to get back to wife "Marama" (Dorothy Lamour) - result in increases to his sentence. The plot is riddled with holes and inconsistencies, but John Ford builds tension quite well and the score from Alfred Newman and the special - really quite impressive - effects at the end are both great too (frankly, far too good for the rest of it). It'd be hard to recommend the entire film, but on balance I think the end justified the trip.