The Hurricane

source: The Hurricane

This is a fine film based on the novel by Charles Nordoff and James Norman Hall from Samuel Goldwyn in 1937 and directed by John Ford. The hurricane scenes alone were outstanding. I'm told they used up almost the entire water supply from Los Angeles to make this happen on their backlot. The filming of the sequences of wind and water were magnificent. Even compared to today's standards. The performances were very close to the book itself. The island of Manakoora was a small and beautiful island of Polynesian natives in the south Pacific, ruled by a go-by-the-book governor, played splendidly by Raymond Massey. There is a wedding of the chief's daughter, Marama, played by the alluring and sarong-clad Dorothy Lamour, to the island's popular hero Terangi, played by a handsome youthful Jon Hall [related to the author James Norman Hall]. Mary Astor plays Massey's wife who is sympathetic to the lovers, who are wronged by a political injustice to Terangi, while in Tahiti. Terangi escapes the prison and heads back to his wife, Marama, only to be followed by Massey who believes only in justice and the law. Thomas Mitchell gives another rip roaring performance as the drunken doctor of the island, along with C. Aubrey Smith as the Father of the Mission and Jerome Cowan as Captain Nagle. With the attempt to capture Terangi, the hurricane hits the small island and all the natives run for cover. However, most of them are wiped out by the storm and the island becomes a sand belt that the doctor explains "happened to have had the misfortune to be born in the path of a hurricane belt". Nice touch is that Frank Loesser, known later for score to "Guys And Dolls" and "Most Happy Fellow" wrote a tune that was used as the theme of the film and became a popular tune of the time. The name of the song is "The Moon of Manakoora". All in all a delightful adventurous and romantic film of it's time.

If you ever thought that TWISTER brought you the first "really" realistic cinematic storm images, update your library: For a movie which is over 60 years old, THE HURRICANE is one hats-off piece of first-rate romantic action fare! As apparently always in tales of the South Seas, the characters are quite stereotypical: the lovers who would die for each other, the mean and cold-hearted governor, the priest with a heart of gold... But this is, at its heart, a bittersweet and deeply moral tale, so I won't nag too much. For the truly breathtaking hurricane finale, John Ford must have gathered each and every wind machine in Hollywood - it easily holds up to today's F/X standards and IS realistic and frightening. Wow! Alfred Newman's music score adds considerably to the atmosphere, using a female wordless choir to maximum dramatic effect. But I really do wonder how it ever passed the Hays Office: scenes of sizzling desire and anticipation, a naked foot gently stroking the lover's naked legs in the sand... All in all, a lasting and highly enjoyable piece of movie entertainment - a true classic!

All the directors who made or are making or will make a disaster movie should have(have had) a look at "The hurricane" .Not only the special effects are very impressive today but the characters involved are also made of flesh and blood.This is one of the strongest Ford movies in the thirties it's fordian to the core:Home or coming home is the main subject of many a movie of this auteur ("the searchers " which many look upon as his masterpiece is nothing but this:coming home,and the main character's tragedy -see the last sequence-is that he's got no home). Not only home but also the lost paradise theme :as the old native says ,before the white came ,there was no such injustices.The law has two faces here ,and does not mean a thing for Terangi,who was born to be free:the scene where he 's watching the sea,behind a barbed wire ,is admirable.The first one is French Delaage ,who is kin to Victor Hugo's Javert in "les misérables" For him ,only duty counts and no matter if he destroys life in his wake.The second ,verging on sadism ,is the warden.But ,above them all,Ford introduces the marvelous Father Paul ,whose divine law transcends everything.And in spite of the destruction of the church,his message survives and is finally the winner. The island ,the sea,in a nutshell,the nature is another force which literally drives Terangi and his longing for freedom is so intense it's impossible not to side with him.Yes he's like a hurricane,the storm in his eyes,as Neil Young would sing...

I don't care much for disaster films, they all seem to be the same. This one is much better than Dante's peak and twister and all the other ones. This has really great special effects for 1937, and it also has a much better director than todays directors. Jon Hall is only OK in his part and Mary Astor isn't given much to do. I can't remember if Thomas Mitchell was nominated for best supporting actor or not. Raymond Massey is good in his role.

Without the effects, which only make up about 1/6 of screen time, this would mostly be an artifact of how strange it is to see white actors in brown face. But it is still far better than the disastrous 1979 remake partly directed by Roman Polanski while on trial for statutory rape. Lead Jon Hall actually had Tahitian ancestry. But though they still use makeup and hair dye, they couldn't hide his blue eyes and brownish blond hair. I actually thought his acting better than many of the other reviewers. Dorothy Lamour is far less believable. One review strangely claimed she's Italian. No, English and French. But she was put in a lot of "sarong" pictures, which were so ridiculous she finally made a comedy with Bob Hope mocking them. Why anyone thought her obvious European features, her blue eyes, her narrow penciled eyebrows, her heavy lipstick and wavy hair, and her constant switching back and forth between perfect Stage English and awkward Pidgin English wouldn't make everyone see her as obviously white is a mystery. As a story it alternates between sympathetic and stereotypical, which was typical for John Ford's westerns later as well. It is noble in making it about a Polynesian imprisoned for defending himself against a drunken white bigot's attack. But that's undercut by whites constantly comparing Polynesians to birds that "can't handle being caged." Yes, strong ending. I agree with the reviewer who shows it to film students. This is a good example of not only early FX, but racial impersonators. After groaning through much of the first 2/3 of the film, you'll be rewarded.

Just to respond to ccthemoviemans comment about Jon Hall being another Caucasian actor trying to pass himself off as a dark-skinned native. Although at a quick glance that may seem to be the case, in reality nothing could be further from the truth. My uncle worked with Mr. Hall back in the early 1950's. And having Jon Hall play this part was not really a backwards idea because although his features tended to favor his father, he was actually the son of a Tahitian mother. It's been said that he was descended from Tahitian royalty, as his mother was a Tahitian princess. In the islands he would be referred to as a "Hapa-Haole". A term describing someone who is half Caucasian and half Polynesian or Asian. Also worth noting, is that the movie "Hurricane" was adapted from a book written by Jon Halls uncle.

When reviewing films made so long ago, such as John Ford's "The Hurricane" one MUST take into account the lack of computer graphics, etc., that so dominate today. This film of the late Thirties was an eye-opener in its day, and was rightly highly acclaimed for its power and effects. It even had a good story, and while there were some horrendous examples of overacting by today's standards (Aubrey Smith's final scene in the swamped Church is just one !) I felt overall it was an excellent movie. It set the seal for Dorothy Lamour to be an island maiden for many years to come, while it gave a great launchng pad for Jon Hall who unfortunately for him, never went on with it except mainly in T & A movies for Universal. The cast of Raymond Massey, Mary Astor and Thomas Mitchell (in a most familiar role for him!) all added to the quality of the film - full marks had to go to Ford for such an achievement.

This 1937 film, when watched today is as exciting as if it was made yesterday. The plot of the film is this: a very handsome native, played by Jon Hall is arrested while in Tahiti for punching a white man and breaking his jaw. Hall is sentenced to 6 months in jail, but continually tries to escape, thereby increasing his time in jail to 16 years. His reason for wanting to escape is to get back to his home island, to his beautiful, pregnant wife, played by Dorothy Lamour. The kindly priest on the island, C. Aubrey Smith, and Thomas Mitchell both want the islands Governor, played by a nasty Raymond Massey, to grant Hall a pardon. The film is very tastefully done, and even though the film was made after the Hays code went into effect, the film is still quite sensual, beautiful shots of Lamour and Hall, some risqué shots showing just their legs, and in several scenes it looks as though both at one time or another are swimming around naked. The highlight of the film is the final 20 or so minutes when a massive Hurricane (though in the South Seas this would be known as a Typhoon) approaches the island. The scenes of destruction, are quite frankly very realistic, and had me on the edge of my seat. Mary Astor must get special recognition in this role. She plays the sympathetic wife of Raymond Massey in this film, which was filmed shortly after a very highly publicised divorce case between Astor and her husband, Dr. Franklin Thorpe. Astor had been having an affair with married playwright George S. Kaufmann, and had kept the details well documented in her diary. When her husband found out the details of this, he filed for divorce, and custody of their young daughter. The diary was included as evidence in the press, and lets just say the press had a field day printing some of the more x-rated excerpts of the diary. Portions of the film were filmed on location in Tahiti, and the film does the islands justice showing the natives and the beautiful scenery.

Sure, the leads are silly, and there's a great deal of mannered melodrama to endure, but don't overlook this. Academy Award nominations for Thomas Mitchell and Alfred Newman, and a well-deserved Oscar win for Thomas Moulton, the credited sound guy. The 10 minute Hurricane sequence plays entirely without music; just sound effects and scattered dialog, shouted over the wind and waves. You'll forget that the wind is ringing the church bell constantly through the storm, until the church is washed away and the bell sound is suddenly gone. The visual action and stunts are extraordinary and ahead of their time. I show this sequence to my film sound students, and I wish I could get it on DVD!