The Hurricane

1937 "South Sea Adventure Calls"
7.2| 1h50m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 09 November 1937 Released
Producted By: United Artists
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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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.

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Director

John Ford

Production Companies

United Artists

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The Hurricane Audience Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film
AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
jjnxn-1 Some parts are terribly corny with dialog handed to the actors in the form of declamations but overall a well directed and enjoyable film. The picture doesn't require any heavy lifting dramatically but Hall is fine in the lead, certainly a dashing protagonist and Dorothy of course looks great in her sarong. It's the supporting cast, a collection of dynamite character actors, that make this memorable. Any movie lucky enough to have Mary Astor, Thomas Mitchell, Jerome Cowan, Raymond Massey and John Carradine contributing their individual presence is worth seeing if only for them but this has good special effects, for the time, and a fun story to boot.
zorrito1953 Wow, what a picture! If only someone would digitize, remaster and possibly colorize this flick. UCLA Film Archive, are you listening? Jon Hall and Dorothy Lamour put on some great skin beauty candy for the viewers. Both had long natural hair and athletic bodies. And the special effects were before their time. The "wind" plays as a character in the movie. You would be surprised at these special effects, given it was filmed in 1937 without computers! On a different note, I wish all seven of Dorothy Lamour's sarong movies were available on DVD with tons of special features, remastered, of course! Did you know that one of Dorothy Lamour's sarongs is in exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum? I can't wait to read her "My Side of the Road" autobiography.
Larry41OnEbay-2 Many believe tonight's director John Ford was one of the best. He's the only director ever to win four Academy Awards. John Ford directed over 160 films, he learned his craft starting in silent photoplays making westerns and moving smoothly into sound films of nearly every genre. Ford won his first Best Director Oscar for THE INFORMER an Irish drama in 1935. That same year he also made THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING an Edward G. Robinson gangster comedy and STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND a Will Rogers comedy. In 1936 Ford made the powerful THE PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND a Civil War era drama. Later in 1939 Ford started hitting them out of the park directing such classic must-see-films as STAGECOACH, YOUNG MR. LINCOLN, in 1940 THE GRAPES OF WRATH, and in 1941 HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY, and later others. Just before making HURRICANE Ford directed Shirley Temple in WEE WILLIE WINKIE a family adventure film. The screenwriter for tonight's film was Ford's favorite, Dudley Nichols who had collaborated with him on 16 titles. Uncredited was Ben Hecht known as the script doctor who producer Sam Goldwyn brought in.As for the cast Jerome Cowan as Captain Nagle using John Ford's own yacht in the film, Cowan you may recognize from THE MALTESE FALCON as Bogart's partner that gets killed in the beginning.John Carradine a master at evil characters plays Warden. My favorite performance of his is as the preacher in GRAPES OF WRATH. Thomas Mitchell who plays the Doctor was Scarlett's father in GONE WITH THE WIND was Oscar nominated for tonight's film and won the Academy Award for STAGECOACH playing a drunk doctor.C. Aubrey Smith that great English character actor with the giant nose plays the priest Father Paul.Mary Astor another silent film star most famous today for being the femme fetal in THE MALTESE FALCON and the same year as THE HURRICANE appeared as the woman everybody's fighting over in THE PRISONER OF ZENDA. Astor plays the wife of Governor Raymond Massey.Raymond Massey was also in THE PRISONER OF ZENDA. Just a year before Massey made the Sci-Fi classic THINGS TO COME and three years later would be Oscar nominated as the lead in ABE LINCOLN IN ILLINOIS.Finally I have worked my way thru our ensemble to our young leads, both early in their career.Handsome, athletic leading man Jon Hall was the son of an actor and a real life Tahitian princess. In fact his uncle co wrote the book that tonight's film is based on. As you may have read in the slide show he changed his name twice before becoming Jon Hall and it took tonight's film HURRICANE for him to become a star, but it also type cast him in adventure films for the rest of his career.Dorothy Lamour's road to fame started when she was named Miss New Orleans in 1931, Dorothy Lamour worked as a Chicago elevator operator; band vocalist for her first husband, band leader Herbie Kaye; and radio performer. In 1936 she donned her soon-to-be-famous sarong for her debut at Paramount, THE JUNGLE PRINCESS, and continued to play female Tarzan-Crusoe-Gauguin-girls in parts through the war years and beyond. The most famous of these was in the popular Bob Hope/Bing Crosby "ROAD" pictures – those a strange combination of adventure, slapstick, ad-libs and Hollywood inside jokes. Of these she said, "I was the happiest and highest-paid straight woman in the business." Among her serious films were JOHNNY APOLLO and A MEDAL FOR BENNY.As for the plot, opps I see I'm out of time.
MartinHafer This is a very good movie that earns an 8 due to the amazing (though a bit overlong) ending. Without the technically brilliant ending, I'd give the film a 6 or 7.The movie is about a small fictional French-controlled island near Tahiti. Everything seems happy and idyllic until one of the main characters justifiably protects himself from attack in a bar when visiting Tahiti (the film never mentioned WHICH island this was--just calling it "Tahiti"). However, the French legal system seems totally indifferent and unjust and sentences this native to six months in jail. And, not unexpectedly from a "child of nature", he goes almost crazy and tries to escape again and again--and increases his six month sentence to over 16 years!!! This is almost exactly like what occurred in LES MISERABLES, where poor Jean Valjean steals a loaf of bread and after trying to escape is sentenced to spend most of his life in prison--just for a crust of bread! And, like Victor Hugo's classic, there is a parallel to the character Inspector Javert--a man whose obsession with the technicalities of the law but not justice makes him almost inhuman. Interestingly, however, in this film, there are actually several characters reminiscent of Javert--not just the governor (Raymond Massey).In the role of the native couple are Dorothy Lamour (who is beautiful and looks like a real native) and Jon Hall (who is beautiful and looks too much like a European to be believable as the native prisoner). However, Hall did an excellent job with the role, though I must admit that Lamour was given little to do other than to pout, swim and kiss Hall.Overall, this re-working of LES MISERABLES was very competently done and interesting. John Ford and the rest did a good job. However, the hurricane scene at the end was the true star of the film. How did they ever get it to look so realistic?!FYI--This movie was made in 1937. I seriously doubt if it would have been made in the same form just a few years later, as it makes the French government look very, very bad. During the war years or especially just after WWII, Hollywood tried very hard to portray the French in a sympathetic (such as CROSS OF LORAINE) or somewhat sympathetic light (such as in CASABLANCA).