Thunder Bay (1953)

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Gil Doud (screenplay)
George W. George (idea)

Release Date:

16 September 1953 (Denmark)

Genre:

Adventure

Plot:

Shrimpers and oilmen clash when an ambitious wildcatter begins constructing an off-shore oilrig.

Plot Keywords:

Oil | Fishing | Ocean | Beautiful Woman | 1940s

Cast

James Stewart	...	Steve Martin
Joanne Dru	...	Stella Rigaud
Gilbert Roland	...	Teche Bossier
Dan Duryea	...	Johnny Gambi
Jay C. Flippen	...	Kermit MacDonald
Marcia Henderson	...	Francesca Rigaud
Robert Monet	...	Phillipe Bayard
Antonio Moreno	...	Dominique Rigaud
Harry Morgan	...	Rawlings (as Henry Morgan)
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Sheriff Antoine Chighizola
Mario Siletti	...	Louis Chighizola

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (optical prints) | 3 Channel Stereo (magnetic prints)

Certification:

West Germany:6 (f) | USA:Approved (PCA #16321) | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Morgan City, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

Although filmed in the standard 1.37-1 aspect ratio, Thunder Bay was chosen by Universal-International as its first wide screen feature, accomplishing this by cropping the top and bottom and projecting it at 1.85-1 at Loew's State Theatre in New York City, as well as other sites. Its initial presentation also marked UI's first use of directional stereophonic sound.

Quotes:

Johnny Gambi: Can you, uh, juggle or anything like that? We might pick up a few bucks.
Steve Martin: I can imitate a movie star.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cinemania (2002)

Where's The Widescreen Version?

This was decent entertainment but nothing special, which it could have been with the likes of James Stewart, Joanne Dru, Dan Duryea and Gilbert Roland, and directed by Anthony Mann. This is supposed to be very good widescreen viewing but, unfortunately, I haven't viewed it on that format. We are all stuck with a formatted-to-TV tape until a DVD is released on this film. What's the holdup?

Duryea and Stewart played their normal interesting roles. This is mainly storytelling, even though it's listed as an "action movie." Nobody gets killed, and there is very little violence and, of course, no profanity. It's simply a story of some people who are the first to successfully drill oil offshore and the resistance they get from the local fishermen.

Dru mostly frowns through the picture, so she's not that likable as the female romantic lead. Stewart's squeaky voice doesn't across that well here, either. He sounded better on most of his other films.

It's an okay movie but certainly not one I would watch frequently, but I would like to see this in its intended widescreen version.