Thunder Bay (1953)

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

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

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

Stars:

James Stewart, Joanne Dru, Gilbert Roland

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

In 1946, ex-Navy engineer Steve Martin comes to a Louisiana town with a dream: to build a safe platform for offshore oil drilling. Having finessed financing from a big oil company, formerly penniless Steve and his partner Johnny are in business...and getting interested in shrimp-boat captain Rigaud's two lovely daughters. But opposition from the fishing community grows fast, led by Stella Rigaud. Other hazards include sabotage, a hurricane...and a treacherous board of directors.

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Plot Keywords:

oil | fishing | louisiana | small town | 1940s | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 September 1953 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Die Todesbucht von Louisiana

Filming Locations:

Morgan City, Louisiana, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Cinemania (2002)

User Reviews

An Entertaining Anomaly

Thunder Bay is an anomaly, a pedantic film on a subject seldom dealt with in the movies, the conflict between businessmen, whose ambitions will cause great change in the local landscape, and the locals, who want things to remain as they are. In this case it's oil drillers versus shrimp fisherman in the Louisiana of the early 1950's. The conflict at times seems almost Marxian, with James Stewart's hardheaded, no-nonsense outsider going up against ragin' Cajun Gilbert Roland, a far more charming and sympathetic figure. Rather than shy away from class conflict, the movie confronts the issue repeatedly, in a variety of ways, and builds up a good deal of tension along the way, as Stewart's compulsive, oil drilling loner, increasingly isolated, takes on the entire community.

There's a good deal of fifties sociology here, with the modern, inner-directed Stewart against the tradition-centered fishing people. Neither side understands the other, as one can well see how these local folks would view Stewart as an uncaring and forbidding figure, the embodiment of alien, big city values. On the other hand these people are a rough and tumble lot, uneducated, clannish and utterly without curiosity. It's easy to see how an educated man might look down on them. There's a good deal of action along the way, and some fist-fights. At a time when many Americans still thought of themselves in terms of class, and with the Depression fresh in everyone's minds, it was rather bold of director Anthony Mann to take on this subject from a middle of the road, basically Republican (but not right wing) perspective. In this respect the movie, which came out in the first year of the Eisenhower administration, heralded a new era of compromise, with the promise of better things yet to come. As to which side is right, well, you be the judge. I'm still thinking this over.