The Hurricane (1937)

A Polynesian sailor -- unjustly imprisoned after defending himself against a colonial bully -- is relentlessly persecuted by his island's martinet French governor.

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Dudley Nichols (screen play), Oliver H.P. Garrett (adaptation)

Stars:

Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall, Mary Astor

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dorothy Lamour	...	Marama
Jon Hall	...	Terangi
Mary Astor	...	Mme. DeLaage
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Father Paul
Thomas Mitchell	...	Dr. Kersaint
Raymond Massey	...	DeLaage
John Carradine	...	Warden
Jerome Cowan	...	Captain Nagle
Al Kikume	...	Chief Mehevi
Kuulei De Clercq	...	Tita
Layne Tom Jr.	...	Mako
Mamo Clark	...	Hitia
Movita	...	Arai (as Movita Castenada)

Storyline

In the Island of Manukura, a French colony in the South Seas, the joyful Terangi is a leader among the natives and the first mate of the Katopua, the tall ship of Captain Nagle. Terangi gets married with Marama and sooner he sails to Tahiti. While in a bar playing with other natives, Terangi is offended by an alcoholic racist French and he hits his face, breaking his jaw. Despite the testimony of Captain Nagle, Terangi is sentenced to six months of forced labor since the victim had political connections with the Powers That Be. Captain Nagle asks the Governor Eugene DeLaage to uses his influence to help Terangi, but the governor refuses. Terangi unsuccessfully tries to escape from the prison, and each attempt increases his sentence. Eight years later, he finally escapes and his jailbreak is celebrated in Manukura. Father Paul finds his canoe and brings Terangi to the island. But a devastating hurricane also arrives in the island threatening the dwellers.

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Plot Keywords:

island | disaster movie | disaster | cognac | psychotronic film | 

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Taglines:

South Sea Adventure Calls

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the American Film Institute's 2001 list of 400 movies nominated for the top 100 Most Heart-Pounding American Movies.

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Goofs

In one of the posters, Tarangi is shown with a revolver, but in fact he never handles a gun in the film.

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Quotes

Madame Germaine De Laage: [storm is relentlessly pounding the church, people inside hear the sea gaining on the church]
Madame Germaine De Laage: Father, will the sea rise and cover the island?
Father Paul: We're on the highest part here, my daughter. Even if the sea reaches us, the walls will keep it out.

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Connections

Referenced in A Feud There Was (1938)

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Soundtracks

Aloha Oe
(uncredited(
Written by Queen Liliuokalani
Heard at various times during the film and over the closing credits

User Reviews

A Superb Effort for the Time

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 February 1938 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

The Hurricane

Filming Locations:

Point Mugu, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Samuel Goldwyn Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 103 min (video) 104 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1