Customer Reviews

Hurricane

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Director John Ford's awesome drama set in the fictitious French South Sea island of Manikoora is a film portraying the love between native islanders Marama played by a sultry and saronged Dorothy Lamour and bronzed hunk Jon Hall playing Terangi. The joyous union between this couple in this idyllic tropical setting is soon shattered. The story is narrated by Thomas Mitchell playing Dr. Kersaint who is reminiscing about Manikoora as he returns on a cruise ship.

Terangi is the toast of the island, an expert sailor and first mate on a local sailing ship. On a trip to Tahiti, a racial slur against him and his mates results in an assault of a white skinned local bully. Hall breaks the man's jaw and is sentenced to a 6 month sentence. Abhoring confinement and suffering against inhumanne treatment by a sadistic warden played by John Carradine, Hall's sentence gets extended to 16 years owing to numerous unsuccessful prison breaks. The governor of Manikoora, De Laage played by Raymond Massey, whose overzealousness in his views on justice and how the rule the islanders refuses to intercede on Hall's behalf. Stubbornly against the advice of his wife played by Mary Astor, Father Paul, the local priest played by C. Aubrey Smith and Mitchell playing the doctor, he lets Hall rot in jail.

Finally after 8 years, Hall escapes embarking on a perilous 600 mile journey to return to his wife Lamour and their daughter who he's never seen. As if on cue the winds start picking up as if God is voicing his displeasure. What follows is the most outstanding depiction of a murderously devastating Pacific typhoon I have ever seen. The filming done on 1937 San Catalina Island was so realistic as to be incomprehensible as to how it was attained, with a roaring sea crashing in, trees being uprooted and dwellings being pulverized. The total destruction of the island was filmed in about a 15 minute jaw dropping sequence leaving few survivors.

Never having seen this outstanding film before, I would have to put it near the top in the magnificent resume of director John Ford's work.

Don't watch this dvd if you are afraid of hurricanes! The last time I saw this marvelous John Ford film was on the morning of August 23, 1992-AMC Movie Channel, as bad coincidence would have it, was broadcasting The Hurricane, as Hurricane Andrew was tear- ing into Miami. I don't know which was more terrifying, the winds outside, smashing trees to the ground-or seeing the priest playing the organ as the walls came caving in, and the churchbell silenced........it is, for it's time, THE most realistic depict- ion of a hurricane as you are likely to get. And very advanced social commentary, that the imposition of rigidly-observed col- onial rules damaged those whom it was imposed on, that it drained the life out of them. Not to mention rigidity on a personal lev- el wrecked relationships, ruining love. Rather a parable of para dise lost and destroyed-to great effect. What could have been a humdrum boring sermon became an electrifying tale under the sure hand of John Ford. John Hall and Dorothy Lamour really never had such a workout of their craft again!

Doesn't spare any puches. There's a terrifying scene of an is- lander mother giving birth in a canoe, surrounded by her family and the doctor, being jounced around and battered by the storm in all it's fury-you have to buy this. You won't regret it. It has not lost any of it's punch, it is as applicable today as then.

(...)

I watched on it on my portable 7" DVD player and cannot wait to rerun it on the larger TV. It was in one word spectacular. The special effects of 1937 made the hurricane scenes come alive. You don't need the computer generated effects of a movie such as the new STAR WARS to hold your interest. Sure its Black and White but that makes it even better. Bravo John Ford, Bravo Jon Hall, and Bravo to Amazon.com for making this classic 1937 film available. Five Stars plus from Connecticut.

Bliss of islanders Terangi (Hall) and Marama (Lamour) is threatened by overzealous, rigid (yet tenderly devoted to wife Germaine) colonial governor De Laage (Massey), obsessed with the letter of the law--until nature intervenes to settle the conflict and soften De Laage's heart. Enduring a lengthy period of false incarceration, Terangi is reunited with beloved Marama and young daughter Tita--on the eve of the hurricane that will overwhelm their tiny island, yet ironically, despite great human toll, reconcile persecutor and persecuted. Awesome, riveting hurricane sequence still is unsurpassed after more than sixty years. Ever intensifying gale force winds tear away the tattered tricolor, signalling the end of colonial government's vain attempt to impose bureaucratic order on the island. Storm surge violently and indiscriminately carries away trappings of church and state, as nature asserts its primacy over man. Top notch cast, especially Mary Astor as De Laage's gracious wife Germaine, more than hold their own with the hurricane--the real star of the film.

The main reason to watch this 1937 film directed by John Ford is for the special effects as the title storm wrecks the fictional island of Manukura and strips it clean of almost all of the trees and all of the people. Certainly the cornball romance in "The Hurricane" between the native girl Marama (Dorothy Lamour) and the sailor Terangi (Jon Hall) is not particularly captivating. Terangi is unjustly imprisoned for a murder he did not commit and escapes just as a hurricane strikes the island and makes it difficult for him to return to his wife while impact every other subplot in this film, which have to do with the sort of mix of racism and classism that existed between whites and Polynesians during that time. Things get rather melodramatic, but the key thing is that when the big storm blows in that you have the definite idea this is God's judgment on these people.

The story is told in flashback by Dr. Kersaint (Henry Mitchell in an Oscar nominated role for Best Supporting Actor) and we find that the island of Manukura was a place where the happy natives chaffed under the rigid rule of the French governor, Eugene De Laage (Raymond Massey). Terangi and Marama are married early in the film, first in a Christian ceremony by Father Paul (C. Aubrey Smith) and then by Chief Mehevi (Al Kikume) in a native one. However, Captain Nagle (Jerome Cowan) needs Terangi, who works as a navigator, to get the ship to Tahiti, so the honeymoon for the happy couple is really short. While on Tahiti, Terangi gets into trouble and ends up in prison, and except for Governor De Laage, everybody back on Manukura, is aware this is a gross injustice. So when Terangi escapes and accidentally kills a prison guard, De Laage intends to have him arrested and executed. Meanwhile, there is a big storm brewing as we get an ample reminder of why this film is entitled "The Hurricane."

The hurricane sequence is what justifies rounding up and giving this one five stars for this film as giant waves and battering winds destroy the sets and miniatures alike. You want wind and water signifying fury, then "The Hurricane" provide each, working in a lot less stock footage of an actual storm than you might suspect. Let me put it this way: the special effects in this 1937 film are at least as impressive as anything you see in "The Perfect Storm" (Do not be surprised that special effects from this decade can be so effective: was anything in "Twister" more impressive than the stocking they used for the tornado in "The Wizard of Oz"?). The film was adapted by Oliver H.P. Garrett into a screenplay by Dudley Nichols, with some uncredited help from Ben Hecht, from the novel by James Norman Hall and Charles Nordhoff (authors of "Mutiny on the Bounty"). The supporting cast features Mary Astor as the more sympathetic wife of the governor and John Carradine as the sadistic warden. If you can track down a copy of "The Hurricane" check it out, but do not do so on a dark and stormy night.

This film is very exciting and has good production. It the head of its time in the seventh art for its high quality effects. The message of the film is about destructive natural hurricane with its similar hurricane of human life represented in black side of man. I.e. hatred injustice and conspiracy. These bad things are the true hurricane that travels inside man which would get ride of what it meets like natural hurricane. This is quite clear in the film the ruler(Raymond Massey ) and the young man(Jon Hall ). The similarity between the two films is the destruction of every thing that the hurricane meets. It among lines message which the film seeks to convey.

I have always been a fan of John Ford's movies. He has a unique style of movies that are wholesome without being irrelevant. He always seems to have a major social community event such as a wedding or a funeral that helps identify the unity of the society. He often has an individual that is or becomes an outsider to that same society and, through that antagonist, we gradually discover both the positive and negative traits of each. There is always a romantic aspect and a religious aspect to the movie as well. By the time the movie has ended, we have usually discovered how the individual has succeeded or failed as well as how the society has been affected by the events in the movie. Life goes on although often a bit sadder but wiser. We, in turn, are often a bit sadder but wiser as well. Happy endings occur in Ford's movies but usually at a price.

"The Hurricane" exemplifies all of the above but with the added feature of an unusual amount of special effects. This 1937 movis brings to the screen a surprisingly effective re-enactment of a tropical typhoon. (I believe that "hurricane" is a term unique to the Atlantic Ocean and the Carribean Sea). There are times that we get an obvious glimpse of actors superimposed against the background of turmoil. However, much of the scenes are very effective and give a real sense of a powerful storm on the level of a hurricane. The waves destroy and overwhelm the small island (that suddenly becomes so small that most of the island seems to have disappeared before the storm even arrived-or did I miss something?). One soon comes to understand that stuntmen and women are filling in for the stars because these folks are dealing with some heavy waves. I guess I'd better not try top oversell the special effects but they were clearly beyond what I had expected to see in a movie made nearly 70 years ago.

There is a plot to the movie and, as I suggested earlier, it follows the general guideline of a John Ford movie. The hurricane (if you will) doesn't hit until the movie is at least 4/5's completed. The film is well-directed but it is not one of Ford's best movies as far as the plot goes. It is probably his best movie as far as the special effects go.

As a fan of Goldwyn films, I have always enjoyed this magical piece of hokum for it's unusual story, haunting musical score, appealing actors and especially for the terrific special effects which have never been exceeded in their overall effectiveness in nearly 65 years. Dorothy Lamour is beautiful as Marama and Jon Hall gives us his best-remembered performance as Terangi. Mary Astor plays Germaine with rare charm and grace and Raymond Massey is her husband, the Governor you love to hate. In all actuality, this makes a great family picture and for those who are interested, there's a colorized version. The theme is the haunting "Moon of Manakoora".

Here is the film that made the gorgeous Dorothy Lamour one of the greatest sex symbols in movie history - and besides that it is a thrilling adventure picture with outstanding special effects. One of the top films of the 1930's - and of alltime!!

Wow. Incredible special effects close out the last half hour of this film, in which a small Pacific island near Tahiti is obliterated by a collossal hurricane. The action scenes are amazing, as buildings, boats, people and trees are swept away by unstoppable nature. The plot revolves around the noble seafaring Terangi, a native who runs afoul of an unbending legal system, and has to go to great lengths to return to his family, and to prove his valor and nobility. Played by athlete-turned-actor John Hall, Terangi has a major "me Tarzan" quality to him, but is compelling nonetheless. Dorothy Lamour, in her trademark sarong, also plays a Polynesian. If you can get past the silliness of these white folks playing "ethnic" roles, this is a superior, and quite stunning film. As ever, a tightly crafted movie by director John Ford.