Adapted by Dudley Nichols and Oliver H. P. Garrett from a novel by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall, The Hurricane was one of John Ford’s most popular and most entertaining pictures of the 1930s.
This was largely due to the stellar ensemble and the spectacular visual and sound effects (which won the Oscar).
Graduate: B
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Ford was intrigued by the issue of individual freedom versus institutional colonial oppression, which he will explore in several of his seminal Westerns.
The sexy Jon Hall, replacing Joel McCrea, who was originally assigned the role, plays Terangi, a tempestuous native of the French-controlled island of Manakoora. After marrying childhood sweetheart Marama (Dorothy Lamour in sarong), Terangi takes a job on a ship.
Jon Hall
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Thomas Mitchell, in an Oscar nominated part, plays the boozy doctor (which would become his specialty).
While docked in Tahiti, Teragni gets into a fight by a white man, an offense punishable by prison term. The strict French governor DeLaage (Raymond Massey) is dedicated to upholding the law.
However, the appeals made on behalf of Terangi by the doctor (Mitchell), priest (C. Aubrey Smith), ship’s captain (Jerome Cowan), and the governor’s own wife (Mary Astor) fail to change DeLaage’s decision.
The freedom-loving Terangi tries to escape from prison, only to be recaptured and sentenced to longer terms. He manages to make his way back to Manakoora, killing a prison guard.
Just as Terangi is about to sail off in an outrigger canoe with Marama and their child, a major hurricane begins. Risking his own life, Terangi rescue DeLaage’s wife and others from the storm.
Despite Ford’s objections, Ben Hecht did rewrites of the script at producer Samuel Goldwyn’s demand.
The Hurricane sequences were staged by an uncredited Stuart Heisler, who would become a director on his own right.
Stay away from the 1979 remake, also titled The Hurricane, starring Jason Robards and Mia Farrow in the Raymond Massey and Mary Astor roles.
My Book:
Oscar Nominations: 3
Supporting Actor: Thomas Mitchell
Score: Alfred Newman
Sound Recording: Thomas Moulton
Oscar Awards: 1
Sound Recording
Oscar Context:
The winner of the Best Supporting Actor was Joseph Schildkraut for The Life of Emile Zola.
The Scoring Oscar went to Charles Previn for One Hundred Men and a Girl.
Credits:
Directed by John Ford
Written by Dudley Nichols, Oliver H.P. Garrett, based on The Hurricane (novel) by James Norman Hall and Charles Nordhoff
Produced by Samuel Goldwyn
Cinematography Bert Glennon
Edited by Lloyd Nosler
Music by Alfred Newman
Production company: Samuel Goldwyn Productions
Distributed by United Artists
Release date: November 9, 1937
Running time: 110 minutes
Budget $2 million (estimated)
Box office $3.2 million (U.S. and Canada rentals)