The Hurricane

The story line of this movie gets a bit fanciful at times, but it doesn't get out of hand and the movie does not pretend to be anything it isn't, so I think most people well enjoy it.

There are several fine performances. My favorite is that of Raymond Massey as he is very convincing in the thankless role of a cold-hearted governer who towards the end shows a sadistic side and then, at the very end of the movie, shows that there is good in everybody.

Then there is the hurricane itself. Naturally I have not seen every movie ever made, but seeing how this movie predates the computer age the hurricane is surely the greatest special effects in movie history.

There is a great cast in this superb piece of Hollywood hokum. Jon Hall and Dorothy Lamour are in there physical prime, Raymond Massey brings dignity and his considerable acting skill to his role as the harsh Island governor, the wonderfully photogenic C. Aubrey Smith (was he ever young I wonder) is the priest and Thomas Mitchell plays his usual drunken Irishman (even though he's supposed to be French). The corn ball plot moves swiftly and is played sincerely and the climatic hurricane scenes are still awe inspiring

For sheer entertainment I give it 9 out of ten.

JON HALL stars as a hot-tempered native on a fictional South Seas island called Manakoora, run by a strict martinet of a governor, played by RAYMOND MASSEY. After petty theft and a brawl, Hall is hauled into jail and given a strict sentence that separates him from his new wife, a native girl Marama played by DOROTHY LAMOUR.

Hall and Lamour are both in their physical prime. Hunky Hall is shown to advantage in the central role in a series of adventurous escapes from prison, climaxed by his authority in leading some of the islanders to safety during the climactic storm. Close-ups magnify Lamour's sultry beauty and handsome Hall is likewise photographed like a Greek God in profile. Ford has directed a film rich in character and settings with some stunning B&W photography.

Aside from the leads, good character roles are abundant. RAYMOND MASSEY, MARY ASTOR (as his loyal wife), THOMAS MITCHELL (another one of his drunken doctor roles) and JOHN CARRADINE as a sadistic warden, are all memorable.

Escapist entertainment with a South Seas setting and two photogenic co-stars who would both move on to better things in the '40s. But Jon Hall never had a better role than he does here as Terangi, the resourceful man who dives off a steep cliff into the calm waters of an enchanted island paradise during one of his many escapes.

As for "the hurricane", it's so realistic that you have to see it to believe it. And all this was before CGI effects--a brilliant job.

Alfred Newman's exotic background music is woven around a theme later called "The Moon of Manakoora" and turned into a popular song for Dorothy Lamour to warble. After seeing her in this film, no wonder she became the sarong girl of the '40s.

Jon Hall, Dorothy Lamour and an excellent cast are all caught in "The Hurricane," a 1937 film and the first to win a Special Effects Oscar. The original novel was written by Jon Hall's uncle.

On the island of Manakoora, Terangi (Hall) and Marama (Lamour) marry amidst a happy celebration, though their happiness will be short-lived. Terangi must deliver cargo to Tahiti, though Marama has a premonition about the trip and warns him not to go.

While in Tahiti, he gets into a barroom fight and is sentenced to 6 months in prison. The governor of Manakoora, DeLaage (Raymond Massey), despite the urgings of his friends and his wife (Mary Astor) refuses to ask for Terangi to be brought back to Manakoora and put on parole.

Unable to endure a life with no freedom, and desperate to get back home, Terangi continually attempts to escape. Each time he does, 2 years are added to his sentence until he has to serve 16 years.

At last, Terangi escapes and makes his way back to his island, where he meets his daughter for the first time. Knowing that DeLaage will capture him and return him to Tahiti, islanders prepare to help the family sail to another island. But a hurricane (actually a typhoon) strikes.

Besides those mentioned, "The Hurricane" also stars Thomas Mitchell as the French doctor on Manakoora, C. Aubrey Smith as the local priest, Jerome Cowan as Terangi's captain, and John Carradine as a sadistic prison guard.

The effects are astounding and are a no-miss, particularly considering it is 1937! The tremendous winds, the rising waters, the trees falling, buildings collapsing - all magnificent.

John Ford did an excellent job of directing this film, which has racism as its underpinning - the prison sentence was the result of a so-called dark man hitting a white man; and DeLaage's patrician and cruel attitude has racism at the base of it

I disagree with one of the comments that states that Hall was a white-skinned movie star trying to pass himself off as a dark man; Hall's mother was Tahitian.

Dorothy Lamour, exotic and beautiful, has very little to do in this film except look frightened and lovely - you can count her lines on one hand.

Hall, a total hunk if there ever was one, has more to say and do but one is so distracted by his face and physique that it becomes difficult to pay attention to anything else. The acting burden falls to Mitchell, Massey, Astor, Carradine, and Cowan, who are terrific.

Ford isn't known for his tales of the sea, but obviously he was good at everything. He wouldn't see water again until the 1950s. Lamour carried on the sarong tradition in better roles, and Hall worked into the mid-'60s; at the age of 65, dying of cancer and in excruciating pain, he shot himself.

Highly recommended as a feast of skin and brilliant special effects.

The Hurricane is a terrific but overlooked film from 1937, often thought of as a tepid "island romance," but in actuality a solid dramatic film (directed by John Ford) with great special effects and music by Alfred Newman.

Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall play the leads, Pacific Islanders who get caught in French provincial law and governance, as applied by strict governor Raymond Massey. Despite sympathetic tendencies of others Hall is convicted of striking a white man and imprisoned in Tahiti-600 miles away. He escapes in time for the "big blow" that seems to his the island in retaliation for the white man's laws.

Lamour is quite good as the island beauty, and Hall brings more to his role than the usual "hunk" attitudes and poses. Massey is solid as the taciturn governor who finally sees the light. Mary Astor is good as always as the governor's wife. Thomas Mitchell is the drunken doctor. Jerome Cowan is the ship captain. John Carradine is the sadistic guard. Spencer Charters is the inept judge. Inez Courtney is the girl on the ship. And best of all is the regal C. Aubrey Smith as the island priest.

The hurricane is awesome and the special effects among the best of the decade. The scenes of Astor crawling along a rope to find refuge in a tree and windblown Smith playing the organ as the church roof blows away are great. The destruction of the island is totally convincing and becomes almost mythic as a natural force to wipe out man's inhumanity.

Great film and very underrated.