... then came the hurricane
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | ... then came the hurricane |
| Original title | The hurricane |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1937 |
| length | 102 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Ford |
| script | Dudley Nichols |
| production | Samuel Goldwyn |
| music | Alfred Newman |
| camera | Bert Glennon |
| cut | Lloyd Nosler |
| occupation | |
| |
... then came the hurricane (originally The Hurricane ) is an American drama directed by John Ford from 1937. The screenplay is based on the novel Hurricane (original title: Hurricane ) by the writer duo Charles Bernard Nordhoff and James Norman Hall and was First performed in Los Angeles on November 5, 1937 . In Germany, the film first appeared in cinemas on May 24, 1950, in a version shortened by two minutes.
action
Captain Nagle reaches the South Pacific island of Manukura with his schooner. As a passenger on board is Germaine, the wife of the island governor Eugene DeLaage, who is an advocate of law and order. Also on board is the sailor Terangi, who wants to marry Marama, the daughter of chief Mehevi, that day. Pastor Paul conducts the wedding, at which Nagle, the DeLaage couple and Dr. Kersaint are present.
The newlyweds spend the night on the uninhabited island of Motu Tonga. Terangi returns to his ship the next morning to sail to Tahiti. There Terangi and his colleagues visit a bar where Terangi is provoked into a fight by a white man. Terangi breaks the man's jaw and is sentenced to six months in prison. Nagle intervenes with the governor of Tahiti. Six months in prison would be fatal for an islander like Terangi. But the governor explains that the injured man has very influential friends.
When Nagle sails, Terangi sees the ship. He dares to break out to swim to reach the schooner, but is captured. Now he has to stay in prison for a year. Nagle, Dr. Kersaint, Germaine and Pastor Paul seek help for Terangi from Governor DeLaage, but he refuses so as not to undermine the legal authority. Marama, Terangi's pregnant wife, takes the news badly.
Eight years have now passed. Various escape attempts have extended Terangi's prison term to 16 years. DeLaage still refuses to help. Terangi attempts suicide but is prevented from doing so by a guard. Terangi unintentionally kills the guard and escapes from prison. He covers almost 900 kilometers to Manukura in a canoe. Father Paul picks him up and hides him on Motu Tonga, where Terangi meets his wife and daughter Tita. In the meantime, DeLaage has been informed of Terangi's escape and has him searched. To do this, he orders Nagle's ship to transport the search teams.
The weather is getting serious, there is strong wind. Terangi knows that a hurricane will approach and brings his family back to Manukura. The storm breaks out, tidal waves destroy the church. Terangi has tied Marama, Tita, Germaine and himself to a large tree, but the tree is uprooted and thrown together with the four people onto a distant headland on the island. Dr. Kersaint and few of the residents survive the storm. Nagle avoided the storm together with DeLaage on the schooner. Nagle notices a beacon on the headland. There Terangi noticed the schooner and started the fire. Germaine tells him to flee so that her husband cannot arrest him. The small family gets into a canoe and leaves the headland.
DeLaage happily embraces his wife. He notices footprints in the sand and notices the receding canoe on the water. Germaine tells him it was a broken canoe. DeLaage, realizing that Terangi saved his wife, agrees and lets Terangi sail away with his family.
Reviews
"The only thing really worth seeing in this film is the dramatic climax, a hurricane filmed with dazzling special effects measured at the time it was made."
"[...] gets caught in a tropical storm that John Ford unleashed for a brilliant 20 (!) Film minutes."
“A masterpiece from the Reige kitchen [sic!] John Fords: South Sea magic, a romantic love story, a melodrama about duties and injustice - and an unparalleled catastrophe film with trickery. The drama reaches its climax with a hurricane unlike any cinema has seen before or after. In addition, Ford is once again taking a very critical view of the judiciary. "
Awards
- Oscar in the Best Sound category to Thomas T. Moulton
- Nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Thomas Mitchell
- Nomination in the category Best Film Music for Alfred Newman
background
The United Artists production had an estimated budget of approximately $ 2 million. The film was shot on Pago Pago , Samoa and Santa Catalina Island off California.
Director John Ford was supported by Stuart Heisler, who was involved in a feature film for the second time. The script was developed by Academy Award winning writers, with Dudley Nichols assisted by Ben Hecht . The novel was adapted for the film by Oliver HP Garrett. Oscar-winning Richard Day was responsible for setting the film. In his later career, he won six other Academy Awards. He was supported by the later three-time Oscar winner Alexander Golitzen , who worked here for the third time on a feature film. Oscar winner Thomas T. Moulton, who incidentally is not mentioned in any of his films in the credits, was responsible for the sound for a feature film for the second time. He later won another Oscar, as well as a special Oscar. The spectacular shots of the storm were made by James Basevi, who was later to be awarded Oscar honors as an outfitter. The later Oscar winner Archie Stout acted as cameraman for the South Seas recordings . Oscar-nominated Alfred Newman (nine Oscars between 1939 and 1968), who is not mentioned in the credits, had Hugo Friedhofer (Oscar 1947) at his side as orchestra leader .
The director of the understudy Wingate Smith was the brother-in-law of the director John Ford. Leading actor Jon Hall was a nephew of the novelist James Norman Hall.
Of the actors, Mary Astor received Oscar honors in 1942. Two years after being nominated for this film, Thomas Mitchell won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
literature
- Charles Bernard Nordhoff , James Norman Hall : Hurricane. Roman (original title: Hurricane ). German by Rolf Brettschneider . Unabridged special edition. Desch, Munich 1976, 221 pages, ISBN 3-420-03811-9
Web links
- ... then the hurricane came in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Classic Film Guide review
- Cinema posters from USA, Spain, France, Italy