A stunning big blowout; this South Seas spectacular from the great John Ford is a rare perennial. The story is pretty much hooey with a dollop of tropical glamour on top, but anyway, marvelously self-serving. The beauteous Lamour is in love with barrel-chested Hall, whose hot temper lands
him in hot water with corrupt island governor Massey. There's a fine assist from Astor, Mitchell, Cowan, Carradine, and Smith. Then the hurricane comes--a real lulu--and steals everyone's thunder. These scenes are terrifyingly spectacular, done on actual and miniature scales so cleverly edited
that it is next to impossible to discern where one leaves off and the other takes over.
Hall and Lamour, two relatively unknown actors, became big deals in their roles as scantily clad natives. Lamour, a $75-a-week bit player at Paramount with only four films to her credit, was borrowed by Goldwyn from that studio. Goldwyn originally wanted Howard Hawks to direct this film, but they
had argued violently over the making of COME AND GET IT, so Goldwyn turned to John Ford to direct THE HURRICANE. The mogul had also intended Joel McCrea to enact the part of the persecuted native Terangi, but McCrea convinced Ford that he was not right for the role, so Ford came up with Hall, a
handsome, virile-looking actor Ford had spotted in a minor production at the Hollywood Playhouse.
Hall would have a checkered career after THE HURRICANE, coming to prominence in the early 1940s in a series of adventure and fantasy tales with exotic co-star Maria Montez. Lamour's star would rise even higher, especially after parlaying her sarong to fame--she first wore it in THE JUNGLE
PRINCESS--and she would wear it through many a Bob Hope-Bing Crosby road film. leave a comment
