A Polynesian sailor unjustly imprisoned after defending himself against a colonial bully is relentlessly persecuted by his island's martinet French governor.A Polynesian sailor unjustly imprisoned after defending himself against a colonial bully is relentlessly persecuted by his island's martinet French governor.A Polynesian sailor unjustly imprisoned after defending himself against a colonial bully is relentlessly persecuted by his island's martinet French governor.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 2 nominations total
Lionel Braham
- The Governor
- (uncredited)
John Casey
- Native
- (uncredited)
Spencer Charters
- Judge
- (uncredited)
Anne Chevalier
- Reri
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to Life Magazine, special effects wizard James Basevi was given a budget of $400,000 to create his effects. He spent $150,000 to build a native village with a lagoon 200 yards long, and then spent $250,000 destroying it.
- GoofsAs the the hurricane bears down on the church with its flooding fury, some of the native islanders choose to escape the failing structure by making their way out clinging to a tied off rope. As one of the huge waves hits the rope, a couple of the women islanders get flipped over and appear to be drowning. During the flip, one of the women's sarong top gets pulled down from the special effects wave and for a split second there is a bare breast exposure which the censors didn't catch.
- Quotes
DeLaage: You helped Terangi? My own priest?
Father Paul: I'm his priest too!
DeLaage: You helped a murderer!
Father Paul: I aided a man whose heart is innocent.
DeLaage: You've given aid to anarchy and bloodshed!
Father Paul: I'll answer for it.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Movies Are Adventure (1948)
Featured review
The Fury of Nature
It took John Ford another 18 years to get back to the south seas as a film location after his award winning The Hurricane. He had an incomplete trip with Mister Roberts in 1955, but then made it back for Donovan's Reef in 1963.
Both The Hurricane and Donovan's Reef deal with racism and have as their settings, French colonial possessions in the south Pacific. Of course Donovan's Reef takes a far more light hearted approach. In both films Ford feels that colonialism is at best a mixed blessing for the native populace.
Jon Hall is a happy and content resident of the small island of Manakoora with a new wife. He's a sailor by trade, first mate on a ship captained by Jerome Cowan. While in Tahiti he defends himself in a barroom brawl, but gets sentenced for assault because he struck a white man. An obnoxious lout with political influence. His lot is made worse with repeated attempts to escape adding time on his sentence and all kinds of torture, physical and psychological, by a cruel guard played by John Carradine.
Meanwhile back on Manakoora wife Dorothy Lamour gives birth to a child and Hall becomes something of a native folk hero. That's most unsettling to the Governor Raymond Massey. Massey is one uptight dude with a lot of issues. He says he's defending the law, but he knows he's defending the concept of white supremacy and that fact isn't escaping any of his peers including his own wife Mary Astor.
Thomas Mitchell got nominated for his performance as a doctor with a bit of a thirst problem on Manakoora. A decent man, he's revolted by a lot of what he sees. As is C. Aubrey Smith the priest. Both Mitchell and Smith take comfort where they can, Mitchell in booze, Smith in his Catholic faith. Mitchell lost to Joseph Schildkraut for Best Supporting Actor, but two years later won with essentially the same role in Stagecoach.
The Hurricane won the very first Oscar given out for Special Effects and the hurricane which should have been called a typhoon in that part of the world even today is something to see. You will not forget the fury of nature that destroys C. Aubrey Smith's church. This ain't your Wizard of Oz type storm.
Both The Hurricane and Donovan's Reef deal with racism and have as their settings, French colonial possessions in the south Pacific. Of course Donovan's Reef takes a far more light hearted approach. In both films Ford feels that colonialism is at best a mixed blessing for the native populace.
Jon Hall is a happy and content resident of the small island of Manakoora with a new wife. He's a sailor by trade, first mate on a ship captained by Jerome Cowan. While in Tahiti he defends himself in a barroom brawl, but gets sentenced for assault because he struck a white man. An obnoxious lout with political influence. His lot is made worse with repeated attempts to escape adding time on his sentence and all kinds of torture, physical and psychological, by a cruel guard played by John Carradine.
Meanwhile back on Manakoora wife Dorothy Lamour gives birth to a child and Hall becomes something of a native folk hero. That's most unsettling to the Governor Raymond Massey. Massey is one uptight dude with a lot of issues. He says he's defending the law, but he knows he's defending the concept of white supremacy and that fact isn't escaping any of his peers including his own wife Mary Astor.
Thomas Mitchell got nominated for his performance as a doctor with a bit of a thirst problem on Manakoora. A decent man, he's revolted by a lot of what he sees. As is C. Aubrey Smith the priest. Both Mitchell and Smith take comfort where they can, Mitchell in booze, Smith in his Catholic faith. Mitchell lost to Joseph Schildkraut for Best Supporting Actor, but two years later won with essentially the same role in Stagecoach.
The Hurricane won the very first Oscar given out for Special Effects and the hurricane which should have been called a typhoon in that part of the world even today is something to see. You will not forget the fury of nature that destroys C. Aubrey Smith's church. This ain't your Wizard of Oz type storm.
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- bkoganbing
- Nov 22, 2006
- How long is The Hurricane?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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