Storm Warning
A fashion model bears witness to the brutal assassination of an investigative journalist carried out by the Ku Klux Klan as she travels to a small town to visit her sister.
Director(s)
Stuart Heisler
Cast & Crew
Details
Reviews
John Chard
The KKK took my baby away, they took her away, away from me. Storm Warning is directed by Stuart Heisler and written by Richard Brooks and Daniel Fuchs. It stars Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan, Doris Day and Steve Cochran. Music is by Daniele Amfitheatrof and cinematography by Carl E. Guthrie. Stopping over to see her sister in Rockpoint, model Marsha Mitchell (Rogers) witness the Ku Klux Klan committing a murder and sees two of the perpetrators with their hoods off. Upon arriving at her sister's house, she is stunned to find that the beau of Lucy's (day) life is one of the killers! Should she do what is morally right? What District Attorney Burt Rainey (Reagan) wants her to do? Or should she think of her sister and keep Hank Rice (Cochran) out of prison? Lets get the big complaint out the way first. What has been written before is true, the issue of race hatred and the KKK is not dealt with, this really does soft soap that particular issue in favour of a more - less - controversial angle. Film does still portray them as cowardly murderous thugs hiding behind hoods, even portraying them as dimwits following one almighty Grand Wizard (or is it Dragon?) who is more concerned about cash than colour of skin, but trivialisation of a hot topic occurs. We are the law here. The judges and jury! So, accepting it on its own "non social issue message" terms, then it's a thoroughly engrossing piece of film noir styled melodrama. Thematic noir staples are within, with bigotry, fate, family dysfunction and a woman in peril scenario (the fox in the hen house situation is super) all bubbling away under the moral obligation surface. Laid over the top is no short amount of atmospheric style, as Heisler (Among the Living/The Glass Key) and Guthrie (Backfire/Caged) produce dank shadowed streets, misty jails and a big court room segment bathed in slatted shadows befitting the moral discord filtering around the room. Don't give me that Halloween routine. Heisler proves to have a good eye for imagery as well as technical nous, such as snaps of child Klan members or the symbolic falling of a burning cross. He also marshals his cast very well. Don't believe any review that says Rogers is miscast, she simply isn't, she's feisty, sexy and strong, yet vulnerable as well, she's perfect for the role that was originally intended for Bacall who bailed out. And with Day exuding a confused innocence that hits the right notes, Heisler's reputation as a great director of actresses holds weight here. Reagan and Cochran are fine, with Cochran veering away from his normal cool, calculated persona to offer up a characterisation we rarely saw from him. It misses a trick to really strike a dagger in the KKK scheme of things, and yes some of it feels like lower grade Tenessee Williams. However, the makers turn this Southern town into a diseased noir landscape, where the story is paced and performed with skill, and it all builds moodily to a truly great finale. Well worth seeking out. 8/10
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Storm Warning FAQs
Stuart Heisler is the director of Storm Warning.
The cast of Storm Warning includes Jimmy Dime as Townsman (uncredited), George Lloyd as Townsman (uncredited), Frank Marlowe as Al (uncredited), Charles Sullivan as Mill Worker (uncredited), Richard Anderson as Interne (uncredited), Tommy Walker as Bob (uncredited), Fred Aldrich as Townsman on Courthouse Steps (uncredited), Mike Lally as Townsman at Inquest (uncredited), Walter Bacon as Jury Foreman (uncredited), Robert Haines as Townsman (uncredited), Cap Somers as Townsman (uncredited), John Alban as Reporter (uncredited), and more.
The duration of Storm Warning is 1h 33 mins.
Yes. You can watch the Storm Warning trailer on this Fanbiz page on Fanziz.
Storm Warning was released on 10 Feb 1951.
Storm Warning is listed under Drama and Thriller on Fanbiz.
Storm Warning has 1 review on Fanziz, with an average rating of 8.0/10. One reviewer wrote: "The KKK took my baby away, they took her away, away from me. Storm Warning is directed by Stuart Heisler and written by Richard Brooks and Daniel Fuchs. It stars Ginger Roger..."
