Die Todesbucht von Louisiana

The first of two fifties adventure films with heroes called Steve Martin (the second was 'Godzilla' with Raymond Burr)! Shot on location in Morgan City, Louisiana in rich Technicolor (all the better to show off local girl Joanne Dru's vibrant and extremely durable lipstick), this was Jimmy Stewart's first non-western with Anthony Mann; and although easily the least known of their eight films together remains fun.

To 21st Century environmental sensibilities, oil prospectors no longer seem the heroic buccaneering figures they were once portrayed as. The film does acknowledge the disruptive impact Stewart and Duryea have on this sleepy little backwater; as much due simply to being men as oilmen...

From the director/actor team that brought us many of the great westerns of the 1950s, Thunder Bay teams Anthony Mann and James Stewart in what could easily be called a modern western. Stewart plays Steve Martin, an oil driller with a dream. His goal is to build an off-shore drill in the Gulf of Mexico. He receives the financial backing of oil tycoon Kermit MacDonald (Jay C. Flippen) and begins work.

He sets out from a small fishing community that has been on hard times lately. They are leery of Stewart and his partner Johnny Gambi (Dan Duryea) at first, and become more so when the two start blasting in the middle of their shrimp beds. To make matters worse, Johnny falls in love with a local girl who is already engaged to one of the fisherman.

Tension builds as the fishermen continue to have bad luck and the drill progresses. One disgruntled fisherman attempts to blow up the drill platform during the middle of a hurricane. Stewart, who had stayed on the platform to see how it would withstand the storm, catches him just in time to save it. A slippery fight ensues, during which the fisherman and Stewart fight not only each other, but a constant onslaught of water. As in the typical western, the hero (Stewart) wins and the villain dies.

The fight scene is one that dates the film. The special effects seem very archaic in wake of such recent films as Titanic and The Perfect Storm. Other than that, the film presents an interesting story on what, at the time, was a very taboo subject.

Aware of the controversy the film would stir-up, the film was carefully crafted to prove that two industries could exist side by side. As the fishermen resolve to destroy the well, Stewart discovers that his well has uncovered a new bed a shrimp. When the fishermen learn this they decide that the well is indeed an asset to their community and all live happily ever after.

As usual Stewart steals the film. His acting is subtle and believable. The simple story did not push him as an actor, but he is properly harried, tough and laconic. Overall this is an interesting film, enhanced by the beautiful location shots filmed in Technicolor by William Daniels. Truly, an intriguing and different take on the western genre.

The posted comment about wanting to see the "widescreen" version needs to be addressed.

As the listing for the film indicates, Thunder Bay was filmed with a standard Academy ratio of 1.37x1. That was the way it was meant to be shown. Universal then chopped off the top and bottom of the image - totally destroying the spatial integrity of the image - to claim that it was a "widescreen" film.

It must have looked awful. Count yourself lucky you don't get to see it.

(This horrible trick was also tried for the mid 1960s reissue for Gone With the Wind, where it was blown up to 70mm and released in a 2.35x1 ratio, which was just awful.)

It's Louisiana 1946. Navy buddies Johnny Gambi (Dan Duryea) and Steve Martin (James Stewart) are a couple of talkers and always with a scheme. They rent a fishing boat but the boat owner's daughter Stella Rigaud (Joanne Dru) immediately distrusts them. It doesn't stop Steve from falling for her. Gambi sets his sights on the younger sister Francesca. The two men are actually wildcatters showing an oil executive their plans to do off-shore drilling. It's a risky new form of drilling. Stella stops her father from helping the oilmen. So they rent from shrimper Teche Bossier (Gilbert Roland) instead but soon it's the shrimpers against the oilmen.

I'm not naturally pro-oil and anti-shrimp. So this comes with some normal resistance. The actual work from the oilmen is interesting. I'm not compelled to root for either side of the dispute. The shrimp is an easy out for the awkward conflict. This movie starts with some innocent fun but it gets a bit darker than I want. I like the start but it all gets a bit muddled especially in the modern sense.

What starts off as a cute conman buddy movie turns into an unexpected dual romance as the pals find girls in a small fishing town, and a locals-against-outsiders fight. James Stewart and Dan Duryea, frequent costars, have great chemistry together as friends who are down on their luck. With failures on their resume and nothing but slick tongues, they con their way into a car ride into town, renting a boat for the day, and hosting a business meeting with an important investor - all without paying. Joanne Dru is skeptical, Gilbert Roland is jealous, Marcia Henderson is interested, and Jay C. Flippen believes in their vision: underwater off-shore drilling.

If you like the actual story of the drilling and the local fisherman trying to sabotage their plans, you'll really enjoy Thunder Bay. I was more interested in the love stories, and I was still happy. Dan Duryea usually plays slimy villains, so I can only imagine what a treat it was for him to be the funny comic sidekick with an eye for the ladies. I've never seen him get to smooch someone after exclaiming, "Oh darling!" It's just adorable. If this is the first movie you see of his, you probably won't be able to imagine him playing a bad guy in his other movies.