Thunder Bay

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.

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.

"Thunder Bay," strictly a man's picture, may be considered a Western, with boats and oil substituting for horses and guns, on the Gulf Coast off Louisiana...

Stewart and Mann considered as regular partners begun for what they thought were fresh pastures... Stewart is properly tough, wild and laconic as the enthusiastic engineer convinced that oil reserves might lie beneath the Louisiana waters, and Duryea have come up with a drilling platform that resists the fury of even the worst storms... Away they go to find offshore oil, with the encouragement of Jay. C. Flippen willing to ramp up, pumping money on exploration...

The drilling clashes with the plans of shrimp fishermen who are opposing the test on the fishing grounds... It may have an adverse affect on their marine life...

Duryea adds more complications to the action-drama by falling in love with the girlfriend of one of the fishermen, whose sister, Joanne Dru (echoing the sentiments of Janet Leigh in "The Naked Spur") is putting her eyes on Stewart... But the machinations of the two girls seem worthless material against the struggles between the guys, which are actually the main force of the movie...

After several obstacles, violent storms, romantic distrust, and the retraction of magnate Flippen, who has lost faith in the project, all ends wonderfully when Stewart (hard to believe) discovers not only oil but an abundant source of shrimp...

Subsequently the lovers pair off, and the former enemies become allies as they share their beneficial trades...

Photographed in Technicolor, "Thunder Bay" is a well-produced movie, an entertaining piece of film making...

Thunder Bay is an anomaly, a pedantic film on a subject seldom dealt with in the movies, the conflict between businessmen, whose ambitions will cause great change in the local landscape, and the locals, who want things to remain as they are. In this case it's oil drillers versus shrimp fisherman in the Louisiana of the early 1950's. The conflict at times seems almost Marxian, with James Stewart's hardheaded, no-nonsense outsider going up against ragin' Cajun Gilbert Roland, a far more charming and sympathetic figure. Rather than shy away from class conflict, the movie confronts the issue repeatedly, in a variety of ways, and builds up a good deal of tension along the way, as Stewart's compulsive, oil drilling loner, increasingly isolated, takes on the entire community.

There's a good deal of fifties sociology here, with the modern, inner-directed Stewart against the tradition-centered fishing people. Neither side understands the other, as one can well see how these local folks would view Stewart as an uncaring and forbidding figure, the embodiment of alien, big city values. On the other hand these people are a rough and tumble lot, uneducated, clannish and utterly without curiosity. It's easy to see how an educated man might look down on them. There's a good deal of action along the way, and some fist-fights. At a time when many Americans still thought of themselves in terms of class, and with the Depression fresh in everyone's minds, it was rather bold of director Anthony Mann to take on this subject from a middle of the road, basically Republican (but not right wing) perspective. In this respect the movie, which came out in the first year of the Eisenhower administration, heralded a new era of compromise, with the promise of better things yet to come. As to which side is right, well, you be the judge. I'm still thinking this over.

This is the mailing , brawling saga of Steve Martin , the Bayou woman he loved and the billion dollar dream of glory he battled into the biggest bonanza of them all . In 1946, a pair of Louisiana wildcat oil drillers , formed by ex-Navy engineer Steve Martin (James Stewart) along with his pal Johnny (Dan Duryea) come to a Louisiana town with a dream : to construct a drill rig . As they believe there is oil at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of the town of Port Felicity. Having finessed financing from a big oil company (managed by Jay C Flippen) , formerly penniless . Steve and his colleague Johnny are in business...and getting interested in shrimp-boat captain Rigaud's two lovely daughters (Joanne Dru , Marcia Henderson) ; however , the fishermen believe they will interfere with their livehoods and problems crop out . In any way , they decide to built the oil platfom in spite of hazards and opposition from the fishing community growing fast , led by Stella Rigaud. Tensions rise between the groups and violence seems likely ..

Action-filled with timely story ,including hurricane , brawls , a near-lynching and free-for-alls , being based on an ahead-of-its-time script and story from John Michael Hayes , George Slavin and George George . There's much of the spirit of the Western here , though , especially astounding the main and support cast giving over-the-top interpretations . This attractive movie deals with a confrontation between Shrimpers and oilmen clashing when an ambitious wildcatter begins constructing an off-shore oilrig ; however , a lot of risks and strong opposition emerges , including sabotage , betrayal , violent fights ...and a treacherous board of directors . James Stewart took a break from their great series of rugged Westerns along with Anthony Mann such as : Winchester 73 , When the river bends , The naked spur , Far horizons , The man from Laramie , to play this equally exciting and action-packed drama story of two wild-catters drilling for oil . James Stewart delivers a very good acting , as usual , as the engineer who wants to build a safe platform for offshore oil drilling and in the end completes the winning formula by getting covered in oil . Support cast is frankly good , plenty of reliable and rich cast of notorious secondaries such as : Marcia Henderson , Jay C Flippen , Gilbert Roland , Antonio Moreno , Robert Monet and Fortunato Bonanova .

Colorful and brilliant cinematography in Technicolor and wide-screen by William Daniels , Greta Garbo's usual cameraman . Being shot on location in Morgan City and on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico . Stirring and moving musical score by Frank Skinner . This Universal International Picture flick lavishly produced by Aaron Rosenberg was competently directed by Anthony Mann . Mann was an expert on all kinds of genres as Thriller/Film Noir such as: Desperate , T Men , Raw Deal , Border incident ; Wartime as Strategic Air command , Men in war , Heroes of Telemark ; Historical and biographical : Reign of terror , El Cid , The fall of the Roman empire , The Glenn Miller story ; and outstanding in Western genre as Devil's doorway with Robert Taylor , The tin star with Henry Fonda , Man of the West with Gary Cooper , The Furies with Barbara Stanwick , Cimarron with Glenn Ford and The tall target .Being his last one, A Dandy in aspic , played and co-directed by Laurence Harvey . Rating : 7/10 . Better than average . Well worth watching . The picture will appeal to James Stewart fans .