La furie des tropiques

I hardly recognized Veronica Lake when she first appeared. That short hair was a surprise! Too bad she had so little success beyond her first few successful films.

"Slattery's Hurricane" is a well polished black and white action film that does hold the viewer's interest. It's not a great film, nor even an exceptionally good one. Still, I would recommend it for a number of reasons. Widmark is good as always, and the location work and flying scenes are interesting. Also, at 87 minutes it is pretty well paced. I see in the cast that nearly half a dozen actors had their scenes deleted. That's a sign that the producers decided to tighten the film up a bit, and I think they probably were right in doing so.

As I said, it's worth a look, if only to see how Hollywood in the late 40s was breaking the bonds of the sound stages in which such a high percentage of movies were made prior to that time.

Why would Richard Widmark deliberately take his airplane and fly towards an incoming hurricane? Either he was trying to change his image from Kiss of Death and come across as a hero and romantic lead, or he needs the impending danger to reflect on his life choices. If you're a Widmark fan and would like to see him in a rare non-villainous role, this movie will be pretty entertaining for you. He'll have to choose between Veronica Lake and Linda Darnell, mend some friendships, and atone for some mistakes that hurt others. He has less than ninety minutes to do all that, so how will screenwriters Richard Murphy and Herman Wouk (who also wrote the original novel) make everything work out? Through flashbacks, of course.

Personally, the story isn't my favorite part of the movie. I'm in it for the eye candy. If you're looking for a better story, check out the same year's Down to the Sea in Ships. Dick is the second lead in that one, versus the title character in Slattery's Hurricane, but it will really have an impact on you. This movie is pretty much a romantic drama with a bit of suspense thrown in; after all, he is headed towards a hurricane.

DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. Many of the airplane scenes are filmed with tilted camera angles, bumpy footage, or strobelights from lightening, and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

"Slattery's Hurricane" is not a particularly good film and is a rare career misfire for a young Richard Widmark. Oddly, the bizarre and unlikable plot was from a story by Herman Wouk--a very accomplished writer. Perhaps the screenplay completely botched his story...perhaps he just had a misfire.

Slattery (Widmark) is flying into a hurricane when the film begins. He then has a series of flashbacks that take up most of the rest of the film. It seems that after leaving active duty in the Navy, Slattery's made money flying charters. While he might be working for drug dealers, the money is good and Slattery asks no questions. Additionally, while he has a long-suffering girlfriend (Veronica Lake), he completely ignores her and begins chasing after a friend's wife!! All in all, he's a total jerk and only later, when receiving the Navy Cross (awarded for service during WWII--it was given to Slattery while he was in the Naval Reserves) does he start to reassess his life. But who cares?!

The film has many problems--the biggest of which is the blandness of most of the characters. Darnell cheats on her husband...but you know nothing more about her. Lake is a doormat and nothing more. And Slattery's 'friend' (John Russell) is also quite bland--which is odd considering he often had a commanding presence in films. Add to that that Slattery is thoroughly despicable, you really wonder why you're even watching this film in the first place!

Slattery's Hurricane (1949)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Mildly entertaining melodrama benefits from some nice performances by the leads. Pilot Slattery (Richard Widmark) takes off in a plane, flying through a hurricane where he looks back on his life. Most of this flashback centers on him running into a friend (John Russell) who he eventually stabs in the back and tries to steal his wife (Linda Darnell) while his own girlfriend (Veronica Lake) begins to lose control. While Slattery tries to steal the wife he has even more trouble from the men he works with who just happen to be involved in narcotics. At just 80-minutes this thing flies by pretty fast thanks in large part to the performances but in the end it's just way too predictable and full of too much melodrama to really work. I think the best aspect is the performance by Widmark who gets to act tough, as usual, but also manages to be very believable as the man simply struggling with his attitude and look on life. Widmark takes what could have been a simple tough guy role and adds some soul to it by really delivering a full character and one we can't help but feel as if we know. The cruelness that the character has towards anyone but himself is perfectly brought to life by the actor. Darnell doesn't get too much to do but she's certainly easy on the eyes. Russell's role is pretty thankless as well but I enjoyed all of his scenes with Widmark as the two certainly had a nice chemistry. Lake, who was married to the director at the time, doesn't come off nearly as good. I'm not sure what it was but just watch any scene she's in and it appears as if there's something really bothering her as she's constantly looking around and can't seem to keep her eyes still. Her role really wasn't written all that well but I still wasn't too impressed with her performance. The special effects of flying inside the hurricane were pretty good and it should be noted that Ray Kelloogg, director of classic drive-in fluff like THE KILLER SHREWS and THE GIANT GILA MONSTER, did the visual effects. I think the well-known cast will make people check this film out but the end results are rather mixed. There's some nice scenes and a couple decent performances but in the end you can't help but feel as if you're going through the motions and that you've seen this countless times before.

Richard Widmark is always reliable for a rewarding performance, but here he is unusually impressing, as he actually develops a character that from the start seems rather despicable, bogged down as he is in ruined relationships that keep reminding him of his own mistakes, married to Veronica Lake whom he neglects and brushes off, and obsessed with his lost love Linda Darnell who reappears as his best friend's wife, and he can't let her alone - but gradually you learn what he is really in for. He seems the maddest daredevil to take an airplane up in the middle of a hurricane, you cannot understand why, but gradually the whole story appears, and you will have to change your mind about him. It is actually a psychological film, Richard desperately trying to come to terms with himself as he faces the perfect storm, and he actually passes through hell in this nightmare ride of his own personal chaos, and at the same time it is a very exciting thriller, although no one gets killed. It's a virtuoso performance for all hands, Gary Merrill as the commander trying to reach the desperate pilot to get him down, the two ladies on the ground both loving him and trying to understand him and make him understand, and the director Andre de Toth, husband of Veronica Lake, actually being the one in control of the whole situation. All films of airplane adventures have their moments of screwed up excitement, but this one constantly hovers over the top.