La furie des tropiques

"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!

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!"

What do you call a best friend who tries to steal your wife from you. He also has the Navy Cross (the equivalent of the Medal of Honor). He might have a medal for honor, but he really doesn't have much honor.

Anyway, this scumbag tries to redeem himself by flying into a hurricane. Brilliant.

Linda Darnell appears to be the woman of desire by both Widmark and some B actor. Sorry, I would prefer Veronica Lake anytime over Darnell (despite the most atrocious screen hair style ever given to an actress in the history of film. Please, my grandmother had a more current hair style than the one dreamed up by this stylist. It may have been a device to make Lake look less sexy (a hard thing to do). And if that was the case, then the ruse was successful. Anyway, a passable potboiler.

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.

VERONICA LAKE was married to director Andre deToth at the time she made SLATTERY'S HURRICANE, a tale told in flashback by RICHARD WIDMARK as he pilots a plane through a horrendous storm and recalls a love affair he had with his best friend's wife (LINDA DARNELL). The friend is well played by JOHN RUSSELL, an actor under contract to Fox who never got to do much of anything but seemed as competent as any of the other up and coming contract players.

LINDA DARNELL, looking every inch a femme fatale, is only given a minor role in the proceedings and is quite forgettable. VERONICA LAKE, on the other hand, this time playing a good, sensible woman and not her usual femme fatale, is convincing enough as the right gal for Widmark.

Slow in getting started, it actually only gets into high gear once the storm scenes reach hurricane proportions--but by that time, you might have trouble staying awake through a very mediocre plot.

Based on a book by Herman Wouk (THE CAINE MUTINY), it's hardly a distinguished work.