g_dekok John Ford is one of my favorite directors (to my wife's dismay!) and I will watch his films, repeatedly and see something new every time. "The Hurricane" is one of his best, I think. The casting is excellent, especially with John Carradine as the sadistic warden, and Raymond Massey as the island's governor, who is trying to hold onto his position of power, knowing full well of the situation that sends Terangi (?) to an unjust prison term. It's extremely well written, directed, and acted. The gentleman who played Terangi, Jon Hall, was a direct descendant of Charles Nordhoff Hall, who also co-wrote Mutiny in the Bounty. Don't let the naysayers talk you into not seeing this excellent movie.

Martin Bradley There is nothing in "The Hurricane" to distinguish it as a John Ford film, (it's really rather mediocre), but when the hurricane itself comes it is pretty impressive in a special effects kind of way as we watch the large cast get blown this way and that. The leads are Jon Hall and Dorothy Lamour, (who else, I hear you ask), and they are pretty dull. Raymond Massey and John Carradine are the villains, Thomas Mitchell is a drunken doctor (naturally) and Mary Astor clings to a tree. Photographed in part in the South Seas giving it at least a smidgen of authenticity.

MartinHafer This is a very good movie that earns an 8 due to the amazing (though a bit overlong) ending. Without the technically brilliant ending, I'd give the film a 6 or 7.The movie is about a small fictional French-controlled island near Tahiti. Everything seems happy and idyllic until one of the main characters justifiably protects himself from attack in a bar when visiting Tahiti (the film never mentioned WHICH island this was--just calling it "Tahiti"). However, the French legal system seems totally indifferent and unjust and sentences this native to six months in jail. And, not unexpectedly from a "child of nature", he goes almost crazy and tries to escape again and again--and increases his six month sentence to over 16 years!!! This is almost exactly like what occurred in LES MISERABLES, where poor Jean Valjean steals a loaf of bread and after trying to escape is sentenced to spend most of his life in prison--just for a crust of bread! And, like Victor Hugo's classic, there is a parallel to the character Inspector Javert--a man whose obsession with the technicalities of the law but not justice makes him almost inhuman. Interestingly, however, in this film, there are actually several characters reminiscent of Javert--not just the governor (Raymond Massey).In the role of the native couple are Dorothy Lamour (who is beautiful and looks like a real native) and Jon Hall (who is beautiful and looks too much like a European to be believable as the native prisoner). However, Hall did an excellent job with the role, though I must admit that Lamour was given little to do other than to pout, swim and kiss Hall.Overall, this re-working of LES MISERABLES was very competently done and interesting. John Ford and the rest did a good job. However, the hurricane scene at the end was the true star of the film. How did they ever get it to look so realistic?!FYI--This movie was made in 1937. I seriously doubt if it would have been made in the same form just a few years later, as it makes the French government look very, very bad. During the war years or especially just after WWII, Hollywood tried very hard to portray the French in a sympathetic (such as CROSS OF LORAINE) or somewhat sympathetic light (such as in CASABLANCA).

solarblast I always try to catch this movie when it shows up on TV, usually TCM. Leonard Maltin calls the hurricane scenes unequaled and he's right. Quite impressive even by today's standards.Well, I guess I need to continue with this review. I didn't meet the quota on lines.I would agree with the assessment above that Lamour and John Hall are in their prime physically. Impressive that they got top billing despite the appearance of Raymond Massey, Mary Astor, Carradine, and Thomas Mitchell. Of course, John Ford, the director went on to even more successful action movies, and won numerous awards. As many know, he teamed with John Wayne for a number of award winning westerns.