dbdumonteil Anthony Mann made five movies with James Stewart;my favorites are "the naked spur "and mainly "the man from Laramie" ."Thunder bay " is,IMHO ,the least interesting of the lot.Conceived to be shown on a wide screen for it contains many spectacular scenes (particularly the finale),much of it is lost on a tiny TV screen.Besides ,if James Stewart and Dan Duryea seem to be as thick as thieves ,you cannot say the same about the two love affairs.Joanne Dru is so cold there's no real chemistry between Steve and Stella .Like in "bend of the river" ,Mann shows some interest in economics :oil- drillers against shrimp fishermen,in this case.

MRavenwood The outsiders are the oil guys coming into a small fishing town off the Gulf of Mexico. Jealousies erupt, fear of the new technology is involved. Businessmen are risking everything they've got "and this time it has to work or they're finished". You know the rest.You should decide for yourself whether it's the acting or the script that's marginal. Stewart plays it like he always does, but there's not much challenge in the role. I can't help but wonder if Senator Kerr (D - Okalahoma) helped finance this little "promo" piece for his company.Interesting though that this really is a look at Kerr-McGee's first offshore oil platform, which struck oil at a time when the post-war (we can make cars again!!) economy was exploding. The shrimpers are still shrimping and the oil is still flowing from that day to this (with a little break for a few hurricanes).An informally educational look back at the hot controversy that abounded at the time, 1947.

bkoganbing Some of James Stewart's post war films are about a man following a vision. In Spirit of St. Lous it's about flight, in Strategic Air Command it's about air defense, in Carbine Williams it's about making a new kind of rifle.Here in Thunder Bay it's about oil under the ocean and how to get it out. Stewart and buddy Dan Duryea invest all their own money in the design of a platform for ocean drilling and think the delta country in Louisiana is where oil is to be found.Stewart and Duryea meet all kinds of opposition from the French cajun shrimp fisherman in the area. And complicating the picture is a pair of sisters Joanne Dru and Marcia Henderson who fall for our heroes.At the time of Thunder Bay's production and release, offshore oil drilling was a big controversy. Not over the environmental impact, but over whether the states or the federal government would get the revenue. The states involved with offshore oil fought for and got a 12 mile limit in terms of taxable revenue. Pocketed a lot of tax dollars because of it.Thunder Bay mentions the environmental impact as it relates to the shrimp fisherman. But it carefully skirts any conclusions either for the oil men or the fishermen. We've seen enough oil accidents at sea since Thunder Bay was made to know what the impact is. We also know how important oil is to our nation and the world. Anthony Mann as director provides us no answers. My guess is he was primarily interested in making a film that entertains more than enlightens. The cast is a gifted group of players who do just that. Gilbert Roland as one of the leaders of the shrimp fishermen is good as he always is.One thing that does surprise me. Dan Duryea has not always played bad guys in film, but he usually does. Usually when he gets involved with a woman she regrets it. I was expecting him to walk out on Marcia Henderson and do her wrong through out the film. Was I ever surprised when he actually marries her. Also in a key scene he gives Stewart a strong does of common sense medicine at a time he sorely needed it and proves to be someone who saves the situation for the oilmen at a critical point.You won't find any thought provoking questions raised about oil or the environment here, but Thunder Bay is decent entertainment if wishy washy on the issues.

Nazi_Fighter_David "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...