New Blu-ray expands HD availability of John Ford film canon

Kino’s Blu-ray release of “The Hurricane” the Tuesday before Thanksgiving helps round out the variety of genres handled by prolific filmmaker John Ford now available in high-definition. Ford is best remembered for his westerns, especially those starring John Wayne, such as “Stagecoach,” “Fort Apache,” “Rio Grande,” “The Searchers,” etc., and for iconic classics like “The Grapes Of Wrath,” “The Informer,” “How Green Was My Valley” and “The Quiet Man,” among others. Except for “The Informer,” all of these plus at least nine other Ford films are on Blu-ray. “The Hurricane” (1937), one of his less-remembered films, very much incorporates his style and worldview.

“The Hurricane” is a variation on the once-popular genre of the South Sea Island picture, typically exploited for the islands’ exotic beauty, simple and leisurely native life, and a strong sense of escapism from the rule-bound civilizations of America and Europe. Ford would return to this genre for one of his last films, “Donavan’s Reef,” and its basic elements can easily be seen in many of his westerns, but with “The Hurricane” he takes a very different, more dramatic approach.

A native romance is a central aspect of the plot, between the chief’s daughter Marama (Dorothy Lamour) and a popular islander named Terangi, now making a life for himself as a ship’s mate (Jon Hall). But here the South Sea Island paradise is ruled with a heavy hand by the punctilious, stiff-collared colonial French governor (Raymond Massey), who insists upon following the letter of the law for the most minor of infractions. He refuses to bend to the pleas of his soft-hearted wife (Mary Astor), the kindly and open-minded island priest (C. Aubrey Smith), or his friend, the island’s cynical, philosophical and alcoholic doctor (Thomas Mitchell, playing a character nearly identical to his Oscar-winning role in “Stagecoach”).

As a result we soon wind up with a South Seas reworking of “Les Miserables,” with Terangi hounded by a vicious prison warden (John Carradine) and his initial six-month sentence increased by years for each of the numerous times he attempts to escape.

Throughout the film we also have Ford depicting the strong undercurrent of racial prejudice that affects the islanders under colonial rule, which is at the root of the barroom brawl that sends Terangi to prison for assaulting an insulting drunken white patron who has political connections. Through most of the film its title may seem like merely a metaphor for the tensions whirling around the story’s protagonists. However, the last twenty minutes or so finally bring on the huge natural disaster promised by the advertising. The hurricane arrives at the island very shortly after Terangi’s latest escape attempt successfully brings him home, a climax for the film’s action as well as its various underlying themes and plot threads.

The impressive special effects (even in today’s world of CGI) make for a rousing finale as well as driving home (perhaps a bit too heavy-handedly at times) the metaphoric religious/mythic symbolism of the cleansing power of nature in a world of corrupted humanity, the good often suffering along with the evil. A plot framing device, with Mitchell’s character recounting the events to a fellow steamship passenger taking home movies as they pass the now-devastated remains of the island, reinforces this, as well as making a commentary on how quickly such natural disasters are forgotten and survivors resume their lives.

Although disguised as a South Seas romantic action-melodrama disaster film, Ford’s “The Hurricane” effectively dramatizes a desire for personal liberty to pursue one’s desires, a contempt for racism, a disdain for colonialism, a dissatisfaction with inflexible (and often selective) enforcement of laws, and a complex faith in the possibility of divine retribution or poetic justice.

Picture quality on Kino’s Blu-ray is very good overall, very film-like, with occasional minor damage evident. The audio is quite respectable for a 1937 recording. Bonus features are merely a trailer (in HD, although very grainy) and an audio commentary. However, it’s an excellent commentary, with Ford expert and biographer Joseph McBride providing insights and background that really help reveal the subtleties of Ford’s vision and to increase appreciation of the film.

“THE HURRICANE” on Blu-ray – Movie: A- / Video: A- / Audio: B+ / Extras: B-