Storm Warning (1951)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Stuart Heisler

Writers:

Daniel Fuchs (written by) and
Richard Brooks (written by)

Release Date:

10 February 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir

Tagline:

Unmasked by Warner Brothers!

Plot:

Marsha Mitchell, a traveling dress model, stops in a southern town to see her sister who has married a Ku Klux Klansman...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | District Attorney | Beautiful Woman | Christmas | Sexual Assault

Cast

Ginger Rogers	...	Marsha Mitchell
Ronald Reagan	...	Burt Rainey
Doris Day	...	Lucy Rice
Steve Cochran	...	Hank Rice
Hugh Sanders	...	Charlie Barr
Lloyd Gough	...	Cliff Rummel
Raymond Greenleaf	...	Faulkner
Ned Glass	...	George Athens
Paul E. Burns	...	Frank Hauser, Baggage Man
Walter Baldwin	...	Coroner Bledsoe
Lynn Whitney	...	Cora Athens
Stuart Randall	...	Walt Walters
Sean McClory	...	Shore
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lillian Albertson	...	Mrs. Rainey (uncredited)
Richard Anderson	...	Interne (uncredited)
Walter Bacon	...	Jury Foreman (uncredited)
Janet Barrett	...	Mrs. Adams (uncredited)
Fern Barry	...	Wife (uncredited)
Paul Brinegar	...	Cameraman #1 (uncredited)
Douglas Carter	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Chick Chandler	...	(uncredited)
Leo Cleary	...	Barnet (uncredited)
Charles J. Conrad	...	Jordan (uncredited)
Ned Davenport	...	Policeman #2 (uncredited)
Sayre Dearing	...	Courtroom Extra (uncredited)
Don Dillaway	...	2nd Convert (uncredited)
King Donovan	...	Ambulance driver (uncredited)
Mike Donovan	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Joe Dougherty	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Ross Elliott	...	Glen (uncredited)
Gene Evans	...	Ku Klux Klansman (uncredited)
Norman Field	...	1st Convert (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty	...	Walker, Klansman (uncredited)
Alex Gerry	...	Basset (uncredited)
Dabbs Greer	...	Courtroom Policeman (uncredited)
Carl Harbaugh	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Harry Harvey	...	Mr. Louden (uncredited)
Edward Hearn	...	Mr. Rainey (uncredited)
Len Hendry	...	Policeman #1 (uncredited)
Mary Alan Hokanson	...	Secretary (uncredited)
Lloyd Jenkins	...	Tommy, Interne (uncredited)
Fred Kelsey	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
David Le Grand	...	Customer (uncredited)
George Lloyd	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe	...	Al (bus driver) (uncredited)
Charles Marsh	...	Fowler (uncredited)
Frank McCarroll	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Michael McHale	...	3rd Convert (uncredited)
David McMahon	...	Hollis, Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Howard M. Mitchell	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Bowling Alley Extra (uncredited)
Robert A. O'Neil	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Paul Panzer	...	Baggage Room Attendant (uncredited)
Edward Peil Sr.	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Charles Phillips	...	Bus driver (uncredited)
Grandon Rhodes	...	Pike (uncredited)
Lee Roberts	...	Driver (uncredited)
Dewey Robinson	...	Ku Klux Klansman (uncredited)
Edmon Ryan	...	Hooded Narrator of Trailer (uncredited)
Joe Smith	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Robert R. Stephenson	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan	...	Mill Worker (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel	...	Walter Adams (uncredited)
Tommy Walker	...	Bob (uncredited)
Anthony Warde	...	Jukebox collector (uncredited)
Duke Watson	...	Ernie (uncredited)
Charles Watts	...	Wally, Lunch Counter Proprietor (uncredited)
Tom Wells	...	Cameraman #2 (uncredited)
Bill Welsh	...	Hardy (uncredited)
Robert Williams	...	Sheriff Art Jaeger (uncredited)

Directed by
Stuart Heisler

Writing credits
Daniel Fuchs		(written by) and
Richard Brooks		(written by)

Produced by
Jerry Wald	....	producer

Original Music by
Daniele Amfitheatrof
Max Steiner		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Carl E. Guthrie		(director of photography) (as Carl Guthrie)

Film Editing by
Clarence Kolster

Art Direction by
Leo K. Kuter

Set Decoration by
G.W. Berntsen

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist
Ray Forman	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Frank Westmore	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chuck Hansen	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Leslie G. Hewitt	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Herschel Brown	....	grip (uncredited)
Lou Jennings	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Vic Johnson	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Eugene Ritchie	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Milo Anderson	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Maurice De Packh	....	orchestrator (as Maurice de Packh)
Ray Heindorf	....	musical director

Other crew
Howard Hohler	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Storm Center (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #14344) | Finland:S | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Corona, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The studio wanted Lauren Bacall and Doris Day to star in the film, but Bacall went to Africa with her husband Humphrey Bogart to film The African Queen (1951)

Goofs:

Plot holes: A character is murdered by the KKK after 10pm one evening. An autopsy is performed, witnesses interviewed and a coroner's inquest is held - all by the following afternoon, hardly twelve hours after crime was committed.

Quotes:

Charlie Barr: I'll give you a tip, young fellow. Never go off half-cocked. Who's to say the Klan's involved? You got a witness? Don't drag people into anything unless you got solid legal evidence. Everything that happens in these small towns right away they blame it on the Klan.

An Overlooked Film Noir

This film holds up so very well even after fifty years. The searing indictment of smalltown xenophobia and the struggle for truth is the hallmark here. Reagan does well in the role, but Steve Cochran and especially Ginger Rogers really shine here. The closing seconds with the fleeing Klansmen and the crumbling fiery cross coupled with strong orchestral strings leaves a hard hitting message that resonates. This film belongs on DVD as a testament to the ongoing struggle against intolerance, ignorance, and the fear of those things that are different. 1951 - 2001, sadly the need for that continues.