Storm Warning is a real curiosity in terms of its casting – dancer Ginger Rogers, one time favourite partner of Fred Astair, and Doris Day, who went on to become America's favourite virgin/mum-next-door in light-weight comedy movies (while simultaneously achieving world-wide success as a singer), are cast a sisters in a film noir with no singing and dancing but scenes of murder, attempted rape, ritual scourging and domestic violence! Billed as an expose of the Ku Klux Klan the movie has been slated in some quarters for shying away from the real issues: no mention of the racism and sectarianism for which the loathsome organisation is infamous, no black faces in the crown scenes, no real idea of the location of Rock Point, the fictional town where the action is set – all that is explicitly stated is that it isn't New York! The film opens with Ms Rogers, on the way to a marketing assignment somewhere outside of the metropolis, stopping off en-route to visit her sister in small-town USA where, as misfortune would have it, she witness the murder by Klansmen of a 'meddling reporter'. Later, on meeting her sister's husband (Steve Cochran) Ms Rogers recognises him as one of the murderers. For the sake of her sister, who has just discovered she is expecting her first child, Ms Rogers lies at the court hearing claiming she saw nothing, therefore denying county prosecutor Ronald Reagan (yep, the one that became President) the chance of issuing subpoenas to every member of the local Klan chapter in pursuance of a prosecution. Through Ronnie's dialogue and that of the chief clansman and local employer, the film does indeed seem to portray the Klan as a bunch of hoodlums, thugs and petty gangsters whose main crime seems to be evading income tax ¬– as opposed to a quasi-religious organisation hell-bent on spreading hate, distrust and violence. While this does seem to indicate the studio back peddling on its intent to rip aside the veil of mystery surrounding the Klan, there is some truth in the description of its members. If the Klan only attracted law-abiding citizens and fought for its anti-Jew/catholic/black agenda through the ballot box it would be a laughing stock. The fear-inspiring fact of the matter is that this type of hate-fuelled organisation tends to attract hoodlums and thugs who aspire to violence and lust for power. Society can deal with and dismiss the ill-thought-out philosophies of these fringe organisations but it is more difficult to deal with the law-breaking, violent acts which take place in the dead of night perpetrated by cowardly gangsters who hide their faces. Made in 1951, Storm Warning, was the first movie to feature the Klan in such a negative fashion. It is hard-hitting in number of ways – while much of the action seems a little tame to the jaded audiences of 21st century, particularly the domestic violence perpetrated by Hank Rice (Steve Cochran), which is a mere shadow of that of Marlon Brando's Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire, the scene were Ms Rogers actually vomits in the street having just witnessed the murder remains particularly shocking! While this Warner Bros production falls well short of the studio's best fare there are great performances from the leads and it is a pity the movie is so hard to get hold of – I had to get mine from a guy in Madrid!
Review of Storm Warning
