SYNOPSICS
Thunder in the Sun (1959) is a English movie. Russell Rouse has directed this movie. Susan Hayward,Jeff Chandler,Jacques Bergerac,Blanche Yurka are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1959. Thunder in the Sun (1959) is considered one of the best Action,Adventure,History,Romance,Western movie in India and around the world.
In 1847, a group of fifty-two French Basques, including women and children, sets-out from Independence, Missouri to California. These settlers left Europe behind to escape the famine, unrest and aftermaths of the Napoleonic Wars. They bring with them their few belongings, customs and a few grapevines they hope to plant into the fertile Californian soil. They learn English on-the-fly from the younger men who speak it a little. In Independence, they purchase wagons, mules and provisions. They also hire a local trail master for a fee. The trail master, Lon Bennett, is skilled but he likes women and booze too much. When Lon Bennett learns that his Basques only have seven wagons he argues they should join a major wagon train of 20-30 wagons. Strength in numbers, no doubt, but large wagon trains could take weeks to assemble and the Basques cannot wait. Bennett tries to bail-out of his commitment but he already had spent the fee the Basques paid him by partying in the local hotel-saloon with...
More
Thunder in the Sun (1959) Reviews
Edythe And Ira
The filming of Thunder In The Sun probably had its start years before they were movie stars with two grade school kids named Edythe Marrenner and Ira Grossel who both went to Hollywood and became Susan Hayward and Jeff Chandler. These two were really good friends going back to their childhoods in Brooklyn. So when Susan Hayward reached the top of her career with her Oscar for I Want To Live, I'm sure she wanted to make a film with Chandler. It's a pity these two couldn't have found a better one. It's an unusual subject for a western, a wagon train of Basque immigrants from the French Pyrennees who are going to California to start their own wineries. Their most precious cargo is the vines carrying the grape seeds that have to be watered. Of course on the desert, man and animals also have to be watered. That leads to the usual situations in westerns like these. Chandler is not your usual western hero either. He takes his pleasures where he finds them be it women or drink. Hayward has been wed to Carl Esmond the leader of the group and when he's killed by an overanxious sentry, the younger brother Jacques Bergerac is ready to take his place. And Hayward is also guarded by her formidable mother-in-law, Blanche Yurka. Though the folks have unusual clothing for wagon train travelers, the story does have the usual wagon train situations found in westerns, climaxed by a nicely staged fight with Indians. As Bergerac says, the Indians have never faced Basques before and these people are born mountain fighters. In two years Jeff Chandler would be gone and he never did to make another film with his good childhood friend Susan Hayward. That's a pity.
It's just a Hollywood Western, guys!
If we want Hollywood to get historical and ethnic content correct, then there are precious few movies ever made in Hollywood that are above reproach. Come on! This is just a grade B Hollywood western, and when I saw it back when it came out, I was so entertained and moved by it that I remember it even to this day as a first rate entertainment with unforgettable thrills and spills. Who really cares if the Basques and the native Americans were portrayed accurately? When did Hollywood EVER do that for any group? The reason I looked the movie up here in the first place was because I thought about it for the thousandth time since I saw it and decided it is high time to watch it again. I remembered Susan Hayward (who could forget her?) but couldn't remember who the male lead was. Jeff Chandler, I see now. I just want to say that while I sincerely respect and understand the criticism of the typical Hollywood shallow, thoughtless approach to ethnic and historical accuracy, if you can get past that -- as you MUST do if you're ever going to enjoy these old flicks for what they are worth -- the movie is a whole lot of fun to watch.
A Highly Underrated Western
This is one of the most underrated Westerns I have ever seen. I first saw it as a child and found it hugely exciting - and I have seen no reason to change my mind in subsequent viewings. It is an enjoyable wagon-train Western, with new angles (the Basque element, the emphasis on the importance of the vines, etc.). I'm sure the representation of the Basques isn't entirely accurate, as another reviewer complains. However, crucially, it increases the viewer's interest in and sympathy for the Basques - isn't that ultimately more important? There isn't a single dull scene in the entire film, and it is involving enough to make us care what happens to the wagon train. It is moving at times too - especially the death of the elderly Basque near the end. The underrated Jeff Chandler is excellent, as usual, as the wagon train guide/leader. The action scenes are well shot and exciting, whether it be the raging fire or the climatic Indian attack. The cinematography is also first rate. I gave it a 10, as it remains one of my very favourite B-Westerns.
Cowboys and Basques?
Very odd western about a wagon train of Basque immigrants making its way through Indian territory with a cargo of special vines so they can start a vineyard in the "new world." About the only ones who are even remotely convincing as Basques are Italian actor Fortunio Bonanova and French actor Jacques Bergerac--another oddity, since while there are some French Basques (the vast majority come from Spain), there are none in Italy. Nothing much really happens until near the end of the picture, when the Basques fight off an Indian attack with their bizarre method of bouncing off of rocks and boulders like mountain goats while emitting screams that seem to be a combination of a "Rebel yell" and hog calling. It confuses the hell out of the Indians (not to mention the audience). If you've ever had an urge to see a Basque western, this is the movie for you. If the sight of overweight, middle-aged guys dressed in white shirts and berets trampolining off of boulders the size of Buicks interests you, this is your movie. Otherwise, don't bother.
Susan Hayward: Star
Susan Hayward was a great star and always a great treat to watch the dynamic redhead from Brooklyn in any film. This film co stars Susan Hayward and her friend of many years Jeff Chandler. Together Hayward and Chandler make a great team and a very enjoyable film to watch. Susan Hayward was always a tough lady never afraid of anything and in fact was insistent that her dialogue not portray weakness. To see a Hayward movie like this is to be aware of the back story of any Hayward film: Susan Hayward carefully controlled her successful image. I believe this film was shot right after her classic I Want To Live and was given a quick release, and faded from view, and is not highly regarded as a Susan Hayward film. I disagree, any film with the Tough Lady from Brooklyn is good to watch. And Susan Hayward by all regards not at all sentimental in real life was both fond of Chandler and mourned Jeff Chandler. Postscript: Susan Hayward like many top female stars preferred certain cameramen, and in this film Ms. Hayward's favorite Stanley Cortez is cinematographer. As we all know Susan Hayward died far too young of brain cancer during her dying days, Katharine Hepburn paid a visit to the dying star. The Great Garbo also paid a visit to the dying Hayward such as the respect Ms. Hayward was regarded by her peers. Barbara Stanwyck also a friend sent flowers. Roz Russell appeared on a radio show the day after Ms. Hawyard died and mourned her friend Ms. Hayward.