Storm Warning

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stuart Heisler directs. Carl E. Guthrie behind the camera. Daniele Amfitheatrof scores. Clarence Kolster cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 175 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 2Directed by Stuart Heisler, shot by Carl E. Guthrie. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 3Original score by Daniele Amfitheatrof. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 4Editor Clarence Kolster shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 5Ginger Rogers and Ronald Reagan and Doris Day carry the top of the cast.
• 6Marketing tagline: "Behind this burning cross... Behind the loopholes in the law... Behind their cowardly hoods... They hide a thousand vicious crimes!".
• 7IMDB entry: tt0044075 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 8Only 48 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography

Carl E. Guthrie

Original score

Daniele Amfitheatrof

Editing

Clarence Kolster

Makeup / hair

Perc Westmore

Runtime

93 min · 1h 33m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Original language

EN

IMDB

Storm Warning (1951) ↗

Also by

Stuart Heisler

• 
  This Is My Love

  1954 · ★ 8.8
• 
  The Islanders

  1960 · ★ 8.0
• 
  The Remarkable Andrew

  1942 · ★ 7.4
• 
  Rawhide

  1959 · ★ 7.3
• 
  The Star

  1952 · ★ 7.2
• 
  77 Sunset Strip

  1958 · ★ 7.2

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Storm Warning - Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• John Chard2013-11-13
  ★ 8/10

  The KKK took my baby away, they took her away, away from me. Storm Warning is directed by Stuart Heisler and written by Richard Brooks and Daniel Fuchs. It stars Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan, Doris Day and Steve Cochran. Music is by Daniele Amfitheatrof and cinematography by Carl E. Guthrie. Stopping over to see her sister in Rockpoint, model Marsha Mitchell (Rogers) witness the Ku Klux Klan committing a murder and sees two of the perpetrators with their hoods off. Upon arriving at her sister's house, she is stunned to find that the beau of Lucy's (day) life is one of the killers! Should she do what is morally right? What District Attorney Burt Rainey (Reagan) wants her to do? Or should she think of her sister and keep Hank Rice (Cochran) out of prison? Lets get the big complaint out the way first. What has been written before is true, the issue of race hatred and the KKK is not dealt with, this really does soft soap that particular issue in favour of a more - less - controversial angle. Film does still portray them as cowardly murderous thugs hiding behind hoods, even portraying them as dimwits following one almighty Grand Wizard (or is it Dragon?) who is more concerned about cash than colour of skin, but trivialisation of a hot topic occurs. We are the law here. The judges and jury! So, accepting it on its own "non social issue message" terms, then it's a thoroughly engrossing piece of film noir styled melodrama. Thematic noir staples are within, with bigotry, fate, family dysfunction and a woman in peril scenario (the fox in the hen house situation is super) all bubbling away under the moral obligation surface. Laid over the top is no short amount of atmospheric style, as Heisler (Among the Living/The Glass Key) and Guthrie (Backfire/Caged) produce dank shadowed streets, misty jails and a big court room segment bathed in slatted shadows befitting the moral discord filtering around the room. Don't give me that Halloween routine. Heisler proves to have a good eye for imagery as well as technical nous, such as snaps of child Klan members or the symbolic falling of a burning cross. He also marshals his cast very well. Don't believe any review that says Rogers is miscast, she simply isn't, she's feisty, sexy and strong, yet vulnerable as well, she's perfect for the role that was originally intended for Bacall who bailed out. And with Day exuding a confused innocence that hits the right notes, Heisler's reputation as a great director of actresses holds weight here. Reagan and Cochran are fine, with Cochran veering away from his normal cool, calculated persona to offer up a characterisation we rarely saw from him. It misses a trick to really strike a dagger in the KKK scheme of things, and yes some of it feels like lower grade Tenessee Williams. However, the makers turn this Southern town into a diseased noir landscape, where the story is paced and performed with skill, and it all builds moodily to a truly great finale. Well worth seeking out. 8/10

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Warner Bros. Pictures

  US

Key crew

• ProducerJerry Wald
• EditorClarence Kolster
• Art DirectionLeo K. Kuter
• Set DecorationG.W. Berntsen
• Makeup ArtistPerc Westmore
• SoundLeslie G. Hewitt
• Wardrobe DesignerMilo Anderson
• OrchestratorMaurice De Packh
• Music DirectorRay Heindorf

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• ku klux klan
• film noir
• murder
• reporter
• witness to murder
• witness intimidation

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere1951-01-17· Miami Beach, Florida
• Premiere1950-12-20· Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Theatrical1951-02-10

Also known as

International titles

• Die Gefangene des Ku-Klux-KlanAT