Thunder on the Hill (1951)

Directed by Douglas Sirk; produced by Michel Kraike

Intense rains have caused flooding throughout Norfolk, and the people of one district are driven to seek refuge at the local convent, situated on higher ground. There, everything is admirably, if strictly, organised by Sister Mary Bonaventure (Claudette Colbert). Among the evacuees are Valerie Carns (Ann Blyth), and her police escort. She was on her way to Norwich to be hanged for the murder of her brother. As events unfold, however, Sister Mary begins to piece together Valerie’s story, and she becomes convinced that the condemned woman is innocent.

The improbable plot is backed up by a simple script. The storyline manages to bring together a number of characters who know of and, indeed, had interaction with either the murder victim, the alleged perpetrator or surrounding events. Thus the flood, and the resultant gathering of locals in one spot, provide the means by which the nun delves into the mystery. This setting, and how it is handled, is really no less implausible than some of Agatha Christie’s books, yet the imagination, intelligence and manipulation of situations by the writers of Thunder on the Hill are inferior to the novelist’s.

If the plot is unlikely, it is not aided by the leanness of the mystery. There are too few suspects (admittedly, introducing more would have strained credulity still further) and the way to the truth is pointed out, at least to the audience, too easily.

Even so, Thunder on the Hill is an adequately involving movie. Director Sirk is now best known for the lushly colourful melodramas he made in the 1950s. However these are regarded – and their status these days is actually higher among critics, especially for their technical achievements, than in contemporary reviews – Sirk worked in many genres. Nonetheless, the manner in which the actors perform in Thunder on the Hill has the hallmarks of melodrama. This, along with the impending fate of Valerie Carns, lends tension, albeit partially artificial, to the film.

Those performances are a bit over-wrought, but persuasive. Colbert’s character’s antecedents are not detailed enough, and don’t really give the impression that a cloistered life would have been that which Sister Mary would have chosen, following her intimated personal crisis. Regardless, Colbert portrays the character well: thanks to her, once she had taken the veil, Sister Mary is believeable. Blyth’s work borders on the histrionic at times, though this may be excusable, considering Valerie’s situation: expecting to be hanged on the morrow, she is given three more days to ponder her end, thanks to flood-waters. The other actors do decent work, though their characters seem stock, rather than genuine.

While Thunder on the Hill presents nothing outstanding, it is a watchable film, betraying its stage origins, perhaps, but with an exciting climax.