Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

billdower 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!

MartinHafer Ginger Rogers is cast as a model (a very OLD model) on her way to see her sister (Doris Day) and her new husband (Steve Cochran). After arriving in the town, she wanders upon an ugly scene--a crowd of Klansmen taking a prisoner from the local jail and killing him vigilante-style in the street. In addition, she sees the identities of two of the men! Following the murder, the county prosecutor (Ronald Reagan) investigates but finds nothing but silence. It's obvious the 'nice' townsfolk participated and many know their identities--but no one is willing to talk. When he learns that Rogers saw the killing, he's excited to finally have a witness--but keeping her alive for the trial may not be easy--especially after her brother-in-law learns that she saw HIM at the killing! A lot more follows--and I won't say more because it could spoil the suspense.In many ways, this is a taut and excellent drama. BUT, it also pulls some of its punches. It's VERY strange that there are no black folks as characters in the film--not even as the victim. Now I am NOT saying the KKK didn't sometimes kill whites, but this was the exception to the rule and completely negates the whole racism angle. It's sad, but the film seemed to want to play it safe by playing it that way. However, while Hollywood was very hesitant to address race, 1949 (when the film was made--though they held it for a bit before release) was a good year with wonderful race films like "Pinky" and "Intruder in the Dust" also coming from rival studios, Twentieth-Century Fox and MGM. Fortunately, the film does manage to rise above this due to an exciting script--especially at the end (which is top-notch). Because of this and a few excellent performances (particularly for Reagan), it's well worth your time.

ferbs54 A tough family reunion in the small Southern town of Rock Point for sophisticated dress model Marsha Mitchell, in the 1951 thriller "Storm Warning." Before even joining her younger sister for the first time in two years, and meeting her new brother-in-law, Marsha witnesses the beating and shooting murder of an investigative reporter at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan. And later, she realizes that her sister Lucy's husband, Hank Rice, was one of the members at that KKK lynching! What's the poor gal to do...especially when nice-guy county prosecutor Burt Rainey is pressing her to play witness at the indictment? Anyway, that's the setup for what turns out to be a surprisingly tough and gritty suspenser, bolstered by a quartet of excellent performances by the film's stars: Ginger Rogers as Marsha, Doris Day and Steve Cochran as her family, and Ronald Reagan as the crusading prosecutor. At the time "Storm Warning" was made, films depicting the activities of the Ku Klux Klan were not exactly common. "The Birth of a Nation" (1915) had shown the group in a notoriously favorable light, while the 1936 picture "Black Legion," starring Humphrey Bogart, had fudged the issue a bit by calling the hooded vigilantes the Black Legion, despite presenting them as thugs. "Storm Warning" pulls no punches, and to its great credit presents us with a KKK comprised of bigoted average Joes; cowards and blustering bullies hiding behind their cowls and sheets. The film was directed by veteran Stuart Heisler, who had previously worked on such marvelous entertainments as the Susan Hayward vehicles "Smash-up" and "Tulsa" and the minor Bogey films "Tokyo Joe" and "Chain Lightning," as well as with Bette Davis on "The Star." Heisler keeps this picture moving nicely, and fills his screen with constant motion while adding almost noirish elements to his thriller (witness Ginger's nighttime walk right before the lynching; truly, the essence of noir!).As for those previously mentioned performances, Doris is just fine in this early dramatic role (indeed, the story goes that her thesping here paved the way for her to appear in Hitchcock's 1956 classic "The Man Who Knew Too Much"); Cochran (so memorable a few years earlier in "White Heat") offers a perfect portrayal of a truly dangerous dimwit (just note how silkily but stupidly threatening he appears when he says to Marsha, "...a girl's figure's her fortune; you sure got your money invested in the right places!"); and Reagan, here in one of his finest hours, and shortly before appearing in the unjustly maligned "Bedtime for Bonzo," is very likable and appealing, despite what you might feel about his performance as U.S. president three decades later. And Ginger? She is just outstanding, in what might be her grimmest and nastiest moments on film. Viewers may be somewhat aghast as they watch the beloved singer/dancer/comedienne get brutally raped, punched in the face, kidnapped, and subjected to a flogging at a KKK midnight convocation, in the shadow, of course, of a huge burning cross. No moonlit waltzing here, that's for sure; more like a moonlit whipping! Turns out that Ginger could get noirish with the best of them; later that decade, she would appear with Edward G. Robinson in another noirish picture, "Tight Spot," in which she would again face the conundrum: to testify or not to testify. Very much the moral glue that holds the picture together, her character goes from big-city girl, to stunned outsider, to sacrificing sister, to abused victim, to steely avenger, all in the course of 93 minutes. She may not get to do The Picolino in this film, but she sure does manage to get herself into quite a pickle!

JLRMovieReviews Ginger Rogers is going to visit her sister, Doris Day, who she hasn't seen in two years. When she gets to the small town at night, she encounters very anti-social people. A cab driver won't give her a ride, and shops are closing like there's a fire to go to. She barely got the clerk at the bus station to check her baggage, before he locked up. She had to walk ten blocks to Doris Day at her place of business, because of that....that cab driver. The roads and sidewalks are quiet and everything is deserted. She's walking in the dark, when she hears noises and fighting. A man runs by her and gets shot in the back. A group of people covered with hoods gather around the body, not seeing her, as she is hiding near by. Two men take off their hoods and she sees them. Then she comes to find out later one of them is her brother-in-law, Doris' husband, played by Steve Cochran.Such is the gist of her dilemma. Should she tell what she's seen of the Ku Klux Klan and Steve or stay out of it? Apparently, everyone else has. Ronald Reagen is the d.a. who's been trying to get the Klan run out of town ever since he's been elected. But no one ever remembers anything, knows anything, or has ever seen anything, which must make it very easy for them.This is a very well made film that shows Ronald Reagen and company at their best. Reagan gives a very understated and effective performance as not only a man of the law trying to do his duty, but as a man trying to get at the truth and trying to get others to see things as they really are. And, never at any time does the viewer feel that Ginger Rogers is out of her element, being in a controversial suspense film and not being in a light comedy/musical. While it's great to see Doris Day in something different than her usual fare, it still feels somewhat strange to see her perky and upbeat character in this sobering tale of hatred and bigotry.I was very impressed with this film, particularly as it neared its dramatic conclusion and how well it all came together, where much is expressed with little to no words. If you've never seen "Storm Warning." then you ought to see this intelligent film, that was ahead of its time. I liked and respected Reagan before I saw this, but after wards I think I've grown even more respect for a man who knew this was a project he wanted to be a part of. This may be only a movie, but as actors make choices as to what films to make, this certainly reveals Reagan and his conscience to stand for what is right.Discover "Storm Warning" and learn today that tomorrow can be better if we stand together against intolerance.