''The Searching Wind'' is a 1946 American feature film directed by

William Dieterle William Dieterle (July 15, 1893 – December 9, 1972) was a German-born actor and film director who emigrated to the United States in 1930 to leave a worsening political situation. He worked in Hollywood primarily as a director for much of his ...

and starring Robert Young, Sylvia Sidney, and

Ann Richards Dorothy Ann Richards (née Willis; September 1, 1933 – September 13, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995. A Democrat, she first came to national attention as the Texas State Treasurer, w ...

. It is based on the play of the same name by

Lillian Hellman Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, prose writer, memoirist and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway, as well as her communist sympathies and political activism. She was blacklisted aft ...

. It had originally been planned for producer

Hal Wallis Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing ''Casablanca'' (1942), ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and '' True Grit'' (1969), along wi ...

to make the film at Warner Bros., but after he left the studio he brought the project to

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

Synopsis

In 1945, after hearing of the death of

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until Fall of the Fascist re ...

, an American career diplomat and his family reflect on his mistakes he made during the interwar years.

Cast

* Robert Young as Alex Hazen * Sylvia Sidney as Cassie Bowman *

as Emily Hazen *

Dudley Digges Sir Dudley Digges (19 May 1583 – 18 March 1639) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1610 and 1629. Digges was also a "Virginia adventurer," an investor who ventured his capital in the Virginia ...

as Moses * Douglas Dick as Sam Hazen * Albert Basserman as Count Von Stammer *

Dan Seymour Dan Seymour (February 22, 1915 – May 25, 1993) was an American character actor who frequently played villains in Warner Bros. films. He appeared in several Humphrey Bogart films, including ''Casablanca'' (1942), ''To Have and Have Not'' ...

as Torrone *

Ian Wolfe Ian Marcus Wolfe (November 4, 1896 – January 23, 1992) was an American character actor with around 400 film and television credits. Until 1934, he worked in the theatre. That year, he appeared in his first film role and later television, as a ...

as Sears *

Marietta Canty Marietta Canty (September 30, 1905 – July 9, 1986) was an American actress, community activist and recipient of numerous humanist awards. Personal life and social engagement Marietta Canty was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of M ...

as Sophronia *

Norma Varden Norma Varden Shackleton (20 January 1898 – 19 January 1989), known professionally as Norma Varden, was an English-American actress with a long film career. Life and career Early life Born in London, the daughter of a retired sea captain ...

as Mrs. Hayworth *

Charles D. Brown Charles D. Brown (July 1, 1887 – November 25, 1948) was an American stage and film actor. Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Brown wrote and directed a single short film in 1914. As an actor, he appeared in more than 100 films, stretching fro ...

as Carter * Don Castle as David *

William Trenk Willy Trenk-Trebitsch (March 11, 1902 – September 21, 1983) was an Austrian actor. He was born in Vienna. He was especially famous for his performances as Mack the Knife in ''The Threepenny Opera''; he also had a film career. He died in Berl ...

as Ponette *

Mickey Kuhn Theodore Matthew Michael Kuhn Jr. (September 21, 1932 – November 20, 2022) was an American actor. He started his career as a child actor, active on-screen during the Golden Age of Hollywood from the 1930s until the early 1950s. He is noted fo ...

as Sam as a Boy

Original play

Hellman's play debuted on Broadway in 1944 and ran for 318 performances.

Montgomery Clift Edward Montgomery Clift (; October 17, 1920 – July 23, 1966) was an American actor. A four-time Academy Award nominee, he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men", according to ''The New York Times''. He is best remembered ...

was in the original cast.''The Searching Wind''
at IBDB

References

Bibliography

* Dick, Bernard F. ''Hal Wallis: Producer to the Stars''. University Press of Kentucky, 2015.

External links

* *
''The Searching Wind''
at

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

1946 films 1946 drama films American black-and-white films American films based on plays American war drama films Films based on works by Lillian Hellman Films directed by William Dieterle Films produced by Hal B. Wallis Films scored by Victor Young Films set in Washington, D.C. Films set in Paris Films set in Berlin Films set in Rome Films set in the 1920s Films set in the 1930s Films set in the 1940s Paramount Pictures films Films with screenplays by Lillian Hellman American World War II films 1940s war drama films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{war-drama-film-stub