''Thunder in the East'' is a 1951 war drama film released by Paramount Pictures, and directed by Charles Vidor. It was based on the 1948 novel '' The Rage of the Vulture'' by

Alan Moorehead Alan McCrae Moorehead, (22 July 1910 – 29 September 1983) was a war correspondent and author of popular histories, most notably two books on the nineteenth-century exploration of the Nile, ''The White Nile'' (1960) and ''The Blue Nile'' (196 ...

; the book title was the

working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

of the film.

Plot

The film is set in 1947 after India had gained its independence from Britain. Steve Gibbs ( Alan Ladd), a former Flying Tiger is an American gunrunner who flies into the hill station capital of a small (fictitious) Northern Indian state called Gandahar. He intends to sell weapons to the local

Maharajah Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

whose capital is facing an attack from an opposing army. He is opposed by the Maharajah's prime minister Singh (

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

), who is a proponent of Mohandas Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence. Steve is initially forbidden by Prime Minister Singh from seeing the Maharajah, but Steve bides his time in the capital. During his stay at a local hotel Steve is courted by a French adventuress (

Corinne Calvet Corinne Calvet (April 30, 1925 – June 23, 2001), born Corinne Dibos, was a French actress who appeared mostly in American films. According to one obituary, she was promoted "as a combination of Dietrich and Rita Hayworth", but her person ...

) who attempts to seduce Steve in return for flying her to Bombay. Steve falls in love with Joan Willoughby ( Deborah Kerr), a blind woman who is one of the community of Anglo-Indians who have remained after Independence and the daughter of the local

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

(

Cecil Kellaway Cecil Lauriston Kellaway (22 August 1890 – 28 February 1973) was a South African character actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, for '' The Luck of the Irish'' (1948) and '' Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ...

). In return for Steve taking her on a picnic, she provides Steve with an interview to the thus far unapproachable Maharajah, who is convinced by the pacifist Prime Minister not to buy the weapons. Stuck with his cargo of 20 Thompson submachineguns, 200 rifles and 100,000 rounds of ammunition, Steve considers selling his wares to the opposing army led by General Newah Khan (

Philip Bourneuf Philip Bourneuf (January 7, 1908 - March 23, 1979) was an American character actor who had a long stage career before appearing in films. Early years The son of engineer Ambrose Bourneuf and his wife, the former Josephine Comeau, Bourneuf was ...

) who has an undercover representative at the Hotel Gandahar, however Prime Minister Singh impounds the weapons. Tension builds when a bus load of fleeing Anglo-Indian women and children have been ambushed and murdered. Irritated by the smugness of the Anglo-Indians, Steve charges an exorbitant rate to fly them to safety, leading Joan to despise Steve for his mercenary principles. Newah Khan's army lays siege to the capital with the Maharaja and all of the local populace escaping leaving the Prime Minister who refuses to use Steve's weapons, Steve and the Anglo-Indians to their fate in the deserted palace.

Cast

* Alan Ladd as Steve Gibbs * Deborah Kerr as Joan Willoughby *

as Prime Minister Singh *

as Lizette Damon *

as Vicar Willoughby * Marc Cavell as Moti Lal *

John Abbott Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott (March 12, 1821 – October 30, 1893) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892. He held office as the leader of the Conservative Party. Abbo ...

as Nitra Puta *

as Newah Khan * John Williams as General Sir Henry Harrison * Charles Lung as Maharajah *

Leonora Hornblow Leonora Hornblow ( Salmon; later Schinasi; June 3, 1920 – November 5, 2005) was an American novelist, children's literature writer and socialite. She wrote two novels in the 1950s, wrote for ''Liberty'' magazine and ''Los Angeles Daily News' ...

as Tayhi, Joan's Maid *

Leonard Carey Leonard Carey (25 February 1887 – 11 September 1977) was an English character actor who very often played butlers in Hollywood films of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. He was also active in television during the 1950s. He is perhaps best known f ...

as Dr. Paling * Nelson Welch as Norton *

Queenie Leonard Queenie Leonard (born Pearl Walker; 18 February 1905 – 17 January 2002) was a British actress. She was the last surviving cast member of ''And Then There Were None'' (1945) until her death in 2002. Biography She was born as Pearl Walk ...

as Miss Huggins * George J. Lewis as The Bartender * Aram Katcher as Servant * John Davidson as The Hotel Clerk * Trevor Ward as Mr. Darcy Thompson *

Bruce Payne Bruce Martyn Payne (born 22 November 1958) is an English actor, producer, screenwriter, film director and theatre director. Payne is best known for portraying villains, such as Charles Rane in '' Passenger 57'', Jacob Kell in '' Highlander: En ...

as Harpoole *

Jill St. John Jill St. John (born Jill Arlyn Oppenheim; August 19, 1940) is a retired American actress. She may be best known for playing Tiffany Case, the first American Bond girl of the 007 franchise, in '' Diamonds Are Forever''. Additional performances i ...

as an English Girl (uncredited)

Production

The film was based on war correspondent Alan Moorehead's

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

''The Rage of the Vulture'', published in 1948. Moorehead got the idea for the novel after travelling through India in 1947. The film rights were bought by Charles Vidor who sold them on to Paramount with himself as director. Alan Ladd was assigned to star with

Robert Fellows Robert Fellows or Robert M. Fellows (August 23, 1903 in Los Angeles – May 11, 1969 in Los Angeles) was an American film producer who was once a production partner with John Wayne and later with Mickey Spillane. Biography Fellows entered Ho ...

to produce. Filming was postponed, however, so that Ladd could make '' Red Mountain''. This meant Fellows dropped out and Everett Riskin became producer. "We have a tremendously large cast, fine settings as well as a splendid story", said Riskin. Luther David was borrowed from MGM to write the script; then it was rewritten by

Jo Swerling Jo Swerling (April 8, 1897 – October 23, 1964) was an American theatre writer, lyricist and screenwriter. Early life and early career Born Joseph Swerling in Berdichev, Ukraine, Swerling was one of a number of Jewish refugees from the Tsarist ...

. Riskin was anxious to avoid offence to the British and Indians, and the novel was significantly altered. James Mason and

Alida Valli Alida Maria Laura, '' Freiin'' Altenburger von Marckenstein-Frauenberg (31 May 1921 – 22 April 2006), better known by her stage name Alida Valli (or simply Valli), was an Italian actress who appeared in more than 100 films in a 70-year career, ...

were discussed as possible co-stars for Ladd. Paramount ended up borrowing both Deborah Kerr from MGM to play the female lead and Corinne Calvet from Hal Wallis to support. Charles Boyer signed for the role of a Nehru-like politician; he had played a Japanese character in a 1934 French film also called ''Thunder in the East (1934 film), Thunder in the East''. Shooting started on 26 March 1951.

Music

The film's score was by Hugo Friedhofer. Jay Livingstone and Ray Evans wrote a tie-in song for the film ''The Ruby and the Pearl'' that was recorded by Nat King Cole and others.

Release

The release of the movie was delayed until 1953, in part because Alan Ladd had decided to leave Paramount and the studio wanted to spread out release of his final films for them."PARAMOUNT SIGNS LADD TO NEW PACT: Studio and Actor Arrange for Deal Whereby He Will Make One Film a Year on Lot" by THOMAS M. PRYOR ''New York Times'' 29 Feb 1952: 19

References

External links

* * * * {{Jo Swerling 1951 films American black-and-white films Paramount Pictures films American war drama films Films directed by Charles Vidor Films based on Australian novels Films scored by Hugo Friedhofer Films set in India Films set in the British Raj Films set in 1947 1950s war drama films Films with screenplays by Jo Swerling 1951 drama films 1950s American films