''Tornado'' is a 1943 film directed by William A. Berke and starring

Chester Morris John Chester Brooks Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970) was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. He had some prestigious film roles early in his career, and received an Academy Awards, Academy Award nomination ...

and

Nancy Kelly Nancy Kelly (March 25, 1921 – January 2, 1995) was an American actress in film, theater and television. A child actress and model, she was a repertory cast member of CBS Radio's ''The March of Time'' and appeared in several films in the late 1 ...

Plot

Pete Ramsey (Morris) is a hard-working coal miner who falls in love with and marries scheming showgirl Victory Kane (Kelly). Victory presses Pete to fight for the position of the mine superintendent, which he earns. Still unwilling to bear her poor surroundings and unsatisfied with being a miner's wife, Victory decides to climb the social ladder by having an affair with the wealthy owner of the mine, Gary Linden (Conway), unbeknownst to her faithful husband. Suddenly, a ferocious tornado hits the town and the mine, putting everyone in danger.

Cast

as Pete Ramsey *

as Vactie Kane * William Henry as Bob Ramsey *Gwen Kenyon as Sally Vlochek *

Joe Sawyer Joe Sawyer (born Joseph Sauers, August 29, 1906 – April 21, 1982) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1927 and 1962, and was sometimes billed under his birth name. Early life Sawyer was born August 29, 1 ...

as Charlie Boswell * Marie McDonald as Diana Linden *

Morgan Conway Morgan Conway (born Sidney Conway, March 16, 1903 – November 16, 1981) was an American actor, best known for his portrayals of Dick Tracy. Early life and career Conway was educated at Columbia University in New York City. He had a bro ...

as Gary Linden *

Nestor Paiva Nestor Paiva (June 30, 1905 – September 9, 1966) was an American actor of Portuguese descent. He is most famous for his recurring role of Teo Gonzales the innkeeper in Walt Disney's Spanish Western series ''Zorro'' and its feature film ''The ...

as Big Joe Vlochek

Production

The film was based on the unpublished novel ''Black Tornado'' by

John Guedel John Guedel, (October 9, 1913 in Portland, Indiana – December 14, 2001 in Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, larges ...

. (When Guedel was eight years old, his father's factory was destroyed by a tornado.) In July 1942, Pine-Thomas announced they would make a film of the novel starring their regular male leads,

Richard Arlen Richard Arlen (born Sylvanus Richard Mattimore, September 1, 1899 – March 28, 1976) was an American actor of film and television. Biography Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Arlen attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served in Canada as a ...

and

, plus Sylvia Sidney. In September 1942 they said Arlen would make the film, which had the working title of ''Cyclone'', after he finished ''Aerial Gunner''. Then in March 1943 it was announced as a vehicle for Morris only, as ''Black Tornado''.

Gail Russell Gail Russell (born Betty Gale Russell; September 21, 1924 – August 26, 1961) was an American film and television actress. Early years Gail Russell was born to George and Gladys (Barnet) Russell in Chicago and then moved to the Los Angeles ...

was going to play the role of Sally but then was called in to replace

Diana Lynn Diana Marie Lynn (born Dolores Eartha Loehr, July 5, 1926 – December 18, 1971) was an American actress. Early years Lynn was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Louis Loehr, was an oil supply executive, and her mother, Martha Loe ...

in a Harry Aldrich film, ''

Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour ''Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour'' is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Hugh Bennett and written by Edwin Blum and Aleen Leslie. The film stars Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, John Litel, Olive Blakeney, Diana Lynn and Frances Gifford. The fi ...

'' (1943). Russell was replaced by Gwen Kenyon. Bill Henry was signed off the back of his performance in Pine-Thomas' ''Alaskan Highway''. He later signed a long-term contract with Pine-Thomas. Nancy Kelly was cast in the female lead. She sang two songs, "Who Done It" and "There Goes My Dream", with music by

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...

and lyrics by

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...

and

Frederick Hollander Friedrich Hollaender (in exile also Frederick Hollander; 18 October 189618 January 1976) was a German film composer and author. Life and career He was born in London to a Jewish family, where his father, operetta composer Victor Hollaender, w ...

respectively. Filming took place in April 1943. After the film, Morris signed a deal with Pine Thomas to make three more movies for the company.

References

External links

* *
''Tornado''
at BFI *
Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{Pine-Thomas 1943 films American black-and-white films American drama films 1940s English-language films English-language drama films Films about tornadoes Films based on American novels Films directed by William A. Berke Films scored by Freddie Rich Films set in 1939 Films set in Illinois Films about mining Paramount Pictures films 1943 drama films 1940s American films