''The Searching Wind'' is a 1946 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

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 Cinema of the United States, Hollywood primarily a ...

and starring Robert Young,

Sylvia Sidney Sylvia Sidney (born Sophia Kosow; August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999) was an American stage, screen, and film actress whose career spanned 70 years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the 1930s. She was nominated for the Academy ...

, and Ann Richards. 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, prose writer, Memoir, memoirist, and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway as well as her communist views and political activism. She was black ...

. It had originally been planned for producer Hal Wallis to make the film at Warner Bros., but after he left the studio he brought the project to

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Plot

In 1945, after hearing of the death of Mussolini, an American career diplomat and his family reflect on his mistakes he made during the interwar years.

Cast

* Robert Young as Alex Hazen *

as Cassie Bowman * Ann Richards as Emily Hazen * Dudley Digges as Moses * Douglas Dick as Sam Hazen * Albert Basserman as Count Von Stammer * Dan Seymour as Torrone * Ian Wolfe as Sears * Marietta Canty as Sophronia * Norma Varden as Mrs. Hayworth * Charles D. Brown as Carter * Don Castle as David * William Trenk 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 for ...

as Sam as a Boy

Original play

Hellman's play debuted on Broadway in 1944 and ran for 318 performances. Montgomery Clift was in the original cast which was directed by Herman Shumlin. Hellman later said it was "The nearest thing to a political play" she had written "which is probably why I don't like it much any more. But even there I meant only to write about nice, well born people who, with good intentions, helped to sell out a world."

Opening Night Cast

*Edgar Andrews as First Waiter * Montgomery Clift as Samuel Hazen *Joe De Santis as Second Waiter * Dudley Digges as Moses Taney *Eugene Earl as James Sears *Mercedes Gilbert as Sophronia *Alfred Hesse as Ponette *Dennis King as Alexander Hazen *Walter Kohler as Hotel Manager *Arnold Korff as Count Max von Stammer *Eric Latham as Edward Halsey *Barbara O'Neil as Catherine Bowman *William F. Schoeller as Eppler * Cornelia Otis Skinner as Emily Hazen

Production

Hal Wallis bought the screen rights for $100,000. Wallis had made a film of Hellman's ''Watch on the Rhine'' while head of Warner Bros. Hellman did the script. It was one of the first films Wallis made as a producer at Paramount. Richards' casting was announced in September 1944. Joseph Cotten turned down the male lead. Filming started 13 December 1945.

Reception

''Variety'' thought the film "isn't likely to hold the run-of-the-mill entertainment-goer looking for escapist stuff" and "should earn back its coin... for though well-mounted, it nevertheless doesn't appear too heavily budgeted. The film is an improvement on the Broadway play... because it is more coherent, and better acted."

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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

The Searching Wind
at Playbill
The Searching Wind
at Letterbox DVD {{DEFAULTSORT:Searching Wind, The 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 English-language war drama films