''Thunder in the East'' is a 1951 American

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

released by

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 ...

in 1953, and directed by

Charles Vidor Charles Vidor (born Károly Vidor; July 27, 1899June 4, 1959) was a Hungary, Hungarian film director. Among his film successes are ''The Bridge'' (1929), ''Double_Door_(film), Double Door ''(1934), ''The Tuttles of Tahiti'' (1942), ''The Desper ...

. 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'' (1962 ...

; the book title was the

working title A working title is a preliminary name for a product or project. The usage is especially common in film and TV, gaming, music and publishing. It is often styled in trade publications as (wt) and is synonymous with production title and tentative ...

of the film.

Plot

The film is set in 1947 after India had gained its independence from Britain. Steve Gibbs (

Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake in ...

), a former

Flying Tiger The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States Ar ...

is an American gunrunner who flies into the

hill station A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in Western imperialism in Asia, colonial Asia, but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by ...

capital of a small (fictitious) Northern Indian state called Gandahar. He intends to sell weapons to the local

Maharajah Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a prince. However, in late ancient India ...

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 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

's philosophy of

non-violence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

. 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 Marlene Dietrich and Rita Hayworth", but he ...

) who attempts to seduce Steve in return for flying her to Bombay. Steve falls in love with Joan Willoughby (

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a Scottish actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first person from Scotland to be no ...

), a blind woman who is one of the community of

Anglo-Indians Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Anglo-Indian" has a ...

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 p ...

(

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 submachinegun Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson Lantion, Filipino retired police general * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thomps ...

s, 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

as Steve Gibbs *

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 John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

as General Sir Henry Harrison * Charles Lung as Maharajah * Leonora Hornblow 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 Walke ...

as Miss Huggins *

George J. Lewis George J. Lewis (December 10, 1903December 8, 1995) was a Mexican-born actor who appeared in many films and eventually TV series from the 1920s through the 1960s, usually specializing in westerns. He is probably best known for playing Don Aleja ...

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: End ...

as Harpoole *

Jill St. John Jill St. John (born Jill Arlyn Oppenheim; August 19, 1940) is an American retired actress. She is best known for playing Tiffany Case, the first American Bond girl of the James Bond film franchise, in 1971's '' Diamonds Are Forever''. Additiona ...

as an English Girl (uncredited)

Production

The film was based on

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

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 pu ...

''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

who sold them on to Paramount with himself as director.

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 Holly ...

to produce. Filming was postponed, however, so that Ladd could make '' Red Mountain''. This meant Fellows dropped out and

Everett Riskin Everett Riskin (1895–1982) was an American film producer, best known for his work at Columbia and MGM, where he specialised in comedies. He was the brother of screenwriter Robert 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 Tsari ...

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

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...

and

Alida Valli Baroness Alida Maria Laura 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, span ...

were discussed as possible co-stars for Ladd. Paramount ended up borrowing both

from MGM to play the female lead and Corinne Calvet from

Hal Wallis Harold B. 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 wit ...

to support. Charles Boyer signed for the role of a

Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a prin ...

-like politician; he had played a Japanese character in a 1934 French film also called '' Thunder in the East''. Shooting started on 26 March 1951.

Music

The film's score was by

Hugo Friedhofer Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer (May 3, 1901 – May 17, 1981) was an American composer and cellist best known for his motion picture scores. Biography Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer was born in San Francisco, California, United States. His father, Paul, w ...

. Jay Livingstone and

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter best known for being a half of a composing-songwriting duo with Jay Livingston, specializing himself in writing lyrics for film songs. On music Livingston ...

wrote a

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, website, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original proper ...

song for the film ''The Ruby and the Pearl'' that was recorded by

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

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

* *
''Thunder in the East''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

{{Jo Swerling 1952 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 1952 drama films 1950s American films