This film is based on a play, entitled BONAVENTURE, the title of which refers to the lead character, the nun named Sister Mary Bonaventure. But the film was released in 1951 as THUNDER ON THE HILL and has been released on DVD and Blu-Ray recently under that title as well. The story is highly dramatic, indeed can properly be described as a melodrama, and is powerfully directed by Douglas Sirk. It is set in the county of Norfolk, 8 miles from the city Norwich. Enormous floods have made the land impassable, so that some travellers cannot reach Norwich and they take refuge in a large convent, where they are welcomed by the sisters, who feed and shelter them. Amongst those taking refuge there are a policeman and a woman prisoner, as well as her female guard. We learn that she is on her way to Norwich to be executed for murder, and is due to be hung by the neck on a gallows the very next morning. But she will be late for her own execution, because there is no way to get to Norwich, and the phone lines are down so that a police boat cannot be summoned either. This sets the scene for a high intensity situation. A very saintly young nun feels instinctively when she meet the supposed murderess that she is really innocent. The nun is played by Claudette Colbert, and the condemned girl by Ann Blyth. The cinematography is terrific, evoking moods and atmospheres with every shot, and is by William H. Daniels. The combination of his camera work, Sirk's direction, and standout performances by the actors (Gladys Cooper play the Mother superior) make the drama immensely powerful. This is a major early work by Douglas Sirk. And it focuses intently on questions of guilt and innocence, and highly emotional scenes with a great deal of tension, as the confrontations play out one after the other, things are revealed, and there are surprises in store.
Review of Thunder on the Hill
