''Thunder in the East'' is a 1951 war drama film released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, and directed by

Charles Vidor Charles Vidor (born Károly Vidor; July 27, 1900June 4, 1959) was a Hungarian film director. Among his film successes are ''The Bridge'' (1929), ''The Tuttles of Tahiti'' (1942), ''The Desperadoes'' (1943), ''Cover Girl'' (1944), '' Together A ...

. It was based on the 1948 novel ''

The Rage of the Vulture ''The Rage of the Vulture'' is a 1948 novel by the Australian-British writer Alan Moorehead. It is set in a fictional princely state, modelled on Kashmir, at the time of the Partition of India in 1947. As a war correspondent, Moorehead had hi ...

'' 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 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 ...

), 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 Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal trade of small arm ...

who flies into the

hill station A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The term was used mostly in colonial Asia (particularly in India), but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by European colonialists as refuges ...

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, an ...

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 (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

'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 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 Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a G ...

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

Anglo-Indians Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The ''Oxford English ...

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 pref ...

( Cecil Kellaway). 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 The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Sta ...

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 * Cecil Kellaway 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. Abbot ...

as Nitra Puta *

as Newah Khan *

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

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 as Dr. Paling * Nelson Welch as Norton * Queenie Leonard 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 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 ''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 Ho ...

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. 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 the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

and Alida Valli 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 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''. Shooting started on 26 March 1951.

Music

The film's score was by

Hugo Friedhofer Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer (May 3, 1901May 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, was a ...

. Jay Livingstone and

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Living ...

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, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...

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