Storm Warning (1951)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Storm Warning (1951) – S. Heisler

Ginger Rogers takes on the Ku Klux Klan in this 1951 noir-ish drama that also stars Ronald Reagan as the D. A. and Doris Day as the naïve wife of a dumbass Klan member.  But this isn’t the KKK you’ve heard about – the script evades any discussion of racism or religious bigotry and instead focuses on the murder of a reporter who threatens to undercover a tax evasion scandal involving the leaders of the Klan.  I guess Hollywood was afraid of making waves in 1951 (but see Crossfire, 1947, and No Way Out, 1950, for braver looks). Setting that aside, if you actually could, the film is actually better-than-average.  Director Stuart Heisler and his team use noir lighting and stage crowd shots in a you-are-there fashion that makes the film feel gripping.  Rogers plays things tough and when she caves in to Klan pressure (to protect her sister, Day) and lies under oath at the coroner’s inquest, her sense of shame and guilt is palpable.  Later, when she is whipped at the Klan rally (yes it happens, and it is shot in a way to heighten its sick and twisted nature), you can see her guilt turn into determination.  Reagan isn’t exactly convincing in his passion to destroy the Klan (he’s too genial here) but at least it is good to see him on the correct side of politics for once.  Day has only a minor part (and no singing) – but I’m glad her agents didn’t foist a Hollywood ending on us (the film makes a last minute pitch to be a true film noir after detouring into Streetcar Named Desire territory).  Steve Cochran is solid as the pathetic husband.  In the end, the film is gutless but perhaps viewers were smart enough to interpolate the real Klan into the plot to get the point?  If so, the entire community’s willingness to support the KKK (or succumb to its pressure) makes this actually a horror film.