Don't Believe the Hype

Beautiful, moving film.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Not to be confused in any way with the 1939 John Ford big-screen classic of the same name, "Hurricane" is one of many made-for-TV disaster films that were even more prominent on the small screen than they were on the big screen during the 1970s.Based on William C. Andersen's book "The Hurricane Hunters", and inspired by the massive destruction caused by two different Category 5 hurricanes, Hilda in 1964 and Camille in 1969, the film focuses in on a massive hurricane about to nail the Gulf Coast of the United States, something that wasn't unknown to them in those days but which, in the real world of 2017, was made manifestly different on two occasions with Harvey and Irma. And it isn't just those on the coastline that are in the bulls eye of this monster cyclone, with winds approaching 175 miles per hour swirling around the eye wall, who are being threatened; there is also a Coast Guard aircraft, flown by Martin Milner (of TV's "Route 66" and "Adam-12") to rescue a boat captain (Larry Hagman).Absent all the CGI technology we've seen on recent big screen spectacles like "2012", "Geostorm", and "The Day After Tomorrow", "Hurricane" must inevitably rely on some fairly vivid film-to-TV footage of Hurricane Camille hitting the Gulf Coast in the late summer of 1969. It's not as effective as it likely would have been had it been made a couple of decades on, but it's good enough. Where the film falters to a fair extent is in having to put its cast through many of the expected disaster film hoops courtesy of Jack Turley's teleplay, including Frank Sutton (of TV's "Gomer Pyle") holding a "hurricane party" at his apartment, which just so happens to be right in the bull's eye of the storm. Such things might have been common in that era, but they'd never pass the laugh test today, either in reality or in the movies.When the film concentrates on the storm itself, however, that's where it gets its greatest effect, thanks to the typically efficient handling of the proceedings by director Jerry Jameson, a specialist in small-screen disaster (he also did "Terror On The 40th Floor", "A Fire In The Sky". and "Starflight One", among others), though he also did a good job on the big screen with "Airport '77". The cast includes, among others, Patrick Duffy (later to star with Hagman in the legendary TV soap opera "Dallas"), Michael Learned, Will Geer (both from "The Waltons"), Barry Sullivan (whose many fine roles included portraying John Chisum in Sam Peckinpah's 1973 Western classic "Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid"), Jessica Walter ("Play Misty For Me"), and Lonny Chapman.I'm willing to overlook the problematic things of "Hurricane", which are, after all, part-and-parcel of this genre, and give it a '6'.

Tacky TV-made disaster flick is loaded with familiar faces as well as laughable stock footage of varying quality (some of which is repeated at least once). A depression in the Southern Gulf of Mexico intensifies into a tropical storm before becoming a full-fledged hurricane with 175 mph winds; the National Guard attempts to evacuate residents of the Central Gulf states while Naval forces and Air Force flyboys work together to patrol the seas. The cajoling dialogue has a little snap, but the characters are mostly stock figures. Frank Sutton, as a drunken psychotic whose apartment lies directly in Hurricane Hilda's path, hardly elicits sympathy, but Will Geer and Michael Learned (reunited from TV's "The Waltons") have a nice rapport as sniping weather experts. Special effects are strictly fifth-rate, but star-watchers might be drawn in by the cast.

What can I say? I'm a child of the 70's and I love 70's shows and movies. I'm also a huge Dallas fan. I recall 20 years ago (hard to believe it's been that long now) I finished my freshman year of college and I also recall watching the final episode of Dallas back in the spring of 1991. A week later, I was at Blockbuster Video and discovered I could prolong the Dallas feeling one more Friday night and I rented Hurricane when I discovered both Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy were in it. Don't think they knew each other at that time yet, but it is ironic they were both in it. I can't think of the character names, but I just watched this movie on you tube and would not mind finding it on DVD. Larry Hagman and his wife are out in their boat and get caught in a Hurricane and trapped in the eye of the storm and they're trying to correspond with their teenage son and younger kids. Martin Milner from Adam 12 is in the Air Force and the head of the crew in the plane that flies through these storms. Hagman was already a celebrity at the time from being on I Dream of Jeannie. Patrick Duffy was an unknown newcomer. He looks like he's in college in this movie. He and his bride are trying to leave their place to head further inland, but their neighbor, the late Frank Sutton from Gomer Pyle is throwing a Hurricane party and insists they join them, which they do for a little bit, but finally leave at some point. All I will say is that Sutton will eventually learn the error of his ways. The man that plays Martin Milner's father is a man who lives alone and has a dog. I recall that he tries to ride out the storm and wait for his son to come home. He's offered a ride twice and turns it down. The scene I remember best with him is when he regrets passing it up when he tries to leave, his pile of crap truck won't start and he tries to go by foot. If you're a fan of the Waltons, Michael Learned and the late Will Geer, who are relatives on that show, are esteemed colleagues at the Hurricane Center. And being a fan of the Incredible Hulk TV series, I have to point out that the late Jack Colvin, who was intrepid tabloid reporter Jack McGee on that show, is a TV newscaster in this movie. You actually have 4 story lines going on here. Hagman and his wife caught in the Hurricane's eye, the fateful trips of Milner and his crew to attempt a rescue. Milner's dad and his dog, and Frank Sutton's hurricane party.I'm probably one of the few, but I really love this movie. 2 thumbs up.

I really enjoyed this movie, being the weather geek that I am!!! The cast in the movie was outstanding, I mean Frank Sutton, Michelle Learned, WILL GEER!!! I guess from my standpoint the actual hurricane footage from Camille was just unreal, giving us a glimpse of what a Category 5 situation would be like with winds of 190 MPH. The first time I actually saw it was when I was a kid on TV (weather geek then too!!). I haven't seen it in a few years and would actually like to know if ANYONE would know how to obtain a copy of it. DVD would be preferred if possible but VHS would be fine too. I know Blockbuster actually had it for rent for awhile. Once again, if anyone loves weather I would highly recommend it if they get a chance to see it!!!