A flooding in the country brings together an assortment of characters to Our Lady of Reims Convent and Hospital in rural England. A convicted young woman, Valerie Carns, who is accused of having poisoned her own brother, is brought by the police escort that is taken her to London for execution. As soon as the kind sister Mary Bonaventure, a nun who is a nurse in the hospital, gets to know the accused murderess, she realizes she couldn't have committed the cruel murder.
Sister Mary Bonaventure runs into the Mother Superior's wrath when she goes out of her way to champion the innocence of Ms. Carns. She even goes to bring the boyfriend to the convent so they can spend a few moments before the waters recede, risking her own life. All her efforts in saving the prisoner pay off when the cook of the convent, Sister Josephine, discovers old newspapers she has kept that reveals an important clue that was overlooked by everyone involved in the murder case and subsequent trial.
Douglas Sirk, an English director specializing in these types of melodrama seems to have been a natural for the material the film is based on. Mr. Sirk got good all around performances from this mixed cast that gathered actors from different worlds, such as Claudette Colbert and Ann Blyth, who were products of Hollywood school of acting, and veterans Gladys Cooper, Robert Douglas, Philip Friend and the others that came from the English stage.
In spite of the different accents, "Thunder on the Hill" is an engrossing drama, made better by Mr. Sirk's style. Claudette Colbert does a great job with her nun detective with the heart in its right place. A young Ann Blyth is also effective. Robert Douglas as the evil Dr. Jeffreys, does a good job. Gladys Cooper's Mother Superior rings the right tone for this type of person.
A seldom shown film is worth a viewing thanks to Douglas Sirk.
Sister Mary Bonaventure runs into the Mother Superior's wrath when she goes out of her way to champion the innocence of Ms. Carns. She even goes to bring the boyfriend to the convent so they can spend a few moments before the waters recede, risking her own life. All her efforts in saving the prisoner pay off when the cook of the convent, Sister Josephine, discovers old newspapers she has kept that reveals an important clue that was overlooked by everyone involved in the murder case and subsequent trial.
Douglas Sirk, an English director specializing in these types of melodrama seems to have been a natural for the material the film is based on. Mr. Sirk got good all around performances from this mixed cast that gathered actors from different worlds, such as Claudette Colbert and Ann Blyth, who were products of Hollywood school of acting, and veterans Gladys Cooper, Robert Douglas, Philip Friend and the others that came from the English stage.
In spite of the different accents, "Thunder on the Hill" is an engrossing drama, made better by Mr. Sirk's style. Claudette Colbert does a great job with her nun detective with the heart in its right place. A young Ann Blyth is also effective. Robert Douglas as the evil Dr. Jeffreys, does a good job. Gladys Cooper's Mother Superior rings the right tone for this type of person.
A seldom shown film is worth a viewing thanks to Douglas Sirk.