Beats me why this Technicolor film was titled "Thunder Bay", which is the name of a Canadian city on Lake Superior and the associated little 'bay', with no obvious connection to this story about the first distant offshore oil rig emplaced in the Gulf of Mexico. Perhaps refers to the often stormy relations between the principals? There was some thunder associated with the very dramatic sequence when a hurricane hit soon after the rig was finished, but before oil was struck. Not only was Steve(James Stewart) alone on the rig, except for Stella(Joanne Dru), a shrimp boat carrying jilted lover Phillipe approached and a bundle of dynamite sticks was attached to the rig, hoping to blow it up and blame it on the storm. While waves dashed over them and the fuse burned, they fought on the open platform until Phillipe fell into the sea. Beats me why the boat wasn't pitched into the rig, probably wrecking both. Steve's assumption that Stella was in on the sabotage plan also makes no sense. If successful, she would have died along with Steve! Steve stays mad at her after this until the finale, when assured that she was not involved.This was just one of a whole series of crises that threatened to bring an end to this pioneering endeavor. Twice , lynching mobs of local fishermen threatened Steve and his workers. Incredibly, Steve dispersed the first mob by throwing sticks of dynamite near them! The resulting 'explosions' looked and sounded like flares rather than dynamite! The final confrontation, near the end, was dissipated by the serendipitous spectacle of a gusher, as the mob swarmed onto the rig platform, combined with news that the long sought 'golden shrimp' bed had been discovered around the drill site. This last facet comes across as an unlikely fabrication to placate the concern that oil production in the Gulf might have a severe negative effect on commercial fisheries. There is no such thing as a commercial 'golden' shrimp in the Gulf! Yes, big oil spills have since caused marine life devastation. However, oil rigs also encourage many forms of life, acting as artificial reefs, especially important where natural reefs have being dying out. We are presently confronted with the debate whether depleted rigs should be removed, or remain to promote sea life.This story has some historical credibility, in that it takes place in 1946-7, when the first oil rig far off the Gulf coast actually was emplaced. Most of the film was appropriately shot on the LA Gulf coast. Stewart plays a Horatio Alger-like figure, who along with his faithful partner, played by Dan Duryea, begin the film penniless, armed only with a model of how to build an offshore rig that could withstand hurricanes. They have to convince not only the beleaguered president of the oil company(played by Jay Flippen), but also the local fishermen, that their scheme is worth the risk. The former proves much easier than the latter.A secondary aspect of the plot involves two beautiful flirtatious Nordic-looking daughters of an elderly Latino fisherman, who have a strong hankering to leave this little backwater village, and find Stewart's and Duryea's characters convenient prospects toward a more exciting, affluent, life. Unfortunately, papa doesn't like losing his daughters to these outsiders, expecting that they would marry fishermen like himself. Joanne Dru's character(Stella) has baggage of a hurtful 3 year romance in Chicago. She and Steve spend the film alternatively hating and loving each other. Marcia Henderson, playing Stella's more naïve younger sister, develops a more stable relationship with Duryea. But, we suspect he is not really a right man for her: too old and a potential drunkard. Duryea mostly played villains, and his role as Stewart's sometimes disapproving sidekick doesn't feel quite comfortable.If you like stories about oil discoveries, you might check out some of the following films I am familiar with: "Boom Town"(1940), "Flowing Gold"(1940), Tulsa(1949) and "Joe Dakota"(1957). Of these, "Tulsa" has the most similar plot to the present film. It's a war between cattle and oil interests. In place of poor Cajun fishermen, the oil interests have to deal with Native Americans. In the end, its decided that cattle and oil, like shrimp and oil, can get along well enough. Another film the present film reminds me of is the 1936 "Trail of the Lonesome Pine"(also shot in Technicolor, believe it or not!). Fred Mac Murray takes on Stewart's role, as the representative of a coal company that wants to mine the coal on land belonging to warring backwoodsmen. Again, there is a bittersweet romance with one of the 'native' girls.

The posted comment about wanting to see the "widescreen" version needs to be addressed.As the listing for the film indicates, Thunder Bay was filmed with a standard Academy ratio of 1.37x1. That was the way it was meant to be shown. Universal then chopped off the top and bottom of the image - totally destroying the spatial integrity of the image - to claim that it was a "widescreen" film.It must have looked awful. Count yourself lucky you don't get to see it.(This horrible trick was also tried for the mid 1960s reissue for Gone With the Wind, where it was blown up to 70mm and released in a 2.35x1 ratio, which was just awful.)

Jimmy Stewart was directed by Anthony Mann in many wonderful Westerns--all made in the 1950s. They are classics--every one of them--ranging from WINCHESTER '73 to THE FAR COUNTRY to THE MAN FROM LARAMIE. However, they also made one non-Western together and this is that film. Considering the track record, I certainly expected so much more from this film. Instead of the usual high-caliber work, this film was amazingly flat and uninspiring despite having a very original story. I guess you can't win 'em all! Oddly, the film begins with Stewart and Dan Duryea as pals who are out to make a deal on an offshore oil rig. I say this is odd because usually, Duryea plays bad guys and NEVER buddies of the leading man. However, in this film he is a basically good guy--though he does have a hint of larceny about him! The oil rig is at first welcomed by the local shrimp boat operators. However, when they find that the oil company is using dynamite to help them detect oil deposits, they are afraid of losing their livelihoods and violently oppose the drilling. It is actually an interesting look at the 1950s, as Stewart is portrayed as the good guy and the dynamiting is explained away very glibly--saying it won't cause any lasting harm to the environment! As an avid fisherman, I didn't buy this explanation--nor did the shrimpers. But, the damage had already been done and the location for the well was determined quickly before the boat owners could do anything to stop this. The rest of the film follows the up and down relationship between the two factions until ultimately everyone is happy and the film ends--especially when they discover that the oil platforms are great attractants for sea life.The problem with all this is that while this might be modestly interesting from a historical sense, none of this seems compelling enough for a film. Plus, some of the characters in the film seem a bit stupid and tough to believe--apart from Duryea and Stewart. The film just seemed to lack energy or lasting appeal, though it was mildly diverting enough to merit a 6.

Thunder Bay is an anomaly, a pedantic film on a subject seldom dealt with in the movies, the conflict between businessmen, whose ambitions will cause great change in the local landscape, and the locals, who want things to remain as they are. In this case it's oil drillers versus shrimp fisherman in the Louisiana of the early 1950's. The conflict at times seems almost Marxian, with James Stewart's hardheaded, no-nonsense outsider going up against ragin' Cajun Gilbert Roland, a far more charming and sympathetic figure. Rather than shy away from class conflict, the movie confronts the issue repeatedly, in a variety of ways, and builds up a good deal of tension along the way, as Stewart's compulsive, oil drilling loner, increasingly isolated, takes on the entire community. There's a good deal of fifties sociology here, with the modern, inner-directed Stewart against the tradition-centered fishing people. Neither side understands the other, as one can well see how these local folks would view Stewart as an uncaring and forbidding figure, the embodiment of alien, big city values. On the other hand these people are a rough and tumble lot, uneducated, clannish and utterly without curiosity. It's easy to see how an educated man might look down on them. There's a good deal of action along the way, and some fist-fights. At a time when many Americans still thought of themselves in terms of class, and with the Depression fresh in everyone's minds, it was rather bold of director Anthony Mann to take on this subject from a middle of the road, basically Republican (but not right wing) perspective. In this respect the movie, which came out in the first year of the Eisenhower administration, heralded a new era of compromise, with the promise of better things yet to come. As to which side is right, well, you be the judge. I'm still thinking this over.