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STORM WARNING

"There’s a Moral Storm Coming"

Family Content: -1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.
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Violence
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STORM WARNING is a gritty 1951 crime drama starring Ginger Rogers and Ronald Reagan as a woman and a district attorney who try to bring true justice to a small southern town controlled by the KKK. STORM WARNING is an intense, stirring, well-acted thriller stressing justice and honesty, but there is some scary violence, and one of the despicable Klan members lusts after his wife’s sister.

Ginger Rogers plays Marsha Mitchell, a New York-based model who’s traveling to a job but decides to make a brief stop in the southern American town of Rock Point to visit her younger sister, Lucy Rice. She hasn’t seen her sister in two years and is looking forward to meeting Lucy’s husband. However, after arriving by bus, she does not find a cab, so she starts to walk into town at around 10 pm.

As Marsha is just about to reach the town jail, she witnesses a Ku Klux Klan beating a man. She remains hidden but sees the man try to make a run for it and get shot twice in the chest. She can clearly see two Klan members without their masks and rushes to find her sister.

Distressed, Marsha meets her sister at the at a bar, and they go to Lucy’s house. Marsha is shocked when she meets Lucy’s husband, Hank, and recognizes him as one of the Klansmen committing the murder. Marsha is dumbfounded but decides to confront Hank and Lucy about what she witnessed. Hank admits to being part of the Klan but lies about having anything to do with the murder. He says they were only trying to scare the dead man, who was posing as an undercover journalist writing an article about the Klan.

Meanwhile, the county prosecutor, Burt Rainey (played by Ronald Reagan), believes the Klan committed the murder, but has no witnesses to prove it. Marsha, who decides not to get involved, is about to board the bus the following morning but is stopped by Rainey. She’s forced to stay in town and testify about what she saw.

However, Marsha experiences pushback from Hank. She must decide whether or not to stay out of it and protect her sister, protecting Hank as well, or aid Rainey in bringing the Klan to justice.

STORM WARNING is an intense, stirring, well-acted thriller. A young Doris Day plays the younger sister, Lucy. The movie speaks out against the Klan’s dishonesty and corruption and shows the dangers they pose to the script’s small community. STORM WARNING stresses honesty and American principles of justice. However, it contains some scary violence. Also, Lucy’s husband lusts after her sister. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children and teenagers.

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SUMMARY: STORM WARNING is a gritty 1951 crime drama starring Ginger Rogers and Ronald Reagan as a woman and a district attorney who try to bring true justice to a small southern town controlled by the KKK. STORM WARNING is an intense, stirring, well-acted thriller stressing justice and honesty, but there is some scary violence, and one of the despicable Klan members lusts after his wife’s sister.

IN BRIEF:

STORM WARNING is a gritty 1951 crime drama. Ginger Rogers plays Marsha Mitchell, a model who stops at a small town to visit her sister, Lucy, and meet Lucy’s husband. Upon arriving, Marsha witnesses a Ku Klux Klan murder where two men remove their hoods. When Marsha meets Lucy’s husband, she recognizes him as one of the two men. He admits he was at the scene but says he didn’t shoot the victim and thought they were only going to scare the man, an undercover journalist. Burt Rainey, the county prosecutor played by Ronald Reagan, finds Marsha as a witness. However, Marsha doesn’t want to hurt her sister. Will she do the right thing?

STORM WARNING is an intense, stirring, well-acted thriller. A young Doris Day plays the younger sister, Lucy. The movie speaks out against the Klan’s dishonesty and corruption and shows the dangers they pose to the script’s small community. STORM WARNING stresses honesty and American principles of justice. However, it contains scary violence. Also, Lucy’s husband lusts after her sister. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children and teenagers.

Content:

(BB, C, PaPa, VV, S, AA, D, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:
Strong moral worldview where the KKK are viewed as a cult, dishonest and murderers that need to be brought to justice, and emphasis on justice and truth, imagery of the KKK, KKK meeting where there are burning crosses and masks as well as the KKK emblem

Foul Language:
No foul language

Violence:
Strong intense violence includes a man is beaten by KKK members, and when he tries to run away, he is shot twice in the chest (minimal blood is shown), an intense scene occurs where a man tries to force his way on a woman and then punches her multiple times when she escapes, forcing himself upon a woman is quite violent, when the woman escapes he punches her multiple times, a woman is knocked out and kidnapped, a woman is held hostage by KKK members and whipped when she says she is helping the police, a woman is shot and dies, a man is shot multiple times in the chest and dies (mild blood is shown)

Sex:
A man lusts after his wife’s sister and, in one scene, he is drunk and creeps up on the sister while she’s getting dressed and begins to force himself on her, the sister tries to get away but the drunken husband continues to kiss her, but when she finally does escape him he beats her

Nudity:
No nudity Alcohol Use/Abuse: There are two bar scenes where beer is both mentioned and consumed, one of the bar scenes is a celebration, and many people are drunk, a man offers a woman alcohol, but she refuses, hard liquor is consumed several times leading to a state of drunkenness, a taxi driver mentions driving someone home after he has finished his beer

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:
Multiple characters smoke throughout the movie, cigarettes are bought, and chewing tobacco and pipes are used; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:
Klan meeting depicted and shown as evil, and the story revolves around deceit and dishonesty, but they are rebuked.

More Detail:

STORM WARNING is a gritty 1951 crime drama starring Ginger Rogers and Ronald Reagan as a woman and a district attorney who try to bring true justice to a small southern town controlled by the KKK. STORM WARNING is an intense, stirring, well-acted thriller stressing justice and honesty, but there is some scary violence, and one of the despicable Klan members lusts after his wife’s sister.

Ginger Rogers plays Marsha Mitchell, a New York-based model who’s traveling to a job but decides to make a brief stop in the southern American town of Rock Point to visit her younger sister, Lucy Rice. She hasn’t seen her sister in two years and is looking forward to meeting Lucy’s husband. However, after arriving by bus, she does not find a cab, so she starts to walk into town at around 10 pm.

As Marsha is just about to reach the town jail, she witnesses a Ku Klux Klan beating a man. She remains hidden but sees the man try to make a run for it and get shot twice in the chest. She can clearly see two Klan members without their masks and rushes to find her sister.

Distressed, Marsha meets her sister at the at a bar, and they go to Lucy’s house. Marsha is shocked when she meets Lucy’s husband, Hank, and recognizes him as one of the Klansmen committing the murder. Marsha is dumbfounded but decides to confront Hank and Lucy about what she witnessed. Hank admits to being part of the Klan but lies about having anything to do with the murder. He says they were only trying to scare the dead man, who was posing as an undercover journalist writing an article about the Klan.

Meanwhile, the county prosecutor, Burt Rainey (played by Ronald Reagan), believes the Klan committed the murder, but has no witnesses to prove it. Marsha, who decides not to get involved, is about to board the bus the following morning but is stopped by Rainey. She’s forced to stay in town and testify about what she saw.

However, Marsha experiences pushback from Hank. She must decide whether or not to stay out of it and protect her sister, protecting Hank as well, or aid Rainey in bringing the Klan to justice.

STORM WARNING is an intense, stirring, well-acted thriller. A young Doris Day plays the younger sister, Lucy. The movie speaks out against the Klan’s dishonesty and corruption and shows the dangers they pose to the script’s small community. STORM WARNING stresses honesty and American principles of justice. However, it contains some scary violence. Also, Lucy’s husband lusts after her sister. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children and teenagers.


Watch STORM WARNING →
Quality: - Content: -1

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Watch STORM WARNING →
Quality: - Content: -1