Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

THUNDER BAY is another collaboration between director Anthony Mann and star James Stewart, riding high on the success of their western collaborations such as WINCHESTER '73. This one's a less successful story about Stwart's oil man who is convinced that he's on the verge of discovering a rich bed of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, and the conflict that arises when he interrupts the livelihoods of the local shrimping fishermen.The story isn't so bad, it's just that the execution feels dated and a bit melodramatic. For one of the first times I can remember I didn't like Stewart's character; I like the actor well enough, but his character seemed single-minded and oblivious to the feelings of others here. The pacing is slow with the story bogged down by the standard romantic sub-plots and the like, and it only really picks up with an admittedly impressive climax. THUNDER BAY is a piece of drama that's only so-so to my mind.

Anthony Mann made five movies with James Stewart;my favorites are "the naked spur "and mainly "the man from Laramie" ."Thunder bay " is,IMHO ,the least interesting of the lot.Conceived to be shown on a wide screen for it contains many spectacular scenes (particularly the finale),much of it is lost on a tiny TV screen.Besides ,if James Stewart and Dan Duryea seem to be as thick as thieves ,you cannot say the same about the two love affairs.Joanne Dru is so cold there's no real chemistry between Steve and Stella .Like in "bend of the river" ,Mann shows some interest in economics :oil- drillers against shrimp fishermen,in this case.

The outsiders are the oil guys coming into a small fishing town off the Gulf of Mexico. Jealousies erupt, fear of the new technology is involved. Businessmen are risking everything they've got "and this time it has to work or they're finished". You know the rest.You should decide for yourself whether it's the acting or the script that's marginal. Stewart plays it like he always does, but there's not much challenge in the role. I can't help but wonder if Senator Kerr (D - Okalahoma) helped finance this little "promo" piece for his company.Interesting though that this really is a look at Kerr-McGee's first offshore oil platform, which struck oil at a time when the post-war (we can make cars again!!) economy was exploding. The shrimpers are still shrimping and the oil is still flowing from that day to this (with a little break for a few hurricanes).An informally educational look back at the hot controversy that abounded at the time, 1947.

Apparently the public was mainly unaware of Cajuns and their culture, which would have been the largest population group of shrimp fishermen in Louisiana at the time. The portrayal of the 'hurricane' would have given them the impression of, at best, a big squall. What was a real hoot, was Stewart tossing sticks of dynamite at the crowd while he 'talked sense' to them. ("Alright now, just settle down"). If this movie is shown on a show where there is a 'host' or 'moderator' who comes on before and after the film, it would be informative to mention the 'microenvironment' created by the oil rigs; not so much with shrimping, but with sport fishing, which is a major economic force in the Gulf. The metal structure of the rig platforms becomes an 'artificial reef', which first becomes populated by barnacles and other stationary marine life; then becomes a focal point of fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, and various other species. The area around the rig becomes a jackpot for fisherman.