Thunder is a 1929 American silent melodrama film starring Lon Chaney and directed by William Nigh. The film has no audible dialogue but featured a synchronized musical score and sound effects.[2] Thunder was Chaney's penultimate film appearance and his last silent film.[3]
Thunder | |
---|---|
Directed by | William Nigh |
Written by | Ann Price (scenario) Joseph W. Farnham (intertitles) |
Screenplay by | Byron Morgan |
Story by | Byron Morgan |
Produced by | Hunt Stromberg |
Starring | Lon Chaney Phyllis Haver James Murray Tom Keene Frances Morris Wally Albright |
Cinematography | Henry Sharp |
Edited by | Ben Lewis |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent English intertitles |
Box office | $1,018,000[1] |
The majority of Thunder is now considered lost, with only a half a reel of the entire footage known to survive.[4]
Lon Chaney plays Grumpy Anderson, a railroad engineer with an obsession for running his train on time. His slavishness to promptness causes several tragedies which alienate him from his family. By the story's end, the engineer restores their faith in him and validates his obsession by forcing his train through a flood to bring badly needed Red Cross supplies to the victims.
The film was shot on location in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Pulaski, Wisconsin, Green Valley, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois.[5] It was there that Chaney caught a cold during the snow scenes which then developed into walking pneumonia. Production was shut down for a time but was eventually completed.[6] Chaney's illness combined with his throat cancer led to his death two months after the release of his last film, and only talkie, 1930's The Unholy Three.[7]
Thunder was released to theaters on July 8, 1929, and eventually grossed a total of $1,018,000.[1] It was Lon Chaney's fifth highest-grossing film for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[8]
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