| Thunder on the Hill | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Douglas Sirk |
| Written by | Oscar Saul Andrew Solt Charlotte Hastings (play) |
| Produced by | Michael Kraike |
| Starring | Claudette Colbert Ann Blyth |
| Cinematography | William H. Daniels |
| Edited by | Ted J. Kent |
| Music by | Hans J. Salter |
| Color process | Black and white |
Production company | Universal Pictures |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2.5 million[1] |
Thunder on the Hill is a 1951 American film noir crime film directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Claudette Colbert and Ann Blyth. The picture was made by Universal-International Pictures and produced by Michael Kraike from a screenplay by Oscar Saul and Andrew Solt, based on the play Bonaventure by Charlotte Hastings. The music score was by Hans J. Salter and the cinematography by William H. Daniels.
Thunder on the Hill was first announced as a Universal-International Pictures project in August 1947, with plans for Robert Siodmak to direct, Joseph Sistrom to produce and with Joan Fontaine and Burt Lancaster starring.[2] The production for Thunder on the Hill was postponed to allow Lancaster to film All My Sons, and while Fontaine filmed Letter from an Unknown Woman, her first movie through her own film production company Rampart Productions (co-owned with her husband William Dozier).[3] Thunder on the Hill was postponed again, to the autumn of 1948, this time to allow for the filming of Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, starring both Fontaine and Lancaster, which was to be immediately followed by Rampart Productions' second film, You Gotta Stay Happy (co-starring Fontaine and James Stewart).[4] Due to Fontaine's announced pregnancy during the filming of Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, the filming of Thunder on the Hill was again pushed back, this time to January 1949; by then the entire production team and its stars had been replaced.[5]