This is a movie that I like more then most people. I am not of Basque Heritage, so I cannot say what they did wrong as far as a culture and language is concerned. But if you watch the movie you will see that it is the Basque Settlers ( who needed to plant grape vines they brought from France) as opposed to the American trail guide, Lon ( Jeff Chandler) that comes up with the plan to defeat the Indians. The best one in the movie is Gabrielle Dauphin ( Susan Hayward) who is in a loveless, arraigned marriage to Andre. She is the walking definition of a spitfire, which you see in her flamingo dance and the settlers want to quit and she keeps them going, and when she pulls a gun on Lon and he knows she will use it. Andre simply cannot handle her ( even his mother calls him old). Andre is eventually killed by accident, but by tradition his younger brother Pepe must marry her. Of course, the one she really loves is Lon. Spoilers ahead: The way the Basque and Lon take to the mountains and defeat the Indians is something to watch. At the end Lon finds the perfect spot to plant the vines, which he shows to Gabrielle and Pepe, and Pepe sees the love that they have for each other. Pepe said to Lon " The best way to marry is for love." and he lets him have her. 9/10 Stars mostly for Hayward who dominates every scene she is in.

The filming of Thunder In The Sun probably had its start years before they were movie stars with two grade school kids named Edythe Marrenner and Ira Grossel who both went to Hollywood and became Susan Hayward and Jeff Chandler. These two were really good friends going back to their childhoods in Brooklyn. So when Susan Hayward reached the top of her career with her Oscar for I Want To Live, I'm sure she wanted to make a film with Chandler. It's a pity these two couldn't have found a better one.It's an unusual subject for a western, a wagon train of Basque immigrants from the French Pyrennees who are going to California to start their own wineries. Their most precious cargo is the vines carrying the grape seeds that have to be watered. Of course on the desert, man and animals also have to be watered. That leads to the usual situations in westerns like these.Chandler is not your usual western hero either. He takes his pleasures where he finds them be it women or drink. Hayward has been wed to Carl Esmond the leader of the group and when he's killed by an overanxious sentry, the younger brother Jacques Bergerac is ready to take his place. And Hayward is also guarded by her formidable mother-in-law, Blanche Yurka.Though the folks have unusual clothing for wagon train travelers, the story does have the usual wagon train situations found in westerns, climaxed by a nicely staged fight with Indians. As Bergerac says, the Indians have never faced Basques before and these people are born mountain fighters.In two years Jeff Chandler would be gone and he never did to make another film with his good childhood friend Susan Hayward. That's a pity.

This is one of the most underrated Westerns I have ever seen. I first saw it as a child and found it hugely exciting - and I have seen no reason to change my mind in subsequent viewings.It is an enjoyable wagon-train Western, with new angles (the Basque element, the emphasis on the importance of the vines, etc.). I'm sure the representation of the Basques isn't entirely accurate, as another reviewer complains. However, crucially, it increases the viewer's interest in and sympathy for the Basques - isn't that ultimately more important? There isn't a single dull scene in the entire film, and it is involving enough to make us care what happens to the wagon train. It is moving at times too - especially the death of the elderly Basque near the end. The underrated Jeff Chandler is excellent, as usual, as the wagon train guide/leader. The action scenes are well shot and exciting, whether it be the raging fire or the climatic Indian attack. The cinematography is also first rate.I gave it a 10, as it remains one of my very favourite B-Westerns.

I had heard from friends that this was a film about Basques. Since the film had been gone off the circuit, I was eager to see it when it reappeared on TV. Being an anthropologist and ethnic Basque, I was most interested in how Hollywood would treat this subject. Well, after my initial disappointment and shock at not only a limp-witted story and a mediocre performance by Susan Hayward, my real dismay was at the presence of the French Basque, Jacques Bergerac for going along with a misinformed and misinforming depicition my (i.e., our) people. The Basque traditions depicted in the film were totally fictious and laughable. How Bergerac picked up his paycheck with no feeling of shame is a mystery to me. Hayward was always beautiful and exciting. But seeing her dance a Flamenco (not ever a Basque tradition) and hearing her make a bad attempt at a French accent, was disheartening. Chandler emoted as usual, no surprise...but the only thunder in Thunder in the Sun, were my groans of complaint and disgust at this bad parody of the culture of my ancestors.