Thunder on the Hill

Douglas Sirk's 1951 American film follows people stranded in a convent by a flood. Among them is a woman being taken to her execution; Sister Mary comes increasingly to believe she is innocent and tries to find the truth before the waters fall. The film is built as a mystery, but Sirk's interest lies elsewhere: the reason Sister Mary seizes on this case is a guilt in her own past, which the film opens slowly. Claudette Colbert's performance carries the obsession beneath the benevolence. The use of enclosed space and the atmosphere of the storm are strong. The solution to the murder is weak and rushed. Who it's for: viewers interested in classic Hollywood melodrama and Douglas Sirk's early work. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a soundly built mystery, or avoiding themes of execution and guilt.