Alien Thunder

Alien Thunder
Alien Thunder
	Video cover
Directed by	Claude Fournier
Written by	George Malko
Produced by	Marie-José Raymond
Starring	Donald Sutherland; Gordon Tootoosis; Chief Dan George; Kevin McCarthy; Jean Duceppe
Cinematography	Claude Fournier
Edited by	Yves Langlois
Music by	Georges Delerue
Production; company	Onyx Films
Distributed by	Ambassador Film Distributors (Canada); American International Pictures (USA release); Cinerama Releasing Corporation
Release date	22 February 1974
Running time	93 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	English
Budget	$1,500,000

Alien Thunder (also known as Dan Candy's Law) is a 1974 Canadian Northern film directed by Claude Fournier and starring Donald Sutherland. Its original screenplay was written by W.O. Mitchell but Mitchell removed his name from the final release due to changes that were made.^[1]

Synopsis[edit]

Set in 1890s Saskatchewan after the North-West Rebellion, Alien Thunder is based on a true story about a Woods Cree (Gordon Tootoosis in his first film role) who kills a North-West Mounted Police sergeant (Kevin McCarthy) under desperate circumstances. Hunted for two years by the sergeant's resolute partner (Donald Sutherland), the ending brings tragedy for all those involved.

Cast[edit]

Donald Sutherland as Sgt. Dan Candy
Gordon Tootoosis as Almighty Voice
Chief Dan George as Sounding Sky
Kevin McCarthy as Sgt. Malcolm Grant
Jean Duceppe as Inspector Brisebois
Francine Racette as Emilie Grant
Jack Creley as Arthur Ballentyne – Indian Agent
James O'Shea as Edouard
John Boylan as Cpl. Harold Bellringer
Lenny George as Rolling Grass
Ernestine Gamble as Small Face
Vincent Daniels as Many Birds
Sarain Stump as Napoleon Royal

Production[edit]

Alien Thunder was filmed in Saskatchewan's Battleford, Duck Lake, and Saskatoon.

The RCMP, which had originally seen the film as a centrepiece of its 1973 centennial celebrations, withdrew its backing. Donald Sutherland called Mr. Fournier’s direction of the project “wretched".^[2]

Release[edit]

The film was not a financial success.^[3] "Suspense is lacking and characters are generally underdeveloped, as is the tension between the Mounties and the Indians.", stated Natalie Edwards for Cinema Canada.^{[page needed]}

An article in Luma found that "Though it laudably uses Indigenous (and principally Cree) actors and some of the Cree language, Alien Thunder is ultimately a film about Mounties and settlers; as sympathetic as it may be to the Cree, they are, as the native peoples of the Americas tend to be in Westerns, reduced to supporting players in their own story. "^[4]

References[edit]

^ Conway, Alana. ""Blood on the Poplars: ALIEN THUNDER (1974) and the Story of Almighty Voice"". Luna Quarterly. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
^ "Quebec filmmaker Claude Fournier adapted Gabrielle Roy's the Tin Flute". The Globe and Mail. 26 March 2023.
^ Lerner, Loren R. (January 1997). Canadian Film and Video: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802029881.
^ "Blood on the Poplars: ALIEN THUNDER (1974) and the Story of Almighty Voice". Luma Quarterly. Retrieved 17 June 2023.

External links[edit]

Alien Thunder at IMDb
Alien Thunder is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive

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[1] Conway, Alana. ""Blood on the Poplars: ALIEN THUNDER (1974) and the Story of Almighty Voice"". Luna Quarterly. Retrieved 7 December 2019.

[2] "Quebec filmmaker Claude Fournier adapted Gabrielle Roy's the Tin Flute". The Globe and Mail. 26 March 2023.

[3] Lerner, Loren R. (January 1997). Canadian Film and Video: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802029881.

[4] "Blood on the Poplars: ALIEN THUNDER (1974) and the Story of Almighty Voice". Luma Quarterly. Retrieved 17 June 2023.

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