Thunder On The Hill (1951)

Long before Umberto Eco's much admired 1980 novel THE NAME OF THE ROSE with its clever conceit of setting a murder mystery in a monastery became a film, Douglas Sirk made the first of his films under a Universal contract that would yield several important films of the 1950s decade THUNDER ON THE HILL, a murder mystery set in a convent. A flood in a small village causes the villagers to seek sanctuary in a convent on a hill above the waters. The floods also prevent a convicted murderess (Ann Blyth) from being transported to a prison where she is to be hanged. A nun (Claudette Colbert) takes an interest in the girl and, convinced of her innocence, attempts to unravel some secrets and expose the real murderer before the water goes down and the girl can be taken to her fate. It's fairly easy to detect the real killer so it's more a matter of how they will be caught and exposed rather than who the killer is that propels the storyline. As its title suggests, the atmosphere is perfect for a thriller: a group of people trapped by flood, unable to get away, thunder and rain, a cold and dark convent and a finale that anticipates VERTIGO's bell tower last act. With Gladys Cooper, Connie Gilchrist, Anne Crawford, Robert Douglas, Norma Varden and Michael Pate.