Storm Warning is a 1950[i] American thriller film noir[12] starring Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan, Doris Day, and Steve Cochran.

Directed by Stuart Heisler, it follows a fashion model (Rogers) traveling to a small Southern town to visit her sister (Day), who witnesses the brutal murder of an investigative journalist by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

Filmed in Corona, California in late 1949, Storm Warning premiered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 20, 1950, before receiving an expanded theatrical release in the United States on February 10, 1951.

Hiding in the shadows, Marsha witnesses an intoxicated, violent KKK mob break a man out of jail and fatally shoot him as he attempts to flee.

Under pressure from both Lucy and the Klan, Marsha lies during her testimony, leading the coroner's jury to rule that Adams was killed by unknown assailants.

In a fit of rage, Hank kidnaps Marsha and takes her to a Klan rally, where she is beaten until Lucy, Rainey, and the authorities arrive to rescue her.

Film scholar Jeff Smith interprets Storm Warning as an allegory for the Hollywood blacklist, citing its production at the height of the Red Scare.

"[20] Smith views Rogers's character as emblematic of witnesses who refused to cooperate with the HUAC investigations, but concludes that the film overall "plays a game of "hide and seek" in appearing to both reveal and conceal the possibility of allegorical readings.

[15] Moira Finnie, writing for Turner Classic Movies, notes that, in addition to omitting references to racism, the film also fails to highlight anti-Catholicism or anti-Semitism in its depiction of the Ku Klux Klan.

[4] Ronald Reagan, who was cast as District Attorney Burt Rainey, was sent articles by the film's producer, Jerry Wald, about fascism and the assassination of Huey Long in preparation for the role.

[15] Alfred Hitchcock was sufficiently impressed by Doris Day's dramatic performance in Storm Warning to cast her in his 1956 remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much.

[13] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times, though admiring Warner's "passion for social crusading", was disappointed with the screenplay, observed that "an all-too-familiar conventionality of elements and plot is evident in the screen play which Daniel Fuchs and Richard Brooks have prepared.

[27] Edwin Schallert of the Los Angeles Times praised the performances, citing Rogers's dramatic portrayal as a strong point, but summarized: "Compared with some of the powerful exposés sponsored by Warners, this must be classified as a minor effort because it is a case practically of shooting flies with cannon balls at this late date.

"[28] Critic Dennis Schwartz wrote in 2008 that the film trivialized the topic of bigotry, writing that it treats "the serious subject of race hatred with an inadequate depiction of the KKK, as it pays more attention to the melodrama than to any message.

Stuart Heisler (The Glass Key/Dallas/Tulsa) tries to weave a well-intentioned anti-Klan film by working into the plot various forms of violence and intimidation the KKK exerts on a small Southern town ...

"[15] Like Imogen Sara Smith, Sterritt concedes that the film's character of Hank "seems too obviously modeled" on that of Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire.