Customer Reviews

Rain [Import]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

the first time i saw the film was when i saw it in the sale in virgin mega stores.so i picked it up and put it on straight away a soon as i got home and i was totally amazed with Crawfords wonderful performance and also was amazed with Hustons performance too.in RAIN Crawford plays a prostertute called sadie tompson , who has ran away form her old life in san francisco.but as soon as she arrives at this hotel at pongo pongo she already gets into trouble as soon as she enters the hotel by this preachers wife .but later she has a run in with the preacher (huston). which isn't good for her . huston hypnotises her with prayers and it makes her want to go to san francisco.but huston in the ends slashes his throat and sadie turns back to normal.its one of the best films crawford has ever made.

This movie was a critical flop at the time of its release, but history has been kinder. Crawford gives one of her best peformances as a bawdy prostitute who falls under the spell of a zealous preacher. Moody, frighteningly believable in spite of the period mannerisms, this ranks as one of the best films of its era and a great study in filmmaking, too. Surpasses even the short novel by Somerset Maugham.

Throughout her life Joan Crawford supposedly denounced "Rain" as one of her biggest career mistakes. Apparently a flop at the time of its release in 1932, this film has recently experienced something of a renaissance. Now, critical opinion has changed and many critics now conclude that Crawford sold herself short in panning the film and her performance in it.

Now on DVD, this film contains an interesting story with fine acting (admittedly the acting is a little stagey, but in 1932 that tended to be the style, as talkies were in their infancy and actors were still getting comfortable with how to project, emote, etc. for film).

What makes this film interesting is the controversial subject matter it dealt with. In many ways it tackled stuff that, once the Production Code went into full swing, would become verboten. These subjects include prostitution, criminality, religious fanaticism, hypocrisy, rape and suicide. And it deals with these controversial subjects in a sensitive and intelligent manner.

Briefly, a group of travelers are stranded on the tropical island of Pago Pago. One of these is Crawford. She plays Sadie Thompson, a prostitute on the run from the law in the United States. She was framed for a crime she didn't commit and has fled the US rather than face three years in prison.

Also in the group of travelers is a missionary and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Davidson (played by Walter Houston and Beulah Bondi, respectively). While it is never clear exactly what church they represent, it is clear that what they do represent is self-righteous intolerance for anyone or anything that isn't exactly the way the Davidsons think they should be. They object to Sadie and everything she stands for - to them she is a "wanton woman" in need of redemption. In fact, saving Sadie's soul becomes Mr. Davidson's pet project.

Meanwhile, Sadie begins a relationship with a sailor she calls Handsome (played by William Gargan). She is torn by the forces around her - Handsome's love (he wants to marry her) and Davidson's pronouncements that she needs to suffer and be saved. What is Sadie to do? And in her nuanced performance as Sadie, Crawford makes this dilemma shine through. Sadie does not like what she is, but she doesn't know what else to be or how to change. Sometimes she's not even sure she wants to change. She knows she hasn't led an exemplary life, but she is confused about what path to take. And in a strange way, she is repelled by Mr. Davidson, yet drawn to him at the same time. Sadie is certainly NOT a one-dimensional character.

I won't give away the ending, but suffice it to say that thrown into this volatile mix is the fact that the holy and righteous Mr. Davidson also isn't quite as holy and righteous as he claims to be. Mixed in with his desire to "save" Sadie is also his sexual desire for her. In certain ways this reminds one of the story of Jim Bakker and Jessica Hahn. And like that story, in this story lechery sets in motion the makings for Davidson's downfall.

Definitely worth seeing.

Supposedly, "Rain", from Somerset Maughams' story, was a flop on its' release in 1932. Maybe the subject matter was too far over the heads of Depression era audiences. "Rain" is fine today as a vintage relic of adult filmmaking. It concerns a group of missionaries who land on the tropical isle of Pago Pago during rainy season to save the souls of the "sinful" natives who are otherwise living in blissful harmony. Unfortunately, a group of Marines gets stranded there as well and among them is the colorful Sadie Thompson (Crawford), a woman of easy virtue and proud of it. The Marines love her and she parties hardy with them much to the shock and chagrin of the missionaries--- particularly the Reverends' self righteous wife (Beulah Bondi). She complains loudly and the Reverend determines to cast out the "evil" from Sadies' soul even though Sadie is just fine with it the way it is. Their confrontations eventually lead to a near exorcism of Sadie and she succumbs to the Reverends' power. But the rain doesn't let up and the jungle drums keep pounding in the night. The Reverend succumbs to a power of a different kind---that of the unleashing of long pent up sexual frustration and he rapes Sadie thus sealing his own fate as the real "lost soul". Walter Huston is stagily effective as the pompous Reverend and Crawford is nothing short of magnetic as Sadie. A definite curio from the pre-code 30's and an interesting look at a young Joan Crawford. My DVD from Image looks and sounds fine so for me this was a plus.

I am a Crawford fan, and also enjoy old B&W movies. But this is just so boring to watch, and you wonder why they bothered going on location to Catalina Island - all you mostly see is the stage stuff anyway. The film apparently got bad reviews when it was first released, and Crawford herself said if she could have re-done it, she would have as the overall film lacked spark -she also referred to her own acting as too over the top. This is one of her worst films in my opinion, yet it was one of the first they released on DVD. Why not release the good ones first - like Mildred Pierce? What's wrong with movie companies? The quality of this DVD is also really bad despite my copy saying "Digitally remastered from the original print". It was so poor that it kept fading in and out. For the collectors of oldies only. Sorry the review could not be more positive, but i dont want you wasting money on a bad product.

A woman escapes three years in a penitentiary in San Francisco by fleeing to Honolulu where she leads an easy and light life with the sailors that come along. Up to the moment when a preacher of some note arrives and starts persecuting her because her music and her life annoys his wife and himself. So he has her expelled back to San Francisco and preaches her into accepting her punishment, even if it is undeserved, the result of some injustice. This goes on right to the very day before the departure of the boat to San Francisco. On the night before, the preacher, for some unexplained reason, commits suicide. It is not always easy to be the signpost of everyone at the same time as their judge and executioner. This then changes everything and the woman is able to escape to Sidney, Australia, with one of the sailors. She is saved from a punishment that is understood as being unfair. The rain has been dominating the whole film till the very last morning when the sun finally rises over the clouds for the salvation and the escape of the woman. Joan Crawford does a pretty job at impersonating this woman.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

There must have been a popular play adaptation of this story that inspired the filming. The direction is purely point-and-shoot, with only a few shots of rain falling on different areas of the island to break the monotony.

Also, the actors are projecting their voices far too much. I understand that in 1932 sound was in its infancy, but I have seen other films of the period where there was natural-sounding dialogue.

The placement of the characters appears to have been gathered from the stage version, as well. No one's back ever is to the camera, and people walk while talking and not at other times.

The acting, however, given the other situations, is exemplary. Joan Crawford is good (though not great) as Sadie, however Walter Huston appears to be playing a one-note zealot, at least until the one scene when he falls prey to his baser instincts. He uses dramatic facial expression to show this change, but unfortunately, it only looked to me as if he were about to turn into Mr. Hyde.

The other characters are really just spouting dialogue and we aren't told much about them, other than the proprietor of the General Store where the action takes place, Joe Horn. He is the most interesting character in the film.

It was very slow going (I was not previously familiar with the storyline), but after the first half hour, I began to follow and was entertained.

I think that it is at the very least a good look at cinema history: to see early Joan Crawford work from when she was a sex symbol, and to catch Walter Huston before son John directed him to an Oscar in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Although in order to appreciate director Lewis Milestone's true ability, see All Quiet on the Western Front, The Front Page, or the Lon Chaney, Jr./Burgess Meredith version of Of Mice and Men.

Joan Crawford is cast as Sadie Thompson and Walter Huston as the preacher in this 1932 version of the Somerset Maugham classic. Shot in black and white, the video and soundtrack are somewhat scratchy, but the quality of the screenplay and the performances shine through. The mood of the film is dark and shadowy throughout, and the Pacific island seems hot, wet and foreboding. Even the opening shot of soldiers marching in the rain and singing a song about how they expected a paradise when they signed up but were now disillusioned, sets the tone for the piece.

I never realized how attractive Joan Crawford was in her early days and this role calls for her to play both the hard edged prostitute as well as the newly converted former sinner. Both these personas come across loud and clear. Walter Huston plays the preacher role sincerely, as a true believer who wants to save Sadie's soul. Later, we see his inner conflict by just the look on his face, as his eyes glisten and he turns towards the closed door of her room. There are a lot of shadows and a lot of close-ups and a lot of long, lingering looks between the actors. This all works as a film and even though I knew the story, I felt the tension and conflict clearly.

The only music was the ragtime of Sadie's phonograph, the Polynesian melodies of the natives and - towards the very end - an instrumental rendition of "St. Louis Woman". Also, given the technological restrictions of the time, there were some wonderful shots of the hard rain and rain barrels. Everything looked wet and hot and sultry. It was really very well done.
Recommended.

This 1932 vintage film has a young and sultry Joan Crawford in the role of South Seas trollop Sadie Thompson. Walter Huston is compelling as the fire and brimstone preacher, who wants to run this fallen woman out of town on a rail. Beulah Bondi is excellent as the preacher's prudish wife whose sensibilities are upset by Sadie Thompson's very presence in the small, cramped South Seas island hotel where they are all staying, awaiting a ship that is to take them to their final destination. Seeking to save Sadie's soul, the preacher manages to brow beat Sadie into repentant submission to his will, only to be done in at the last by his own answer to the call of the wild.

This is an interesting film that shows the ideosyncracies of earlie talkies. Look for some odd camera shots used in order to segue into the next scene. Listen to the pounding of the torrential rain that can be heard almost throughout the entire film (hence, its name). Listen to the beat of the native drums, working to set a mood when necessary. All in all, a very well done film for its time. Joan Crawford fans will love it, as will all lovers of vintage films.

A fun and fascinating adaptation of Maugham's novel. To create the steamy Pago Pago atmosphere, the entire crew went west of Hollywood! (it was actually filmed on Catalina Island). Crawford never approved of her interpretation of Sadie Thompson, batting at the ball after Jeanne Eagels, Blanche Sweet and Gloria Swanson took their turns swinging the bat and hit. Joan was insecure especially since she was told "When Jeanne Eagels died, RAIN died with her". Strangely enough, her performance, when seen today is definitely one of the more interesting of her incredible career which spanned from 1925-1970. Audiences (mostly women) in 1932 flocked to watch Joan suffer in mink; they couldn't or wouldn't accept her as this blatant trollop of the South Seas! While her wardrobe for the tarnished lady is somewhat bizarre, her acting is certainly more watchable in this film than those in which she passed herself off as a zombie in the forties and fifties (with exceptions of A WOMAN'S FACE, HUMORESQUE, POSSESSED, etc ), Crawford was rather limited and wooden in her acting technique; it was her spunky flair and undeniable beauty with which her fans identified (even her "sister" Bette Davis admitted "Boy, did that dame have a FACE"! But Davis had acting talent which Crawford could only sigh at with envy!