The Rains Came (1939)

An Indian aristocrat Rama Safti returns from medical training in the U.S. to give his life to the poor folk of Ranchipur. Lady Edwina and her drunken artist ex-lover Ransome get in the way,... See full summary »

Director:

Clarence Brown

Writers:

Philip Dunne (screen play), Julien Josephson (screen play),

Stars:

Myrna Loy, Tyrone Power, George Brent

Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Myrna Loy	...	Lady Edwina Esketh
Tyrone Power	...	Major Rama Safti
George Brent	...	Tom Ransome
Brenda Joyce	...	Fern Simon
Nigel Bruce	...	Lord Albert Esketh
Maria Ouspenskaya	...	Maharani
Joseph Schildkraut	...	Mr. Bannerjee
Mary Nash	...	Miss Mac Daid
Jane Darwell	...	Aunt Phoebe - Mrs. Smiley
Marjorie Rambeau	...	Mrs. Simon
Henry Travers	...	Rev. Homer Smiley
H.B. Warner	...	Maharajah
Laura Hope Crews	...	Lily Hoggett-Egburry
William Royle	...	Raschid Ali Khan
C. Montague Shaw	...	General Keith (as Montague Shaw)

Storyline

An Indian aristocrat Rama Safti returns from medical training in the U.S. to give his life to the poor folk of Ranchipur. Lady Edwina and her drunken artist ex-lover Ransome get in the way, but everyone shapes up when faced by plague, earthquakes and flooding.

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Plot Keywords:

india | plague | disaster | rain | earthquake | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 September 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nacht über Indien

Filming Locations:

Balboa Park - 1549 El Prado, San Diego, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,600,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 105 min (copyright length)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Initially budgeted at $2,500,000, an additional $100,000 was added to film a new ending. $500,000 was allotted for the sets, and $500,000 for the flood and earthquake scenes. 350 grips, carpenters and laborers worked for more than a month on those scenes.

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Goofs

Even though Rama and Lady Edwima are caught in the same thundershower on the same street, when they arrive at Mr. Das' music school, his clothes are wet while hers are amazingly dry. Also's the wet spots on Rama's clothes migrate to different areas from scene to scene as they move from room to room in the school.

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Quotes

Thomas 'Tom' Ransome: [Describing Ranchipur to Lady Edwina Esketh] See, in Ranchipur, the important things in life are the elemental things, such as crops, starvation, and weather. In Europe, when someone says "It looks like rain," in all probability, he's trying to make polite conversation. But here, where people die as easily as they're born, they're speaking in terms of life and death. You'll see what I mean, if you're still here when the rains come. You'll see them overnight turn the fields, the gardens and the ...

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Crazy Credits

Each set of credits (except for the 20th Century-Fox logo) disintegrates after it appears, as if it were washed away by the rain falling in the background.

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Connections

Spoofed in Patient Porky (1940)

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Soundtracks

"Piano Sonata No.14 in C Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 (Moonlight)"
(1802) (uncredited)
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Played on piano by an unidentified boy in Mr. Das' music school

User Reviews

All that a wonderful movie should be

I've only seen it for the first time but one can sense it's a great film and has everything one can look for in an excellent story. I settled into it instantly. Vaguely it reminded me of Somerset Maugham's exotic tales of the white man dwelling in far-flung, remote lands.

At the beginning there is a lot of erratic misplaced feelings but eventually romance enters the lives of those who least expect it.

When I saw the floods I too thought of the tsunami tragedy a few years ago, quite a reminder even though this movie dates back more than five decades, the realities of life's tragedies, both human and the natural disaster kind are much the same as ever.

Most other viewer's comments have already given the details of the story so I needn't repeat everything here. It was a surprise to note how well George Brent did in his acting ability for this role, very well done, in my opinion.

Have actually bought the book too and plan on reading it very soon.