Who'll Stop the Rain (1978)

Vietnam veteran Ray Hicks gets conned into helping his buddy John Converse smuggle some heroin, only to wind up on the lam with John's wife when the deal goes sour.

Director:

Karel Reisz

Writers:

Robert Stone (novel), Judith Rascoe (screenplay),

Stars:

Nick Nolte, Tuesday Weld, Michael Moriarty

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nick Nolte	...	Ray Hicks
Tuesday Weld	...	Marge Converse
Michael Moriarty	...	John Converse
Anthony Zerbe	...	Antheil
Richard Masur	...	Danskin
Ray Sharkey	...	Smitty
Gail Strickland	...	Charmian
Charles Haid	...	Eddie Peace
David Opatoshu	...	Bender
Joaquín Martínez	...	Angel (as Joaquin Martinez)
James Cranna	...	Gerald
Timothy Blake	...	Jody
Shelby Balik	...	Janey
Jean Howell	...	Edna
José Carlos Ruiz	...	Galindez (as Jose Carlos Ruiz)

Storyline

Vietnam veteran Ray Hicks gets conned into helping his buddy John Converse smuggle some heroin, only to wind up on the lam with John's wife when the deal goes sour.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam | heroin | veteran | tough guy | reporter | 

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Taglines:

A week ago they were strangers. An hour ago they were lovers. Now they are targets.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | War | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 September 1978 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Amargo cargamento

Filming Locations:

Cody's Books - 2454 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Katzka-Jaffe

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It is often believed that film's title was changed from "Dog Soldiers" so as not to be confused with the similarly titled novel of The Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth which got made and released as a movie a couple of years later. However, the producers changed the title when they acquired the rights to use the song "Who'll Stop the Rain". The film was still released though as "Dog Soldiers" in a number of foreign territories.

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Quotes

Ray Hicks: You can't deal with people in this outrageous fucking manner.

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Connections

Referenced in Nick Nolte: No Exit (2008)

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Soundtracks

"PUT A LITTLE LOVE IN YOUR HEART"
Written by Jackie DeShannon, Jimmy Holiday and Randall Meyers
Performed by Jackie DeShannon
Courtesy of United Artists Records

User Reviews

Easily the best Nick Nolte performance

This is a small masterpiece and perhaps the best film to come out of the whole Vietnam War experience, perfectly reflecting the drug-addled, hyper-cynical and soulless days at the end of the 60's, when we all realized that it wasn't going to be alright.

If you like Nolte, you must see this. If you loath Nolte to the very depth of your being, you need to see it even more. His energy here would fill a dozen lesser films - only the remarkable supporting cast keeps him from single-handedly burning the movie down.

A huge number of American films from this period are massively overrated. Not this one.