Rain (1932)

A prostitute newly arrived in the South Pacific finds herself at odds with a stern missionary determined to save her soul.

Director:

Lewis Milestone (uncredited)

Writers:

John Colton (play), Clemence Randolph (play) (as C. Randolph)

Stars:

Joan Crawford, Walter Huston, Fred Howard

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joan Crawford	...	Sadie Thompson
Walter Huston	...	Alfred Davidson
Fred Howard	...	Hodgson (as Frederic Howard)
Ben Hendricks Jr.	...	Griggs (as Ben Hendricks)
William Gargan	...	Sergeant O'Hara
Mary Shaw	...	Ameena
Guy Kibbee	...	Joe Horn
Kendall Lee	...	Mrs. Macphail
Beulah Bondi	...	Mrs. Davidson
Matt Moore	...	Dr. Macphail
Walter Catlett	...	Quartermaster Bates

Storyline

For residents on the idyllic South Seas island of Pago Pago, life is simple until a boat arrives carrying two couples, the Davidsons (who are missionaries), the MacPhails and a prostitute named Sadie Thompson. Davidson is more than just a religious zealot; he's a mad man. When the boat, which was en route to another port, is temporarily stranded on the island due to a possible Cholera outbreak on-board, Sadie spends her time "partying" with the American soldiers stationed on the island. Her behavior, however, is more than the Davidsons can stand and soon Mr. Davidson confronts Sadie about her evil ways and offers salvation. When Sadie rebels and the attempted redemption does not go as planned, Davidson arranges to have her sent back to San Francisco, where she fled some years ago due to mysterious personal issues. Davidson soon becomes unhinged and thus begins a series of surprising events which culminate in disaster.

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Plot Keywords:

pago pago | prostitute | missionary | title same as play | south pacific | 

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Taglines:

A woman without shame. A woman without soul.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 October 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Regn

Filming Locations:

Isthmus Cove, Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Feature Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min (Turner library print) 76 min (1938 Atlantic Reissue)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Wide Range Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the second film version of the short story, "Rain". The first in 1928 was called "Sadie Thompson" as the story and title were on the "forbidden list to be filmed. It starred Gloria Swanson and Lionel Barrymore and brought Swanson the first of her three Oscar nominations. The third was called "Miss Sadie Thompson" and starred Rita Hayworth.

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Goofs

Studio lights are constantly reflected in Joe Horne's bald head.

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Quotes

Alfred Davidson: Hello, Miss Thompson. What are you up for?
Sadie Thompson: I couldn't sleep. With this rain and those drums. And, then, thinkin' about tomorrow. I don't seem to be able to do much for myself, do I?

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Connections

Referenced in The Live Ghost (1934)

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Soundtracks

Wabash Blues
(1921) (uncredited)
Music by Fred Meinken
Lyrics by Dave Ringle

User Reviews

A Crawford Antique

Most TV versions of "Rain" look like an antique, since they are in desperate need of restoration. The video versions are restored with 20 minutes of footage that is cut on some of the TV prints. Crawford was loaned out by MGM to United Artists for this second adaptation of the famed Maugham novel. This was one of Joan's biggest commercial disasters when she was still big at the box-office before her decline in the late 1930s. By viewing it today, one may not be impressed by the story or performances, but this is actually one of Joan's finest from her early films. "Rain" has become overlooked through the years since it was a notorious bomb and Crawford herself hated this movie. It is not as excellent as Gloria Swanson's "Sadie Thompson," but not that bad.