Rider on the Rain (1970)

A US Army colonel in France tries to track down an escaped sex maniac.

Director:

René Clément

Writer:

Sébastien Japrisot (original screenplay, adaptation and dialogue by)

Stars:

Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Marlène Jobert

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Charles Bronson	...	Col. Harry Dobbs
Marlène Jobert	...	Mélancolie Mau
Gabriele Tinti	...	Tony Mau
Jean Gaven	...	Inspector Toussaint
Jean Piat	...	M. Armand
Jill Ireland	...	Nicole
Corinne Marchand	...	Tania
Annie Cordy	...	Juliette
Ellen Bahl	...	Madeleine Legauff
Steve Eckardt	...	U.S. officer
Jean-Daniel Ehrmann
Marika Green	...	Hostess at Tania's
Yves Massard	...	(as Yves Massart)
Marc Mazza	...	The Passenger (Mac Guffin)
Marcel Pérès	...	Station Master

Storyline

A beautiful young woman in the South of France is raped by a mysterious masked assailant. She shoots him dead soon afterwards and dumps his corpse in the sea. Soon an American investigator turns up who seems to know what she has done.

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Plot Keywords:

silent villain | pantyhose | bald head | rapist | stranger | 

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Taglines:

Bronson At His Brutal Best!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality and some thematic elements

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a 2012 interview Annie Cordy said : "Marlène Jobert was adorable, Charles Bronson was annoying. I was a fan of his... but he was very rude. He didn't salute anyone, including Marlène, not even René Clément who was a gentleman."

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Quotes

Col. Harry Dobbs: You expect me to eat that?
Mélancolie Mau: Americans live on ketchup and milk. I'm a whiz at geography.

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Alternate Versions

The film was shot twice, once with the cast speaking English and once with them speaking French, which the French version running just over two minutes longer despite having no additional scenes. The UK DVD released by Optimum includes both cuts of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Blue Nude (1978)

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Soundtracks

Le passager de la pluie
(la chanson du film)
Lyrics by Sébastien Japrisot
Music by Francis Lai
Performed by Séverine
Bande original disque Somethin'Else

User Reviews

Bronson and René Clément create an odd arty fusion!.

We are in the South of France, the gorgeous Mélancolie 'Mellie' Mau finds a mysterious stranger is stalking her. She is then raped by the man and after finding him still in the house after the attack she shoots him dead and throws his body into the sea. Sometime later, tough grizzled American, Col. Harry Dobbs, walks into her life and appears to know everything that has happened.

Every once in a while i come across a film that leaves me both intrigued and highly frustrated, Le Passager de la pluie is one such film. I have rated it down the middle with a 5/10 rating because i have to sit on the fence with it, it has many qualities that obviously hit the spot for many viewers, yet it's something of a chore to get through as well. Filmed as a sort of dreamy pondering piece by René Clément, the film is never less than interesting, and at times quite beautiful in texture. Just going by the user comments on IMDb it's apparent that the appearance of Charles Bronson has divided many a viewer, those proclaiming that this turn shows a depth to his acting are quite right, it does, but ultimately when his character gets mean and kicks some, it's the high point of the film, a victim of typecasting it may be, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it Charles.

Fans of Bronson macho movie heaven need not apply here, this is a different animal completely, those into art-house cinema will love the dream scape feeling on show here, René Clément knows his onions for sure, and i was personally enthralled by the performance of Marlène Jobert as Mélancolie 'Mellie' Mau, if i can get any other films she has been in then i'll be an interested viewer. Yet the film falls down for me because after an opening third that is quite brilliant, one that makes me feel that a sense of fear and dread has invaded my well being, the piece sinks into that mantra of style over substance that appears to be pandering for all genre watchers.

I'll never watch it again, but i'm strangely glad that i did catch it.

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French English

Release Date:

21 January 1970 (France)

Also Known As:

Rain

Filming Locations:

Presqu'île de Giens, Hyères, Var, France

Box Office

Gross USA:

$708,382

Company Credits

Production Co:

Greenwich Film Productions, Medusa Distribuzione

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1