The Rainmaker
Release date: 1956-12-13
Votes: 45
Genres: Romance, Western
Lizzie Curry is on the verge of becoming a hopeless old maid. Her wit and intelligence and skills as a homemaker can't make up for the fact that she's just plain plain! Even the town sheriff, File, for whom she harbors a secrect yen, won't take a chance --- until the town suffers a drought and into the lives of Lizzie and her brothers and father comes one Bill Starbuck ... profession: Rainmaker!
Reviews
John Chard
There once was an ugly duckling... The Rainmaker is directed by Joseph Anthony and written by N. Richard Nash. It stars Burt Lancaster, Katharine Hepburn, Wendell Corey, Lloyd Bridges, Cameron Prud'Homme and Earl Holliman. Music is by Alex North and VistaVision/Technicolor cinematography is by Charles Lang. Starbuck (Lancaster) is a conman who arrives in the little town of Threepoint and promises to deliver the rain to end the town's crippling drought problem. More telling, perhaps, will be his impact on the Curry family... N. Richard Nash wrote it as a television play and would then see it hit the Broadway stage, so he was the logical choice for screenplay duties here. The film very much feels like a play, with very pronounced acting and sharp dialogue, it's also - at just over two hours in length - far too long for a talky based production. Thirty minutes could quite easily have been shaved off here. There's also the contentious casting of the Oscar Nominated Hepburn, who in many people's eyes - myself included - is miscast and just doesn't sit right in the role, leaving it to Lancaster to bring the flight and breeze to light up the piece. However, to enjoy the art of acting brings some rewards, it's also a pic of crafty humour and features a story of considerable humane substance. That one man, a scallywag, can have such a positive impact on a sterile backwater family, builds nicely to an ending that is a complete joy, a real smile raiser. It's also handsomely photographed by Lang, the colour lensing so smooth, and the production design, backed up by North's most appealing musical score, ensures you know that the makers cared about what they were doing. Relationships on set were initially rocky, but the principal stars would come to be friends and speak fondly of their time on the film. 6/10 Footnote: The material would also be turned into a musical titled 110 in the Shade.
Movie Recommendation
The Wrong Man1956-12-22In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.More...
High Society1956-07-17With socialite Tracy Lord about to remarry, her ex-husband - with the help of a sympathetic reporter - has 48 hours to convince her that she really still loves him.More...
C.R.A.Z.Y.2005-05-27A young French Canadian, one of five boys in a conservative family in the 1960s and 1970s, struggles to reconcile his emerging identity with his father's values.More...
The Sons of Katie Elder1965-06-23The four sons of Katie Elder reunite in their hometown of Clearwater, Texas for her funeral and discover that the family ranch is now in the hands of Morgan Hastings, a corrupt businessman who wants to exploit the area around the town.More...
The Calling2014-08-05Detective Hazel Micallef hasn't had much to worry about in the sleepy town of Port Dundas until a string of gruesome murders in the surrounding countryside brings her face to face with a serial killer driven by a higher calling.More...
An Affair to Remember1957-07-11A couple falls in love and agrees to meet in six months at the Empire State Building - but will it happen?More...
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker2019-12-18The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once again as the journey of Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron continues. With the power and knowledge of generations behind them, the final battle begins.More...
Us2019-03-14Husband and wife Gabe and Adelaide Wilson take their kids to their beach house expecting to unplug and unwind with friends. But as night descends, their serenity turns to tension and chaos when some shocking visitors arrive uninvited.More...
Avatar2009-12-15In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.More...
Joker2019-10-01During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.More...
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood2019-07-24Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton, a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth, his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate, who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski…More...
Green Book2018-11-16Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans, forced to find alternate accommodations and services due to segregation laws below the Mason-Dixon Line, relied on a guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book.More...
Parasite2019-05-30All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.More...
Top Gun: Maverick2022-05-21After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell finds himself training a detachment of TOP GUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen.More...
The Devil Wears Prada2006-06-29Andy moves to New York to work in the fashion industry. Her boss is extremely demanding, cruel and won't let her succeed if she doesn't fit into the high class elegant look of their magazine.More...
Suicide Squad2016-08-03From DC Comics comes the Suicide Squad, an antihero team of incarcerated supervillains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences.More...
The Shining1980-05-23Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within.More...
Schindler's List1993-12-15The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.More...
The Shawshank Redemption1994-09-23Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.More...
28 Days Later2002-10-31Twenty-eight days after a killer virus was accidentally unleashed from a British research facility, a small group of London survivors are caught in a desperate struggle to protect themselves from the infected. Carried by animals and humans, the virus turns those it infects into homicidal maniacs -- and it's absolutely impossible to contain.More...
Similar Movies
Provo
2022-10-07A self-destructive ex-Mormon finds out her estranged, abusive father is on his deathbed in Provo, Utah – so she road trips across the country to reckon with her past, current friend-with-benefits in tow.Daniel Boone: The War...
1960-12-04In North Carolina, Daniel Boone hears amazing tales about Kentucky and decides to move his family there. But first he has to find the Indian path that will lead him and earn enough money trapping to repay a loan. The Indians are not happy that settlers are coming, and make life difficult for them.Delir
No data for this movieThere is no descriptionBALADA POR UNA VENGAN...
No data for this movieThere is no descriptionSacrilegio
2023-03-13There is no descriptionMarlina the Murderer ...
2017-05-15After encountering a group of bandits with plans to rape and steal from her, a young widow ventures into the wilderness in search of justice.Oklahoma!
1999-09-26A dark-themed and redesigned West End production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's seminal Broadway musical tells the story of farm girl Laurey and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly and the sinister and frightening farmhand Jud.Gunfight at Cold Cros...
2023-04-23Cold Cross follows young outlaw William McCarthy, who viciously hunts down those who betrayed him and his family. Unbeknownst to him, he too is hunted for previous transgressions. All too late, he learns a terrible truth; an eye for an eye, will make the world go blind.Ponto-Cruz
2024-11-21There is no descriptionThe Last Days of Bell...
No data for this movieNotorious Bandit Queen of the Indian Territory Maybelle Shirley Starr opposes the Oklahoma Land Rush of April 22, 1889.Being and Nothingness...
2019-06-20When sixteen-year-old Lola is forced to relocate to Casper, Wyoming with her anxious, existentialist mother - she ends up falling for her eccentric grandmother's ranch hand.100 Rifles
1969-03-26When half-breed Indian Yaqui Joe robs an Arizona bank, he is pursued by dogged lawman Lyedecker. Fleeing to Mexico, Joe is imprisoned by General Verdugo, who is waging a war against the Yaqui Indians. When Lyedecker attempts to intervene, he is thrown into prison as well. Working together, the two escape and take refuge in the hills, where Lyedecker meets beautiful Yaqui freedom fighter Sarita and begins to question his allegiances.Roads Between Us
2024-12-11A retired truck driver reflects on a life spent on the road while his children explore the emotional toll of his absence, honouring the unsung heroes who keep the world moving.Cottonmouth
No data for this movieWhen Ed Dantes is framed and condemned to the tortures of a territorial prison in the 1895, he must learn the ways of the outlaw to escape and exact his revenge.An Eastern Westerner
1920-05-02A young man in New York has exasperated his father because of his constant carousing and irresponsibility, so his father sends him to his uncle's ranch in the west. The young man arrives in the town of Piute Pass, which is being terrorized by Tiger Lip Tompkins and his gang, the Masked Angels. The Easterner befriends a young woman whose father is being held captive by Tompkins, and he decides to help her....E Continuano a man...
No data for this movieThere is no descriptionSangría
2023-05-04Under the shade of a lemon tree, Osvaldo is at the grill while talking with Horacio, his new neighbor. Everything is going well until Osvaldo discovers Horacio's trade: Uber. Horacio also discovers Osvaldo's: Taxi driver, rivals.Ambushed!
1989-04-01Dudley Dumpling and Gramps travel to the Old West town of Armor. They witness a bank robbery and make friends with the local kids, but does Armor need the Armor of God?Oltre il confine
No data for this movieThere is no descriptionWas Once a Hero
No data for this movieGinny and Little Bit are in trouble. After their father and only living relative is murdered by a gang of outlaws led by an increasingly unhinged marauder named Chance, they've been on the run. Narrowly escaping death, Ginny has only her wiles and her love for her little brother, as they make their way across an unforgiving landscape fraught with sheer danger. As she struggles with the painful memory of her father's murder and the utterly overwhelming guilt born from killing the man who was hell-bent on her rape and torture, Ginny is out of options as the wolves are relentlessly closing in. Things change for the children when they cross paths with Major Malcolm Hunter, a one-time war hero and lawman who's now been reduced to an old man with a failing memory. They form an alliance and make an attempt to reach the town of Black Ridge, where they could all be saved. Will Malcolm and Ginny have what it takes to find this place of refuge that may or may not even exist?