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| Editorial Reviews: | |  |  | | This 1950s classic is based on the N. Richard Nash play of the same name (and not to be confused with the John Grisham novel and subsequent film). It's drought time in the Southwest; things are so bad that when a con man (Burt Lancaster) comes to town promising he can make rain, a rancher takes him up on it. But the rancher's spinster daughter (Katharine Hepburn) is skeptical--until Lancaster makes lightning strike her heart, with the unexpected consequence of the rainmaker falling in love with her. Lancaster is charismatic and funny and finds his match in Hepburn (with Earl Holliman providing comic relief as her impulsive younger brother). Think Harold Hill and Marian the Librarian on a farm, minus the music (though Rainmaker later was made into the Broadway musical 110 in the Shade). --Marshall Fine | |
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| | I love this movie; it is one of my favorites.
Katherine Hepburn is wonderful as the 30-ish only daughter in a house too full of men.
Her father and brothers have almost driven poor Lizzie ( Hepburn's character)around the bend by fretting that she's never going to "catch a husband" and endlessly debating whether or not Lizzie is "plain."
Poor Lizzie is way ahead of her time, and balks at acting like an idiot in hopes of appealing to a man, although strangely she seems to have bought the notion that marriage=happiness.
Con man Starbuck( Burt Lancaster) soothes Lizzie's shredded ego and helps her to relax a little.
The conclusion is a little disappointing, although this does not diminish the movie's entertainment quality.
Just don't watch it during a drought.
| | | Katherine Hepburn stars as Lizzie, a woman who is well on her way to being a spinster. Her father and two brothers are trying their best to get her married off before it's too late, but time is running out, and unfortunately, Hepburn is too serious and not "flirty" enough to be able to land a man. Into this situation walks Burt Lancaster, a con man who claims that for $100 he can end the drought that is another worry for them. Everyone knows it is a con, but much like the problem with Hepburn, they hold onto anything that might give them hope. Lancaster gives a florid performance as the charismatic huckster. Sometimes he's a little over-ripe, but he definitely leaves an impression. Hepburn never completely captures her character, although she does have some terrific moments. Earl Holliman as her rowdy younger brother scores big with this performance, offering some of the films most amusing bits. The Rainmaker was adapted from a stage play, and you can see its stage origins, where I suspect it probably comes across better. The film is good, although I wouldn't rate it as highly as many of the other films featuring these stars.
| | One of Katharine Hepburn's Oscar nominated Spinster roles | |
| | | On a drought-plagued farm somewhere in the southwest, spinster Lizzy Curry (Katharine Hepburn) has finally given up on ever being married, although her family wants to make one last effort with File (Wendell Corey), the local lawman. Into their lives comes the fast talking con man Starbuck (Burt Lancaster), who promises that he can make it rain for $100. More importantly, he can see the con job that Lizzy has played on herself and before he rides out of town he will have redeemed not only the shy spinster but himself. Katharine Hepburn was well into her period of playing spinsters by the time she made this 1956 film with Burt Lancaster. The idea of Hepburn and Lancaster making a film together is interesting since they had totally different approaches to the acting craft. Hepburn would have the entire script memorized before shooting began whereas Lancaster preferred to learn his lines the night before. This is one of those films where the Bryn Mawr accent of the leading actress works against the character, but then the whole idea of Hepburn playing a rube--with costumes by Edith Head no less--is a bit of a stretch to start. Lancaster really sinks his teeth into the role of the charming mountebank Starbuck. Cameron Prud'Homme, Earl Hollliman and Lloyd Bridges play Lizzy's worried father and brothers, and it is they who really give the film its sense of life out on the farm more than the sets and scenery. Based on N. Richard Nash's play, the film was directed by Joseph Anthony, who had directed the stage version starring Geraldine Page (presumably an attempt to duplicate the success of Elia Kazan in moving from Broadway to Hollywood). The story is still produced by community theaters as the musical "110 in the Shade." Hepburn received her seventh Oscar nomination for Best Actress for "The Rainmaker" (the winner that year was Ingrid Bergman for "Anastasia"), but the role of Lizzy Curry is not one of best performances. Certainly Lizzy is becoming desperate, but Hepburn gives those scenes too much of an edge. In her earlier films this worked quite well, most notably in "Alice Adams," but in as a mature actress Hepburn was much more successful in underplaying the desperation of her spinster characters, as such did superbly the previous year in "Summertime." This may well be one of those regards in which it is simply difficult to separate the actress from the role. However, in her strongest scenes she certainly brings dignity to the frightened spinster, and in the end you understand why she would actually pick Wendell Corey over Burt Lancaster.
| | | Excellent movie & story. Any fans of Lancaster & Hepburn will want this. If you loved Elmer Gantry, you'll love The Rainmaker.
| | | Excellent movie & story. Any fans of Lancaster & Hepburn will want this. If you loved Elmer Gantry, you'll love The Rainmaker.
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