Wednesday, January 7, 2015

"Rain" (1932)

In the 80 years since this flop was released, time has been good to it. The message of religious zealotry run amok and the damage it's hypocrisy can cause have never been more timely. Joan Crawford is the cheap floozy prostitute Sadie Thompson who runs headlong into confrontation with priggish missionary Walter Huston on a South Seas island during the incessant rainy season. And boy, is there rain...symbolically cleansing a lot of souls but not before they're painfully laid bare. This is Joan at her best (she was always good when she played 'bad') and the direction by director Lewis Milestone looks fresher than ever. The sparks fly despite all that deluge. 


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