Nacht über Indien

Incredible special effects, a solid story, beautiful directing, and marvelous acting are the highlights of "The Rains Came," another movie from that famous year in film-making, 1939. Its stars are Tyrone Power, Myrna Loy, George Brent, Brenda Joyce, and Maria Ouspenskaya. A bored Loy and her disagreeable wealthy older husband, portrayed by Nigel Bruce, are in Ranchipur, India when the rains and an earthquake hit. Loy, whose husband keeps a list of her lovers, once had a fling with Brent. Then she gets a gander at Power who plays Major Rama Safti, a doctor highly regarded by the rulers of Ranchipur. One look at him, and there's no sense in treading over old territory. Despite Power's apparent lack of interest, Loy falls madly in love with him, even volunteering at the hospital after the disaster.

I was completely captivated by this film, particularly in light of the recent Katrina horror. The flooding, the destroyed homes, demonstrated by brilliant special effects, the orphaned children, the need for volunteers, were all too familiar.

Two love stories go on during the rains - one between Brent and the lovely Fern, portrayed by Brenda Joyce, and the other between Power and Loy. Both romances are unbelievably tender - with very little actual physical contact shown.

Loy gives a compelling performance as a haughty, spoiled woman who is suddenly consumed by love. When I read the book, one thing I remember is that the character just screamed Lana Turner and sure enough, she did the role in the remake. But Loy makes it her own. The studios didn't like their leading men to do accents, so Power, in dark makeup as the "Copper Apollo" so described by Loy, has none. He is handsome as ever until one sees him without his turban. Then, in closeup, he describes to Loy how he came to love her, and his face is beyond breathtaking. His monologue is beautifully done, as is his essaying of the character's conflict of love versus responsibility. This is one of his finest performances, and no camera ever loved an actor like it did Tyrone Power. George Brent, usually not commanding enough, does fine under Brown's direction in his role as a man with no purpose in life who finally finds one. Tiny Maria Ouspenskaya gives a strong performance.

The only thing I didn't like was that Loy had to pay for her sins (i.e., slutty behavior) and of course, Brent did not.

Like the rains of Ranchipur, India, "The Rains Came" will sweep the viewer away. Highly recommended.

One of the unique things about this film is that for once a British Raj story is told not from a British point of view. It should never be forgotten that John Bromfield was an American. You would never see a character like Nigel Bruce in any British screenplay about the Raj. Of all the supporting players, he comes off best in what has to be the most unusual part in his career. For those used to seeing him as the ineffectual Dr. Watson in those Sherlock Holmes movies, playing the bigoted Lord Esketh is quite a switch.

Not until A Passage to India was filmed in the 80s was the Raj ever shown in a less than perfect light.

Ty Power is his usual noble self, the rest of the cast plays well. Twentieth Century Fox borrowed two big names from other studios, Myrna Loy from MGM and George Brent from Warner Brothers to support Power. Loy is Lady Esketh, a woman of the world, left pretty much to her own devices by her husband, decides Power would be a perfect boy toy for her. The part is a throwback to Loy's earlier days of playing mostly bad girls before The Thin Man.

Brent has a very nice role her as a man who's living a dissolute life himself in India, but really steps to the plate during the time of crisis when the flooding starts.

H.B. Warner and Maria Ouspenskaya play the rulers of Ranchipur, you will not forget Ouspenskaya easily. Nor will you forget first the cultured, than the wailing Joseph Schildkraut as Bannerjee. Today no producer could ever get away with casting all these occidental types as Indians, but they all do a fine job.

In the year of Gone With The Wind and all the Oscars it won, the one for Special Effects went to The Rains Came, beating out Gone With The Wind's burning of Atlanta. Judge for yourself if the Academy voters were right.

You know there are a few Old Hollywood classics that you haven't gotten around to seeing, so remedy that by checking out this big-budget entry from its greatest year, 1939. Many fine summaries are offered here on IMDb, and you can be sure this film is made well enough that you can overlook the occasional soapy elements--good performances by the (notably non-ethnic) cast carry you through the suds.

If for no other reason, see it for the special effects, about halfway through, that managed to snatch that year's Oscar from my (and millions of others') top 2 faves, Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.

Made the year of the really great movies of the Golden Years of Hollywood, "The Rains Came" was a quite remarkable achievement in 1939 - the photography and Special Effects (Flood and Earthquake) were extremely well done, and stand up quite well today. It was made in an era where Stars were the keys to a movie's success, and Fox brought together some big names for this Blockbuster. Heading the Cast is Tyrone Power as Major Safti, and he is perfect for the role, while Myrna Loy as Lady Esketh is well cast. George Brent had his best role ever, and the supporting cast included such gems as Maria Ouspenskaya, Nigel Bruce, Jane Darwell, Henry Travers and Joseph Shildkraut and believe me , these people do so much in adding to the quality of this film. The difference between Indian and Western cultures during the period of the Raj was well captured, and altogether moves along at a good pace, and makes for excellent entertainment.

High gloss drama with first class special effects. In fact the film was the winner of the first Oscar given for special effects. Myrna somewhat surprisingly plays at least in the beginning a selfish slut, a high class slut but a slut nonetheless, redeemed by love and hardship. Tyrone Power although not at all believable as an Indian is capable and sincere and almost supernaturally beautiful. Even the customarily stolid George Brent after some initial stiffness is better and more relaxed than usual. Excellent production values and a first rate supporting cast make this an entertaining winner. Another classy enterprise from that golden year of 1939.

Remade in color, but with a lot of the guts cut out, as the Rains of Ranchipur with Lana Turner and Richard Burton. That version is an okay time filler but this one is superior in every way.