The Rainmakers

This film, coming late in the Wheeler and Woolsey cycle, is often dismissed as poorly written and executed, although it is actually very enjoyable, fast-paced, memorably written, and sees the two boys on good form as ever.

Dorothy Lee (in her last appearance with the team I think) is as sweet as ever, in her usual role as ingénue and love interest for Bert Wheeler. They have a song, as ever, this time set around an orange tree which drops its fruit whenever someone tells a lie. Lee said it was her favourite of their numbers, and it is certainly one of the best.

A long set-piece with out of control locomotives seems a bit misplaced in the second half of the film, but is still funny. The double entendres and quips of earlier films in the series have been irradicated by the Hays code and the move towards family decency, but this film remains sharp and funny.

The farming community of Lima Junction, California, is in big trouble. A devastating drought is threatening to destroy the livelihood of many of the local small farmers. A crooked landowner schemes to find a way to profit from the others' misery, but before he can implement his nefarious schemes, an honest banker sends for THE RAINMAKERS...

This is a very enjoyable comedy from the always reliable team of Wheeler & Woolsey (Bert Wheeler is the little curly-headed one; Robert Woolsey is the guy with the cigar & spectacles.) The Boys are at the top of their form here; it's a shame that these very funny fellows are almost forgotten today.

Berton Churchill makes a fine, blustery villain - from his first encounter with the Boys he begins to get exactly the comeuppance he deserves. Kewpie-doll-cute Dorothy Lee, a frequent co-star of W & W, teams with Wheeler in one of their most whimsical duets - `Isn't Love The Grandest Thing?'

Movie mavens will recognize old Clarence Wilson, in an uncredited role, as the railroad manager. The climax, featuring two runaway, dynamite-laden trains, is very comical.

Okay, I have got to admit that I think Wheeler and Woolsey were among the least funny comedy teams ever--and you might want to keep this in mind when reading the review. I've seen about eight of their films (since I'll watch almost ANY movie if it was made in the 1930s) and I keep waiting for them to be anything other than mediocre. Oh well, at least they were funnier than the Ritz Brothers and a few of their films were even funnier than some of Abbott and Costello's worst films.

The boys are professional rain makers called to a dusty town because the farmers will be ruined if they don't get some rain. I really liked the scene just after this where they are caught up in the tornado--it's underplayed well and the special effects are really good. However, once they make their way to the town that is featured in the film, things slow down considerably. There is a decent train chase sequence near the end (though in a serious continuity mistake, the one train that was only a few yards behind the other suddenly is a mile or two behind once Wheeler and Woolsey disembark). Not a bad film, but lacking magic and staying power.

The farmers of Lima Junction are desperate for rain. Local businessman Simon Parker (Berton Churchill) suggests taking water from a lake, but it would cost $50k. Con man Roscoe the Rainmaker (Robert Woolsey) has a fake rainmaking machine and recruits hopeless farmer Billy (Bert Wheeler) after his house blows away. The town's banker Henry Spencer has invited the Rainmakers. Margie Spencer (Dorothy Lee) is his daughter and bank teller.

It is the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey. Their comedy is what I describe as mildly humorous. They are certainly forgotten nowadays and nowhere as famous as other legendary names. That's what we have here. It is mildly humorous. The laughs are not that big, but there are enough of them.

This is a polished and entertaining W&W vehicle that is nothing remarkable but proves that their mostly forgotten films hold up more or less as well as that of most other screen comedy teams' from the era. Woolsey (who doesn't do a lot for me) is a supposed rainmaker called in desperation to a drought-plagued agricultural town; en route he picks up Dust Bowl farmer Wheeler, whose naif act is still pretty amusing.

The complications are ordinary but diverting enough (the highlight being the only song, a drolly staged duet for Wheeler and their usual leading lady Dorothy Lee) until we get to a long, elaborate runaway train climax that's good if not great--it's Buster Keaton-esque, with the big diff that Keaton would have avoided back-projection in favor of visibly real, risky stuntwork. Anyway, this is no forgotten classic but a fun outing for a team that shouldn't be so entirely neglected today.