Miracle in the Rain

Reminiscent of the wonderful "The Clock" (see reviews), this wartime romance was made eleven years after the was over, somewhat oddly to me. But, based upon the ending, there was absolutely no way it could have been made during the war. The reasons should be obvious.

Van Johnson is his usual charming self and Wyman rather diffident at first. But they fall deeply in love, and spend much time on their plans for the future when he returns from overseas - and how poignant that turned out to be.

It is no spoiler to say that Wyman's character is completely distraught towards the end of the movie, and the "miracle", on the steps of St Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, does give her some hope. But it remains the saddest movie I had seen since "Waterloo Bridge" (see reviews). But such was life after a World War and hundreds of thousands of dead Americans.

Don't forget this was written (and very well) by the famous journalist, writer, and screenwriter, Ben Hecht, who first gave us "The Front Page".

If you don't mind using your hankie, watch "Miracle in the Rain". It's a wonderful movie.

Miracle In The Rain is a good, but very strange film. You first start watching it and you think you're seeing a nice romantic film with a wartime setting. But it takes a very unexpected turn into the supernatural and in the end a miracle of sorts is actually performed. And right on the steps of New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Jane Wyman is a plain jane sort of girl whose life consists of going to work and then getting home to tend to her ailing mother Josephine Hutchinson. Years ago the man of the household, William Gargan, walked out on the family and left Hutchinson the cynical and sickly soul that she is. So when Jane meets soldier Van Johnson during wartime he proves almost too good to be true.

Their love is intense in the short time they have before Johnson ships out. After that the film turns, first tragic and then mystical.

Other members of the cast who aid and abet Johnson and Wyman are people like Fred Clark as Jane's boss at work, a rebound man from way back, Peggie Castle who is Clark's mistress on the job, Alan King and Barbara Nichols a soldier and his new bride who Johnson and Wyman meet in Central Park and making their big screen debuts are Eileen Heckart as Wyman's best friend from work and Arte Johnson who plays an office boy where the girls work. No fool he.

Warner Brothers shot this film in New York which is why Heckart and Johnson who were based in New York got to work in this. It would have been nice if we had some color, but the black and white cinematography was nice. No doubt that Francis Cardinal Spellman himself must have had script approval of the whole project in order to allow scenes inside St. Patrick's to be done.

Though dated somewhat Miracle In The Rain is still a fine piece of entertainment and its message about true love never dying is one for all generations.

"Miracle in the Rain" is the sort of movie that would make a stone cry. It's also the sort of movie that's unlikely to see the light of day again: a middle-aged, virgin heroine; a squeaky-clean, hands-off hero who woos with the line, "I'll love you till the cows come home all over the world," then goes off to fight a war with just one chaste kiss; unabashed appeals to sentimentalism and invocations of the most literal, unreconstructed religion...it's a movie that sets out to bring out the handkerchiefs and makes no apologies for it. I can't decide whether it's a movie to lift the spirit (because its final message is one of hope) or whether it's so unrealistic that it's a downer, because today's equivalent of the heroine is likely to say, "Yeah, I really would need a miracle to find a man like that. I might as well pack it in!" If you're the type that can smile at corn instead of sneering at it, see this movie. It's as sweet and tender a confection as Hollywood ever produced.

To Nick-313 and others that thought Mr. Johnson was a draft dodger: Van Johnson was in a bad auto accident and had a plate in his forehead. In some movies you can actually see the scars. That made in ineligible for the military. He also had a long recovery.

I enjoyed this movie. It may not be Casablanca or Gone with the Wind, but it is a nice little movie of faith and love. I especially like the co-stars, the priest and her best friend. And it was so poignant that her father finally comes home. Be prepared to have tissues for it is one of the best tear jerkers. Jane and Van were good together. Two lost souls who find love before he goes to war.

It's a beautiful movie and yes, it will bring you to tears. She's shy and yet she has a brief miracle of a romance with a wonderful man who opens up the world for her. There are many miracles brought out in the movie. I've enjoyed this movie since I was young. Jane Wyman and Van Johnson are terrific actors and they don't disappoint. This was a "small" movie in Hollywood terms but it leaves a lasting message of hope. One message is that God brings people together in mysterious ways for good purposes. (I'm going to check if this movie is available to buy, it's worth it.) I loved Alan King's small but great role in this movie and all the supporting actors were great, too. By the way, the object she holds when she dies is an old coin that she and he bought at an antique shop and he gives it to her before he deploys to the war. I watched many Wyman films when I was young and they were all good. She wasn't an "A-list" beauty but she was beautiful and never disappointed me. Check out her film list and you're in for a treat if you watch them.