Baby the Rain Must Fall

I find this film quite fascinating because of its setting and style.

The credits on the road and the black and white photography are so striking and evocative of its time that if one in the year 2005 wants to get a real sense of the quiet 'sixties rural/suburban time, this film will do it for you. I find it a companion piece to BUS RILEY'S BACK IN TOWN and even THE STRIPPER all made around the same time, as if a set of films of a similar tone and look all made in the same US town. Where I lived in Australia in 1965 was exactly like all these films but this this one gives me the childhood recollection of hearing the sad adult conversations of neighbors. These 3 films deserve better awareness of lonely and changing 60s life before Vietnam horror and psychedelia took over and perhaps offer the best sense of time travel one could wish for. If you also want a bitter chaser with a wicked laugh, add KISS ME STUPID to the mix.

This is the kind of film which seems to struggle to find an audience outside of its immediate setting – in its case, the American Deep South. It's basically a familial drama where husband and wife are driven apart by the former's troubled persona – especially due to his own inclination to violence and the enigmatic relationship with his eminent but dying guardian. Director Mulligan had created an all-time classic with TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962): this updates the atmosphere (including a failed attempt to replicate the Gothic touch associated with Robert Duvall's Boo Radley character in that film) but still throws in a little girl at the core of the story. Steven McQueen goes through the whole 'Rebel Without A Cause' act to little lasting effect – the performance is even more hurt by the fact that, playing a wannabe rockabilly singer, he's forced to mimic to a number of tunes (including the title number). Similarly, co-stars Lee Remick and Don Murray have typical roles, and John Wayne regular Paul Fix also has a nice bit as a benign Judge. The film notches up some tolerable intensity with scenes where McQueen is beaten up, feverishly tries to dig up the old lady (for whatever purpose) and finally escapes custody – if only for a short while; otherwise, the greatest points of interest here are Ernest Laszlo's moody cinematography and Elmer Bernstein's eclectic score.

This movie is short on plot, but long on attitude. As I watched this movie, I kept looking for it to take a more optimistic, even-the-bad- guys will overcome story line.

In its time, it was a remarkable realistic view of the life of someone on the outside, one who didn't fit. The images and emotions displayed all combine to help you understand those people who were not the class presidents, sports stars, or young professionals. There are no heroes in this film.

I understand that this movie is semi-biographical for Steve McQueen. I think that is why he plays his role so well.

Being a parole officer myself,this uniquely sad and frustrating movie is exactly what goes on in the recitivist's life. A good caring wife, new family, he knows what his weak points are, but does them anyway maintaining the downward spiral to the inevitable return to prison. The victim here is not McQueen but the wife and child and their helplessness in getting him to be what they want. A responsible and loving husband/father. This is exactly what we see in the job every day. The sad part, there is no help or hope for the family....

Slowly paced, bleakly photographed, virtually plot-less, the 100-minutes is not everyone's cup of tea. There are compensations, however. That lonely clapboard house forlorn on the dreary prairie is a perfect metaphor for Henry (McQueen) and Georgette's relationship. He's all pent-up rage at his brutal upbringing, while she's clinging to hope and their little girl (Block). Together, their silences speak louder than words, the distance just too great. All this plays out in elliptical fashion that requires some patience, and I'm not surprised the movie was a flop, given what McQueen fans likely expected. There are moments of frantic action, as when Henry attacks his guardian's grave for the wrongs done him, especially now that she's left him nothing from her meagre assets. But the prevailing pace is contemplative, to say the least.

I'm not sure McQueen was the best choice for the tormented Henry. The actor, of course, excelled in action pictures, nuance not exactly being his forte. Yet Henry's real tragedy calls for a sensitive range that's largely missing from his scenes with Georgette. We get the distance, but not the struggle, and without the inner struggle the tragedy is diminished. Certainly, no one can be accused of overplaying, especially Don Murray whose sheriff comes across as something of a well-meaning cypher. Somehow the movie reminds me of an episode typical of the old TV series Route 66 (1960-64). The bleak location photography, the downbeat dramatics, the forlorn characters, all typify that ground-breaking series. I wonder if there was some cross-over given the time period.

Anyway, action fans should skip this McQueen feature. For others, patience with the slow- developing human interest should provide compensation.

( In passing-- thanks to the reviewer who confirmed my glimpse—Henry does plant the hopeful cherry tree with the roots still in a tin can bottom. Is that act of sabotage intentional or just his usual carelessness.)