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The Rainmakers

  • 1935
  • Approved
  • 1h 18m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
180
YOUR RATING
Dorothy Lee, Bert Wheeler, and Robert Woolsey in The Rainmakers (1935)
ComedyMusicalRomance

Roscoe the Rainmaker is invited to California (with sidekick "Billy") to relieve a terrible dry spell and to save the community from an unscrupulous businessman who stands to profit from the... Read allRoscoe the Rainmaker is invited to California (with sidekick "Billy") to relieve a terrible dry spell and to save the community from an unscrupulous businessman who stands to profit from the drought.Roscoe the Rainmaker is invited to California (with sidekick "Billy") to relieve a terrible dry spell and to save the community from an unscrupulous businessman who stands to profit from the drought.

  • Director
    • Fred Guiol
  • Writers
    • Grant Garett
    • Leslie Goodwins
    • Albert Treynor
  • Stars
    • Bert Wheeler
    • Robert Woolsey
    • Dorothy Lee
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.9/10
    180
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Fred Guiol
    • Writers
      • Grant Garett
      • Leslie Goodwins
      • Albert Treynor
    • Stars
      • Bert Wheeler
      • Robert Woolsey
      • Dorothy Lee
    • 9User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Top cast38

    Edit
    Bert Wheeler
    Bert Wheeler
    • Billy
    Robert Woolsey
    Robert Woolsey
    • Roscoe the Rainmaker
    Dorothy Lee
    Dorothy Lee
    • Margie Spencer
    Berton Churchill
    Berton Churchill
    • Simon Parker
    George Meeker
    George Meeker
    • Orville Parker
    Frederick Roland
    Frederick Roland
    • Henry Spencer
    • (as Frederic Roland)
    Edgar Dearing
    Edgar Dearing
    • Kelly
    Harry Bernard
    Harry Bernard
    • Fireman
    • (uncredited)
    Billy Bletcher
    Billy Bletcher
    • Townsman
    • (uncredited)
    Eddie Borden
    Eddie Borden
    • Hobo
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Bowen
    Harry Bowen
    • Switchman
    • (uncredited)
    Ed Brady
    Ed Brady
    • Farmer
    • (uncredited)
    Don Brodie
    Don Brodie
    • Townsman
    • (uncredited)
    Jack Curtis
    Jack Curtis
    • Railroad Man
    • (uncredited)
    Billy Dooley
    Billy Dooley
    • Switchman
    • (uncredited)
    Eddie Dunn
    Eddie Dunn
    • Dispatcher
    • (uncredited)
    Billy Engle
    Billy Engle
    • Townsman
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Graves
    Robert Graves
    • Townsman
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Fred Guiol
    • Writers
      • Grant Garett
      • Leslie Goodwins
      • Albert Treynor
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews9

    5.9180
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    Featured reviews

    7ksf-2

    another corny but fun Wheeler Woolsey

    Another chapter in the Wheeler and Woolsey collection of oldie but goody comedies. The local farmers are standing around wondering what to do about the lack of rain for their crops. Of course, if that many people are going to suffer, there might be someone who will GAIN from the lack of water. There's usually a pretty strong, coherent story under all the vaudeville gags we get from them, and this one is no different. (My favorite is Peach O Reno! ) Lots of visual, slapstick gags, as well as clever one, two, and three liners. Of course, Rainmakers has the required runaway train. With a love story thrown in too. Costars Berton Churchill and George Meeker. It's also interesting, in that it works in the history of the dry, dustbowl years, where there was just no water for the farmers. A fun 78 minutes, if you're watching the Turner Classics version. Directed by Fred Guiol, who had directed a whole bunch of the Wheeler & Woolsey films.
    6bkoganbing

    There must have been some magic in that old magnet they found

    The Rainmakers have Wheeler&Woolsey in the title roles of this film. They've got a Rube Goldberg like contraption that actually works with a magnet. They conduct a successful indoor experiment with their machine.

    There's been a drought in this area of southern California and these two have been hired to make it rain. One guy is opposed to it and that's skinflint Berton Churchill who actually has an irrigation project in mind, but also wants to pick up a lot of cheap real estate.

    There's one long extended gag at the end as the boys get one each on a pair of locomotives which are to crash and provide a show for the locals. Of course much goes wrong with the idea. Most likely inspired by Buster Keaton's classic The General.

    The indoor shower is pretty funny as well and Berton Churchill is at his pompous best. All in all a good Wheeler&Woolsey film.
    6planktonrules

    Some decent stunts make up for the film's deficiencies

    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.
    7didi-5

    Roscoe the Rainmaker comes to town

    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.
    6ofumalow

    Wheeler & Woolsey wide the twain

    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.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When Mr. Spencer shows Margie the article about a machine that makes rain, the magazine cover shown is a real one, the August 1935 issue of Popular Mechanics Magazine.
    • Quotes

      [Roscoe and his assistant Billy are detailing the specifications of his rainmaking machine]

      Roscoe Horne: Are there any questions?

      Farmer: [angrily] Aw, we can see through you!

      Roscoe Horne: [to Billy] When you get the machine started, drown him first, will you?

    • Crazy credits
      Video of pouring rain is shown in between the opening credit screens of names.
    • Connections
      References King Kong (1933)
    • Soundtracks
      Isn't Love the Grandest Thing?
      (1935) (uncredited)

      Lyrics by Jack Scholl

      Music by Louis Alter

      Played during the opening credits

      Performed by Bert Wheeler and Dorothy Lee

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 25, 1935 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Silver Streak
    • Filming locations
      • RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • RKO Radio Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 18m(78 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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