''The Rains Came'' is a 1939

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

film based on an American novel by Louis Bromfield (published in June 1937 by Harper & Brothers). The film was directed by

Clarence Brown Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director. Early life Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to Larkin Harry Brown, a cotton manufacturer, and Katherine Ann Brown (née Gaw), Brown moved to Tennessee when he ...

and stars Myrna Loy,

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

, George Brent, Brenda Joyce, Nigel Bruce, and Maria Ouspenskaya. A remake of the film was released in 1955 under the name ''

The Rains of Ranchipur ''The Rains of Ranchipur'' is a 1955 American drama and disaster film made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Jean Negulesco and produced by Frank Ross from a screenplay by Merle Miller, based on the 1937 novel ''The Rains Came'' by Lo ...

''.

Plot

The story centers on the redemption of its lead female character, Lady Edwina Esketh. Tom Ransome is an artist who leads a rather dissolute, if socially active life in the fictional town of Ranchipur, India. His routine is shattered with the arrival of his former lover, Lady Edwina Esketh, who has since married the elderly Lord Esketh. Lady Edwina first sets out to seduce, then gradually falls in love with, Major Rama Safti who represents the "new India." Ranchipur is devastated by an earthquake, which causes a flood, which causes a

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium '' Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting an ...

epidemic. Lord Esketh dies and Lady Esketh renounces her hedonistic life in favor of helping the sick alongside Major Safti. She accidentally drinks from a glass that has just been used by a patient, becomes infected and dies, making it possible for Safti to become the ruler of a kingdom that he will presumably reform. In the course of the story, a missionary's daughter, Fern Simon, and Ransome also fall in love.

Cast

* Myrna Loy as Lady Edwina Esketh *

as Major Rama Safti * George Brent as Tom Ransome * Brenda Joyce as Fern Simon * Nigel Bruce as Lord Albert Esketh * Maria Ouspenskaya as Maharani *

Joseph Schildkraut Joseph Schildkraut (22 March 1896 – 21 January 1964) was an Austrian-American actor. He won an Oscar for his performance as Captain Alfred Dreyfus in the film ''The Life of Emile Zola'' (1937); later, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for ...

as Mr. Bannerjee * Mary Nash as Miss MacDaid * Jane Darwell as Aunt Phoebe – Mrs. Smiley * Marjorie Rambeau as Mrs. Simon * Henry Travers as Rev. Homer Smiley * H. B. Warner as Maharajah *

Laura Hope Crews Laura Hope Crews (December 12, 1879 – November 12, 1942) was an American actress who is best remembered today for her later work as a character actress in motion pictures of the 1930s. Her best-known film role was Aunt Pittypat in ''Gone ...

as Lily Hoggett-Egburry * William Royle as Raschid Ali Khan *

C. Montague Shaw Charles Montague Shaw (23 March 1882 – 6 February 1968) was an Australian character actor, often appearing in small supporting parts in more than 150 films. Shaw was born in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. He began his acting car ...

as General Keith * Harry Hayden as Rev. Elmer Smiley * Herbert Evans as Bates

Casting

The casting apparently was a lengthy process. Loy and Brown were loaned to 20th Century Fox from MGM (as part of a deal wherein Power was loaned by Fox to MGM for ''

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

''). Brent was also on loan from his home studio of Warner Bros. The only cast member who was originally chosen for the role he or she played was Ouspenskaya, who was memorable as the Maharani. She later claimed that she learned all she needed to know about impersonating Indian royalty from her acquaintance with the Russian Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia.

Production

The budget was $2.5 million ($ million in ). Bruce is cast against what had become his established type. In later years, Loy recalled that her belief in director Clarence Brown made her willing to try his suggestion for her death scene: "'...people don't die with their eyes closed... Why don't you try dying with your eyes open? You've just got to hold your breath.' I held my breath, staring at some fixed object until I began to see stars and everything started to blur and run together. I was turning a little blue when he finally called 'Cut!' When you trust a director, you'll do anything for him." Loy's stylish bad girl role harks back to the vamps, villainesses and dramatic leads she was known for until her success in '' The Thin Man'' established her comedic talent. After a series of romantic comedies, Loy wanted a good dramatic role, and this was it. According to Loy, Louis Bromfield told her, "I think you're giving the best performance of your career." After the Second World War and her appearance in '' The Best Years of Our Lives'', her image changed yet again, to that of the ideal mother. The special effects that produced the earthquakes and floods won the first Oscar issued in that category (see below). However, ''Variety'' praised the human drama: "The simple heroics following the quake are more effective than the earth-rending sequences themselves." TCM.com reports some of cinematographer

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

's recollections about ''The Rains Came'', including his "obsession" with the rain. Original prints of the film were tinted sepia.

Accolades

It was nominated for six

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, winning in the category of Special Effects and

Sound Effects A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditi ...

, for the earthquake and flood sequences. It became the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Special Effects, edging out other nominees including '' The Wizard of Oz'' and '' Gone with the Wind''.

1955 adaptation

''The Rains Came'' was

remade Bas-Lag is the fictional world in which several of English author China Miéville's novels are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic (referred to as "thaumaturgy") and steampunk technology exist, and is home to many intelligent races. It is in ...

in 1955 as ''

'', with Richard Burton, Lana Turner and

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

in the Power, Loy and Brent roles. The 1939 film uses the original novel's ending; the 1955 film provides different fates for Lord and Lady Esketh.

References

* Sources: Film commentary on the DVD ''The Rains Came''

External links

''The Rains Came: A Novel Of Modern India''
Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1937. From

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. * Complete text of ''The Rains Came'' (public domain in Canada) * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rains Came, The 1939 films 1939 drama films 1930s disaster films 20th Century Fox films American black-and-white films American disaster films American drama films Films based on American novels Films based on works by Louis Bromfield Films directed by Clarence Brown Films produced by Darryl F. Zanuck Films scored by Alfred Newman Films set in India Films set in the British Raj Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award Films shot in India Films with screenplays by Philip Dunne 1930s English-language films 1930s American films