Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Justina The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

kapelusznik18 ***SPOILERS*** It was the amazing special effects, the first to win the Academy Award, that made "The Rains Came" worth watching far more then the schmaltzy and unconvincing romance in it that just about put the audience asleep trying to watch and absorb it. That between the straight as a arrow Major Rama Safti played by Tyrone Powers wearing a turban most of his time on the screen and an old flame of his the unhappily married Lady Edwina Esketh, Myrna Loy, who's bore of a husband Lord Albert,Nigel Bruce, is more interested in playing the horses then spending any time with her.For the first 20 or so minutes were tortured with the problems of the rich and well connected in 1938 British controlled India until the rains come and things start to get really wet and soggy for the entire cast. It's later when an earthquake hits the city of Ranchipur that what seems like the whole world is about to come to an end with the dam breaking and the water gushing out engulfing the entire city. With cholera breaking out it's only a matter of time when the entire population is to become extinct unless Major Rama, who's trained in medicine, can save the day as well as the people infected by it. With his now reunited girlfriend Lady Edina, who's husband Lord Albert was killed in building collapse, by his side first a scrub lady in the make shift hospital and then his assistant how could things go wrong! That's until Lady Edwina takes a drink of water from a glass that's been contaminated with Cholera and it's curtains for her.****SPOILERS**** With Major Rama doing everything possible to save his love Lady Edwina's life all he can do is just watch her go into a coma and slowly and peacefully expire along with all the other patients in the hospital that he's in charge of. With that out of his way in Major Dr. Rama planning to leave India with Lady Edwina for parts unknown like the Florida Everglades and the Grand Caynon all he can do now is take control of the battered and almost ghost town of Ranchipur and try to bring it back to life. Which the chain-smoking and soon to die, due to her excessive smoking habit, Maharani, Maria Ouspenskaya, appointed him mayor of so It would be his problem not hers!

Dunham16 An extremely well photographed, edited and cast exotic romance,it holds your interest for the entire 103 minutes yet only certain facets, such as the urgency of the monsoon photography and some particularly compelling scenes for Myrna Loy and Maria Ospenskaya truly offer memorable movie going. The plot line of flawed characters arriving in an exotic land to then redeem themselves in grace may seem dated today,but was fairly popular in many melodramas of this Hollywood era. This aspect is done well but certainly no better than in other films of the time period. Definitely worth owning the DVD if this era of Hollywood is your bag, but is not the truly finest work of a Hollywood year spanning GONE WITH THE WIND and REBECCA.

SamHardy Much of what I have to say about this film has already been said, so I will not repeat it. Here are some (I think) original thoughts.If this film were released a year before or a year after 1939 I am guessing it would have swept the Oscars. Being released the same year as "Gone With The Wind" kept that from happening. The one Oscar it won (for best special effects) was richly deserved. In fact, the effects in GWTW during the burning of Atlanta are no where near as good. Way ahead of it's time. In fact, I think the entire film was ahead of it's time by at least 20 years. The black and white cinematography made a major contribution to the overall emotional impact. Very creative use of lighting, and each frame is like a painting. It should have gotten the Oscar for that. The direction and the acting was subtle and very layered. I was especially impressed by the staging of the Myrna Loy's character's death. Most of the Hollywood death scenes at that time involve the character closing his eyes and turning his head. Very heavy handed and not very realistic. I will not spoil it for you but watch how understated it is. Occasionally the acting is over the top, but as a whole it is restrained and totally right for the material.Music is used sparingly unlike GWTW where it is wall to wall. Don't get me wrong, I love the music in that film and it is just right for it. But in The Rains Came a lighter touch is called for. And it gets it.It seemed that everyone involved in this was aware that it would be released the same year as GWTW and knew that this film had to be on a par with it. GWTW was pretty much of it's time but The Rains Came was a preview of how great films would be made in the 1950's and 1960's. The only thing that did not ring true for me was the casting of Tyrone Power as an Indian native. Even with the dark make-up he is just plain wrong. Add to that that he does not even attempt an accent! Everyone else seems just right. Newcomer Brenda Joyce is particularly good and stunningly beautiful as well.The idea of casting a love story (2 love stories really) against significant events in history was not original even in 1939, but I can think of only a few films that did it better. One of those was A Passage to India, a film that echos the style and setting of The Rains Came.I wish someone would do a remake of this. I think the material begs for it.A very unusual production for it's time and well worth a look. I could even see it as being made in say 1963. Very modern and polished.

blanche-2 Incredible special effects, a solid story, beautiful directing, and marvelous acting are the highlights of "The Rains Came," another movie from that famous year in film-making, 1939. Its stars are Tyrone Power, Myrna Loy, George Brent, Brenda Joyce, and Maria Ouspenskaya. A bored Loy and her disagreeable wealthy older husband, portrayed by Nigel Bruce, are in Ranchipur, India when the rains and an earthquake hit. Loy, whose husband keeps a list of her lovers, once had a fling with Brent. Then she gets a gander at Power who plays Major Rama Safti, a doctor highly regarded by the rulers of Ranchipur. One look at him, and there's no sense in treading over old territory. Despite Power's apparent lack of interest, Loy falls madly in love with him, even volunteering at the hospital after the disaster.I was completely captivated by this film, particularly in light of the recent Katrina horror. The flooding, the destroyed homes, demonstrated by brilliant special effects, the orphaned children, the need for volunteers, were all too familiar.Two love stories go on during the rains - one between Brent and the lovely Fern, portrayed by Brenda Joyce, and the other between Power and Loy. Both romances are unbelievably tender - with very little actual physical contact shown.Loy gives a compelling performance as a haughty, spoiled woman who is suddenly consumed by love. When I read the book, one thing I remember is that the character just screamed Lana Turner and sure enough, she did the role in the remake. But Loy makes it her own. The studios didn't like their leading men to do accents, so Power, in dark makeup as the "Copper Apollo" so described by Loy, has none. He is handsome as ever until one sees him without his turban. Then, in closeup, he describes to Loy how he came to love her, and his face is beyond breathtaking. His monologue is beautifully done, as is his essaying of the character's conflict of love versus responsibility. This is one of his finest performances, and no camera ever loved an actor like it did Tyrone Power. George Brent, usually not commanding enough, does fine under Brown's direction in his role as a man with no purpose in life who finally finds one. Tiny Maria Ouspenskaya gives a strong performance.The only thing I didn't like was that Loy had to pay for her sins (i.e., slutty behavior) and of course, Brent did not.Like the rains of Ranchipur, India, "The Rains Came" will sweep the viewer away. Highly recommended.