{"id":29915,"date":"2013-02-26T01:59:51","date_gmt":"2013-02-26T08:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29915"},"modified":"2021-07-27T14:07:27","modified_gmt":"2021-07-27T21:07:27","slug":"rainmaker-the-1956","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29915","title":{"rendered":"Rainmaker, The (1956)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Once in your life, you&#8217;ve got to take a chance on a con-man.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Poster-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Poster-1-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-49399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Poster-1-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Poster-1-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Poster-1.jpg 656w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nIn the midst of a drought, a spinster (Katharine Hepburn) living with her widowed father (Cameron Prud&#8217;Homme) and two grown brothers (Lloyd Bridges and Earl Holliman) finds her life changed forever when a charismatic huckster (Burt Lancester) comes to town selling rain.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Burt Lancaster Films<\/li>\n<li>Con Artists<\/li>\n<li>Katharine Hepburn Films<\/li>\n<li>Lloyd Bridges Films<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptation<\/li>\n<li>Spinsters<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nTheatrical director Joseph Anthony helmed this dated, stagy adaptation of <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Rainmaker_%28play%29\">N. Richard Nash&#8217;s successful Broadway play<\/a>, about a &#8220;plain&#8221; spinster who learns that she need only believe in her own beauty and femininity in order to snare the ultimate prize in life: a husband. Nash&#8217;s screenplay (he adapted his own work) would have us believe that Hepburn&#8217;s overly earnest father and brothers care more about marrying her off than just about anything else, despite the fact that she conveniently provides quite a comfortable home life for them. Meanwhile, the entire storyline is groaningly metaphorical, with Lancaster&#8217;s over-the-top con-artist bringing the promise of life (a.k.a. &#8220;rain&#8221;) to a &#8220;parched&#8221; soul: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Lancaster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Lancaster.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1651\" height=\"935\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-60725\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Lancaster.png 1651w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Lancaster-300x170.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Lancaster-1024x580.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Lancaster-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Lancaster-768x435.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Lancaster-1536x870.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Lancaster-477x270.png 477w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1651px) 100vw, 1651px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>and Hepburn&#8217;s dimwitted brother (Holliman) conveniently embodying a hot-blooded alternative to Hepburn&#8217;s dilemma in his romance with an aggressive local hottie (Yvonne Fedderson). With that said, Hepburn&#8217;s performance as a love-starved spinster is often quite heartbreaking, and the premise itself &#8212; two painfully shy and\/or reluctant individuals need some serious intervention in order to find their way towards one another &#8212; is undeniably sweet; indeed, despite the film&#8217;s flaws, you can&#8217;t help caring what happens to Hepburn&#8217;s self-effacing protagonist.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Katharine Hepburn as Lizzie (named Best Actress of the Year in Peary&#8217;s <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Hepburn.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Hepburn.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"416\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29917\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Hepburn.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Hepburn-128x73.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Hepburn-300x173.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A sweet tale of reluctant romance<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Romance.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Romance.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"416\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29937\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Romance.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Romance-128x73.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Rainmaker-Romance-300x173.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo; this one ultimately remains simply a curio, and will likely be of most interest to Hepburn fans. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0049653\/?ref_=sr_2\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.nytimes.com\/movie\/review?res=9E02E1DB143AE033A05750C1A9649D946792D6CF\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.allmovie.com\/movie\/the-rainmaker-v40162\/review\">All Movie Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.digitallyobsessed.com\/displaylegacy.php?ID=7601\">Digitally Obsessed Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/19458\/the-rainmaker#articles-reviews?articleId=188919\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Once in your life, you&#8217;ve got to take a chance on a con-man.&#8221; Synopsis: In the midst of a drought, a spinster (Katharine Hepburn) living with her widowed father (Cameron Prud&#8217;Homme) and two grown brothers (Lloyd Bridges and Earl Holliman) finds her life changed forever when a charismatic huckster (Burt Lancester) comes to town selling rain. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Burt Lancaster Films Con Artists Katharine Hepburn Films Lloyd Bridges Films Play Adaptation Spinsters Review: Theatrical director Joseph Anthony&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29915\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29915"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74504,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29915\/revisions\/74504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}