Rain (1932)

Rain (1932), produced and directed by Lewis Milestone.

A remake of Sadie Thompson (1928) made just four years after the silent original. Joan Crawford, age 27, is the prostitute fleeing her past on a South Seas island, encountering a stiff-necked missionary who won't allow it.

This is not as lively as the original and Walter Huston is too stiff as the villain. Its interesting features:

• This is the only version with the constant torrential tropical rain, both oppressive and beautiful.

• As with Milestone's The Front Page (1931) we have interesting moments of early moving camera work. Composition ranges from plain to rather good. The cinematographer is one of three listed for the silent Sadie Thompson (1928).

• This pre-Code script abuses religion more than would be allowed later. Dragged from the room, Sadie yells "Psalm-singing sons o' bitches!". The missionary browbeats her into submission with the Lord's Prayer and when she's been "saved" others describe her as a sacrificial victim to a bloody idol.

The film is in the public domain and is available online for free. My thumbnails are from the Roan Group DVD. Quality is often quite poor, but a few reels are surprisingly good. I don't know if a restoration is possible on this one.