Nowadays the most recognizable movie called "The Rainmaker" is Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of John Grisham's novel about a rookie lawyer taking on an insurance company. Another movie with that title was Joseph Anthony's adaptation of a play about a con artist who claims that he can cause liquid precipitation in a drought-stricken Kansas town during the Depression. I had never heard of the play before seeing the movie, but the movie is worth seeing. Not the greatest movie ever made, but I liked the complexity that it gave the characters. Burt Lancaster made one suave huckster, with Katharine Hepburn giving her usual smooth performance as a local woman looking for a relationship. As for Lloyd Bridges's character, I kept imagining him saying "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit (insert moral vice)".
All in all, a worthwhile movie. I've recently been making an effort to see a lot of older movies that received Academy Award nominations (this one received nods for actress and score).
All in all, a worthwhile movie. I've recently been making an effort to see a lot of older movies that received Academy Award nominations (this one received nods for actress and score).