Myrna Gets Caught in the Rain

The arrival of Lady Edwina Esketh (Myrna Loy) and her husband, Lord Albert (Nigel Bruce) in Ranchipur, India creates problems when Edwina becomes attracted to the heir to the throne, Major Rama Safti (Tyrone Power). Though warned to stay away from Dr. Safti by her former lover, Tom Ransome (George Brent), Edwina continues her pursuit, but has the misfortune for fall in love with the handsome doctor.  However, everyone is threatened when The Rains Came (1939).

The Rains Came feels like it should be longer than it is; so much happens, the characters grow so much, that you think it must be of epic length, but director Clarence Brown packs an awful lot into a running time of 103 minutes. Like so many of the movies from 1939, this is both an exceptional film and one that is not always remembered because it had so much competition the year of its release (how do you get noticed when you are up against Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and Ninotchka?). It was nominated for six Academy Awards (winning in the newly created Special Effects category), but none of the marvelous cast were even nominated for their work.

Let's start with Myrna Loy. She's cast against type (at least at this point in her career) as a harlot; there was some comment that she was not capable of playing the role (Myrna Loy: The Only Good Girl in Hollywood by Emily W. Leider). It's clear that Edwina lived with Tom Ransome before her marriage, and that she left him. It's also quite clear that marriage is no barrier to her bedding any man that intrigues her, and that Major Safti very much intrigues her. While Marlene Dietrich was considered for the part (TCM notes), Fox head Darryl Zanuck eventually borrowed Ms. Loy from MGM (in exchange for Tyrone Power's appearance in Marie Antoinette (1938)). Mr. Zanuck didn't make her life easy, however - Ms. Loy had been under contract to him and he'd let her go; he apparently resented her success at MGM, and was blatantly nasty to her (TCM article). She found support from director Brown, who told her "I think you're giving the best performance of your career." And she is (though she would later outpace herself in The Best Years of Our Lives). She takes a character who starts as a caricature of an avaricious woman, and as the story progresses matures her into a living, breathing person.

George Brent was also borrowed (from Warner Brothers) for the part that was originally intended for Ronald Colman (AFI catalog). Like Ms. Loy, Tom is a careless individual - the son of a noble (and with the possibility of eventually inheriting the title). He's lazing in India, supposedly painting a portrait of the Maharaja (H.B.Warner), but never getting it done. He's got a (well-deserved) reputation as a roué, and is finally being tested both by the tragedy that strikes Ranchipur, as well as the love that the young Fern Simon (Brenda Joyce) feels for him. Mr. Brent does a good job of turning Tom into a grown-up, and makes it an interesting process to watch.

Tyrone Power is exceptional as Major Safti, a dedicated doctor who is next in line for the throne of Ranchipur. Both Charles Boyer and Ramon Novarro were considered for the part (Clarence Brown: Hollywood's Forgotten Master by Gwenda Young). That he is one of the most striking men on Earth doesn't hurt - when he is on screen, you can't take your eyes from him. In the hands of a lesser actor, Rama could be mere eye candy for Edwina to toy with; with a gifted actor like Mr. Power, we respond to him; he uses everything at his disposal to paint a picture of a man who is both attracted to and offended by this obvious - and careless - woman.

This is not just a film of stars. It is an ensemble with a host of gifted character actors. First and foremost is Maria Ouspenskaya (Maharani). An indomitable force, she too is hard to ignore on the screen. Playing a character who is a mix of Eastern and Western habits, she is a powerful woman who has both the strength and determination to lead her people. Born in Russia in 1876, Mme. Ouspenskaya acted with the Moscow Arts Theatre until 1922. While on a trip with the company to New York, she stayed behind, where she worked on Broadway (she ultimately would do 8 Broadway plays) and taught acting and ultimately founded (with Richard Boleslawski) the School of Dramatic Art. When money got tight, she moved to California and opened a dancing school. She also began appearing in films. She was nominated for the Oscar twice, for Dodsworth (1936, her first film), and for Love Affair (1939). She died as the result of a stroke, and a fire - the couch she was on caught fire from her cigarette.

Other notable cast members include Nigel Bruce as Lord Esketh, a totally reprehensible man, and an welcome change from the sweet, befuddled character he was usually forced to play; Jane Darwell as the common sense Aunt Phoebe, loathed by Mrs. Simon (Marjorie Rambeau as the snobby minister's wife), adored by Tom Ransome, and by her husband the Reverend Homer Smiley (Henry Travers as a good and loving man); Mary Nash as nurse Miss MacDaid, who despises Lady Esketh until she is forced to acknowledge her devotion to Rama and the injured of Ranchipur; and Joseph Schildkraut as Mr. Bannerjee, as Westernized India traumatized by the earthquake (and our question - what happened to Mr. Bannerjee??)

The weakest link in the film is probably Brenda Joyce as Fern Simon; she's not a compelling actress, and as a result the character is diminished by the strong performances around her. As a young girl who feels she is being choked by her parents, Ms. Joyce does project the necessary naivety required of Fern. Ms. Joyce worked primarily in B pictures; she succeeded Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane in the Tarzan series, working with Johnny Weissmuller and Lex Barker in that franchise. She retired in 1949 to raise her three children with husband Owen Ward (the marriage ended in divorce in 1960). She would later work in the Catholic Resettlement Office, assisting immigrants in their new country. She died in 2009 at the age of 92.

According to this article, which looks at the film (and its remake) in comparison to Louis Bromfield's 1938 novel, the novel focused on the effects of the catastrophe on all levels of Indian life. A Photoplay magazine, however, published an article in which Mr. Bromfield commented on the 1939 version of the film. Not surprisingly, given the venue, Mr. Bromfield praised the film.

As previously mentioned, the film was remade in 1955 as The Rains of Ranchipur with Lana Turner and Richard Burton, with a much different ending.  In March 1940, Lux Radio Theatre did a production, which featured George Brent, Kay Francis, and Don Ameche in the main roles.  The New York Times review by Frank Nugent was not satisfied with the film, calling it "the merest skeleton of the Bromfield work, and that not too well reassembled." When the film was included in TCM's Summer Under the Stars day devoted to George Brent, TCM host Dave Karger provided some commentary on the movie and on Mr. Brent.

Regardless of the review, this is a magnificent movie. Sure, it's a romance, but WHAT a romance! We wholeheartedly suggest you give it a viewing. In the meantime, here is the opening of film, with our introduction to Tom, Miss MacDaid, and Rama.