Baby the Rain Must Fall
Directed by Robert Mulligan
Written by Horton Foote from his play
1965/USA
Solar Productions/Park Place Production
First viewing/YouTube
Henry Thomas: [yelling a couple feet away from Miss Kates bedroom door] I’M NOT GOING TO QUIT MY MUSIC! YOU HEAR THAT OLD LADY?… I’m not going to quit MUSIC!
OK 60’s movie about a singer who is a real rebel without a cause.
Henry Thomas (Steve McQueen) is a singer/songwriter who performs at honkey tonks. As the movie begins, he is just back to work after being released from prison on parole from a stabbing conviction. His life is run by his abusive former caretaker who is convinced he is no good. She apparently has the power to send him back to prison if he does not do what she wants. She wants him to give up his music and go to vocational school to learn a useful trade.
Henry’s wife Georgette (Lee Remick) shows up with their six-year-old daughter for a reunion. Nobody is even aware of her existence. But somehow Henry and Georgette build a new life together. Henry’s temper is going to keep him in constant trouble, however.
This is quite OK. I like Lee Remick and she was the main reason to watch for me. McQueen is playing against type and it is not something he excels at. His singing is dubbed by someone with a very different vocal quality. It’s kind of a basic 60’s psycho drama about a guy who had a bad childhood.
