Like a fine wine some movies get better with age while others get better the more wine you drink...The Rainmaker is one of the former.
It tells the story of Lizzie Curry (Katharine Hepburn) who is on the verge of becoming a hopeless old maid. Her wit and intelligence and skills as a homemaker can't make up for the fact that she's just plain plain! Even the town sheriff, File (Wendell Corey), for whom she harbors a secret yern, won't take a chance --- until the town suffers a drought and into the lives of Lizzie and her brothers (Lloyd Bridges, Earl Holliman) and father (Cameron Prud'Homme) comes one Bill Starbuck, aka Bill Smith, aka Bill Harley, aka Tornado Johnson (All of whom is played by Burt Lancaster)...He promises to bring rain to the small town but he might be nothing more than a con man preying on poor farm people desperate for a little water.
Although the screen adaptation of "The Rainmaker" remains firmly stage bound, once the film's fine cast involves viewers with the characters' complex emotions, the obviously fake sets are rarely noticed again. The painted skies, over-lit interiors, and western back-lots would under cut the film's veracity with a lesser cast. However, the leads are sterling, and, only a short time into the film, the small dreams of a lonely woman, who is just beyond her marrying years, engage the audience to such an extent that distractions from pedestrian direction, an often overly dramatic music score, and sound-stage exteriors will fade away.
It's a wonderfully colorful film about believing that the impossible is possible and that it is never too late for someone to find true love
This film is a must for fans of Katharine Hepburn, who once again manages to have the audience in the palm of her hand.
I recommend it
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