The Rain People (1969)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writer:

Francis Ford Coppola (writer)

Release Date:

27 August 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Having discovered that she is pregnant, Natalie Ravenna (Shirley Knight), a Long Island housewife panics...

Plot Keywords:

Pregnant | Football Player | Motel | Motorcycle Cop | Caregiver

Awards:

1 win

Cast

James Caan	...	Jimmy Kilgannon (Killer)
Shirley Knight	...	Natalie Ravenna
Robert Duvall	...	Gordon
Marya Zimmet	...	Rosalie
Tom Aldredge	...	Mr. Alfred
Laura Crews	...	Ellen (as Laurie Crews)
Andrew Duncan	...	Artie
Margaret Fairchild	...	Marion
Sally Gracie	...	Beth
Alan Manson	...	Lou
Robert Modica	...	Vinny Ravenna

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | UK:AA (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Clarksburg, West Virginia, USA

Company:

American Zoetrope

Trivia:

Shirley Knight, who plays a pregnant woman in the film, was actually pregnant during the making of this movie.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope (2004) (V)

Rain-washed Heartbreaker!

Early Coppola with sublime cast that most folks never got to see (a pity). There's some wonderful things going on in this one - Shirley Knight's best performance (an underrated actress), a road trip in the late 1960's, James Caan very restrained and moving, Robert Duvall in a part he was born to play (edgy, lonely, motorcycle cop), and a touching script with F. Coppola behind the wheel.

If this had been made five years LATER by some nobody, it would have been a smash (so much for timing). Anyway, I recommend this to all people who don't need outer-space explosions and bad mother-in-law jokes or a billion dollar budget to sit for a few hours and watch a story unfold. Give this one a chance if you can find it!