Rain (1932)
Quarantined at a shabby trading post on Pago Pago, the freewheeling Sadie Thompson becomes the fixation of Alfred Davidson, a rigid reformer determined to save her soul and ship her back to San Francisco and prison. As a smitten Marine sergeant takes her side, Davidson's crusade breaks her down — and his own buried desire turns on him.
Lewis Milestone’s Pre-Code adaptation of the Somerset Maugham story cast Joan Crawford hard against type as Sadie, and her broad, strident performance was savaged on release; Rain lost money and dented her standing before later critics reclaimed it. The role had already been a silent vehicle for Gloria Swanson and would return in 1953 for Rita Hayworth.
Background
Rain is Lewis Milestone’s Pre-Code adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham’s story ‘Miss Thompson,’ set on the island of Pago Pago. Joan Crawford plays Sadie Thompson, a role previously filmed as a silent with Gloria Swanson in Sadie Thompson (1928), and later remade in 1953 with Rita Hayworth. Walter Huston plays the reformer Davidson and William Gargan plays the Marine. Crawford’s broad, strident performance drew harsh criticism on release, and the film’s reputation has been reassessed by later critics.
What to watch for
Quarantined at a shabby trading post, Sadie becomes the fixation of Davidson, a rigid reformer who wants to save her soul and send her back to San Francisco. Watch the tension between Huston’s controlled performance, which grows more unhinged, and Crawford’s exaggerated one. The island setting makes the story feel claustrophobic. The film’s Pre-Code frankness shows in its treatment of Sadie’s history and of Davidson’s hidden desire, which the story gradually lets surface. The sympathy of the Marine sergeant, who takes Sadie’s side, shifts the balance of the story and sets up the final confrontation.
