Rain is a 1932 American pre- Code drama film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Joan Crawford as Sadie Thompson, a defiant prostitute stranded on a South Seas island. Based on a famous short story by W. Somerset Maugham (and the hit stage play adapted from it), Rain was a bold exploration of religious hypocrisy and sexuality just two years before Hollywood’s censorship Hays Code was enforced.

Although it featured major talent - Crawford (on loan from MGM) in a radical departure from her usual glamorous roles, and Walter Huston as a fanatical missionary - the film shocked 1932 audiences and critics and became one of Crawford’s earliest box- office flops. Over time, however, Rain has earned recognition as a cult classic of the pre- Code era, appreciated for its daring themes, Crawford’s intense performance, and Milestone’s visual style.

Studio and Filming: Rain was produced by United Artists and directed by Lewis Milestone, a two- time Academy Award- winning director (known for All Quiet on the Western Front). Milestone also co- produced the film (with UA executive Joseph Schenck) but was uncredited as director on the initial prints.

Joan Crawford, then one of MGM’s biggest stars (fresh off 1932’s hit Grand Hotel), was loaned by MGM to United Artists for this project- a relatively unusual collaboration. Filming took place partly on Santa Catalina Island off the California coast, which doubled for the South Pacific setting of Pago Pago, and at a beach that later became Crystal Cove State Park in Orange County. The lush, rain- soaked tropical atmosphere was a key element of the film’s visual style, with Milestone and cinematographer Oliver T. Marsh using the incessant downpour as a metaphor for oppressive fate and repressed passion. (Notably, Marsh had also been the cinematographer on the earlier 1928 Sadie Thompson, lending visual continuity between the two film versions.) 

Cast and Crew: Joan Crawford led the cast as Sadie Thompson, a free- spirited former prostitute whose presence disrupts a group of pious travelers. Walter Huston co- starred as the severe Reverend Alfred Davidson, the self- righteous missionary determined to save (or punish) Sadie’s soul. The supporting cast included William Gargan as Sgt.

Tim O’Hara (a Marine who falls in love with Sadie), Beulah Bondi as Mrs. Davidson, Guy Kibbee as jovial trader Joe Horn, Walter Catlett as Quartermaster Bates, and others- many of them stage- trained actors from Broadway. The screenplay was written by playwright Maxwell Anderson, who adapted the existing stage script. Alfred Newman provided the musical score (uncredited), and W. Duncan Mansfield did the editing. The art direction was by Richard Day, and Milestone’s meticulous direction is evident in the film’s dynamic camerawork- unusual for a stage- to- film adaptation- as the camera prowls through the confined setting to relieve the stagey, claustrophobic atmosphere of the story. 

Source Material and Adaptation: The film’s story originates from “Miss Thompson,” a short story by W. Somerset Maugham first published in 1921 (later included in Maugham’s collection The Trembling of a Leaf under the title “Rain”).

The tale centers on Sadie Thompson, a brassy American woman forced to stay on the island of Pago Pago due to a quarantine, and her conflict with a zealously moral missionary, Alfred Davidson. Maugham’s story was adapted for the stage in 1922 as the play Rain by John Colton and Clemence Randolph. This Broadway play was a sensation- running for over a year with Jeanne Eagels delivering a legendary performance as Sadie Thompson- and solidified the narrative’s fame. Hollywood first tackled the material in the silent film Sadie Thompson (1928) starring Gloria Swanson, which was a critical and commercial success in its time and earned Swanson an Oscar nomination. By 1932, United Artists sought to create a talking picture of the story, capitalizing on Crawford’s star power.

The 1932 film closely follows the basic plot of the short story/play: Sadie’s rowdy independence clashes with Davidson’s puritanical crusade, leading to his moral downfall when he succumbs to lust and (in the film’s most shocking scene) sexually assaults her. However, the film adaptation makes notable changes: it introduces a more prominent romantic subplot between Sadie and Sgt. O’Hara (a minor element in the original story) and provides a less cynical ending. In Maugham’s original, after Davidson’s death (an implied suicide following his sinful lapse), Sadie spits at Davidson’s pious widow and defiantly mocks the hypocrisy of men- a dark ending suggesting she remains hardened and alone.

The 1932 movie, by contrast, ends with Sadie softening and agreeing to leave the island with the loyal O’Hara, implying a chance at redemption and happiness. This “Hollywood ending” gave audiences of the time a somewhat more hopeful resolution, though it also diluted the original story’s bitter irony. 

When Rain premiered in 1932, it was met with mixed- to- negative reviews and poor audience turnout. Despite some praise for its technical artistry, many critics felt the film was too slow and stagey, and several took issue with Crawford’s performance as Sadie Thompson.

For example, Variety bluntly stated that casting Crawford was a “mistake,” as the demanding role of Sadie “shows her off unfavorably” and beyond her dramatic range. The New York Times critic Mordaunt Hall similarly expected better given the pedigree of the source material and cast, criticizing the film’s heavy- handed treatment of character psychology and calling certain scenes implausible or unintentionally laughable.

Some reviews noted that Milestone’s direction was visually inventive (praising the atmospheric use of tropical rain and creative montage sequences), but also argued that the film felt talky and slow, bogged down by its stage origins. The Motion Picture Herald review observed that in striving for a weighty, “stern” drama, Rain “appears to have lost the spark of spontaneity”. 

Audiences in the Great Depression era were likewise unenthusiastic. Used to seeing Joan Crawford in likable, stylish roles, many fans were uncomfortable with her gritty transformation into a cheap, hard- edged character. Some contemporary viewers reportedly found her portrayal “vulgar and cheap.” The grim subject matter- centered on sin, sexual coercion, and a hypocritical clergyman’s downfall- was quite daring for its time, but it alienated mainstream 1932 moviegoers seeking escapist entertainment.

The film’s release coincidentally came at a delicate moment: just days before Rain’s glamorous Hollywood premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, MGM producer Paul Bern (Jean Harlow’s husband) died in a shocking scandal, casting a pall over Hollywood’s social scene. The premiere itself was subdued by this tragedy, and several industry luminaries skipped the event, dampening early buzz for Rain. 

Box- office results underscored the film’s failure. Rain grossed approximately $538,000 in the US and another $166,000 overseas, for a total around $704,000. With an estimated budget of $591,000, it fell far short of profitability- ultimately recorded as losing about $198,000. In fact, Rain holds the unfortunate distinction of being the first major flop in Joan Crawford’s career.

The financial and critical disappointment was keenly felt by the star and the studio: Crawford’s home studio MGM grew more cautious about lending her to outside projects, and United Artists saw Rain as a misjudged gamble. Even a 1939 re- release of Rain (attempting to leverage Crawford’s renewed popularity) did not succeed in changing its fortunes, as public opinion was still sour on the film. 

On- Set Tensions: The production of Rain was marked by some behind- the- scenes drama and personal challenges for Joan Crawford. Many of her co- stars were veteran stage actors who initially looked down on the young MGM movie star. In one famous incident, character actor Walter Catlett (who played the Quartermaster) snidely told Crawford, “Listen, fishcake, when Jeanne Eagels died, Rain died with her.” This barbed comment referred to the towering reputation of Eagels’ stage performance as Sadie Thompson, suggesting that no one- certainly not Crawford- could live up to it.

Crawford also reportedly insisted on a closed set with no visitors during filming, in part to concentrate amid personal strain (her marriage to Hollywood actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was falling apart during this period). She spent evenings alone in her Catalina Island cottage listening to Bing Crosby records, which annoyed some castmates. Director Lewis Milestone grew frustrated with Crawford’s acting process as well: she was not used to the repeated takes that Milestone demanded and found his perfectionism and the film’s numerous retakes exhausting. 

Censorship and Controversy: As a pre- Code film, Rain was able to depict its risqué subject matter more openly than later 1930s films could. Still, the movie’s forthright treatment of sex and religion pushed boundaries. Studio memos and press reports indicated that representatives from the Hays Office (Hollywood’s self- censorship board) were uneasy with the film’s content at preview screenings. Some changes from the earlier versions- such as leaving Sadie’s profession and Davidson’s assault implicit rather than explicit- show the filmmakers’ awareness of censorship sensitivities even in 1932. Nevertheless, Rain was bold: it makes clear that Davidson’s lust leads him to rape Sadie (albeit offscreen) and then kill himself in shame.

The film’s attitude toward the fervent missionary is scathingly critical; he is portrayed as a dangerous religious hypocrite and the true “villain” of the story, while the prostitute is the sympathetic figure. This inversion of conventional morality was highly unusual for the era. While it enhances the story’s moral complexity, it also undoubtedly contributed to the film’s controversy and audience discomfort. In fact, some religious groups and more conservative audiences in 1932 objected to the film’s implications and open flouting of moral norms. 

Joan Crawford’s Response: The failure of Rain had a profound personal impact on Joan Crawford. Accustomed to popularity and success, she was devastated by the negative reception, especially the comparisons to Jeanne Eagels and Gloria Swanson (star of the 1928 film) that painted Crawford’s performance as inferior. Crawford herself came to agree with the criticism: for decades she spoke disparagingly of Rain.

In one interview years later, she lamented, “I don’t understand, to this day, how I could have given such an unpardonably bad performance.” She famously referred to the film as a “turkey” and said, “I hope they burn every copy of this turkey that is in existence.” The sting of Rain’s failure even impacted her career choices; chastened by the experience, Crawford and her studio were less inclined to take on such controversial roles for a time. She avoided potentially “unsympathetic” parts in the mid- 1930s, returning to the glamorous or stoic heroines more favored by her fans. 

Historical and Cultural Impact: Although Rain ended Joan Crawford’s streak of box- office hits, it occupies an important place in Hollywood history. It is frequently cited as a prime example of Pre- Code Hollywood, the era from 1929 to mid- 1934 when films could explore mature themes with relatively fewer restrictions.

In the case of Rain, its frank presentation of sexual morality, sin, and hypocrisy stands out- just a few years later, such a storyline would have been nearly impossible under stricter censorship. The film is also notable for preserving on sound film the story that had been a stage sensation; while Eagels’s performance survives only in legend, Crawford’s Sadie Thompson is preserved on celluloid for new generations, albeit in a significantly different interpretation. Over the years, as Rain became easily accessible (due to public domain status after 1960), classic film enthusiasts began revisiting it without the bias of its initial hype and controversy.

Many modern viewers now praise aspects like the moody tropical cinematography and Crawford’s fierce commitment to an atypical role. The film’s reputation has improved to the point where Rain is lauded by some critics as underrated or at least unfairly maligned in its day. It also remains a fascinating case study in how audience tastes and moral standards shifted in Hollywood’s transition from the freewheeling early 1930s to the sanitized post- Code era. 

Later Adaptations and References: The story of Rain continued to entice artists long after 1932. In 1953, a post- World War II adaptation titled Miss Sadie Thompson starred Rita Hayworth- this time as a musical in Technicolor and even 3D. The 1953 film, constrained by the Production Code, substantially softened the sexual/religious content (for example, implied rather than explicit sin) but was actually well- received by critics of the day. 

A TV movie remake followed in 1956 (with actress Ginger Rogers in the role) and another in 1977 (with Sandahl Bergman in a TV musical special), reflecting the tale’s enduring appeal. The character of Sadie Thompson- a brash, uncompromising woman challenging hypocritical moral authority- has taken on a life of her own in pop culture. For instance, a comedic reference occurs in the Bob Hope & Bing Crosby film Road to Bali (1953), where a sign in a tropical hut cheekily reads “Sadie Thompson Slept Here.” The original Maugham story “Rain” itself remains a well- known piece of literature, frequently anthologized for its commentary on colonial- era morality and repression. 

Enduring Legacy: Today, Rain (1932) is recognized as an intriguing blend of Old Hollywood star power, literary pedigree, and audacious subject matter. While it may not have succeeded on its original terms- failing to resonate with audiences of its time- it has survived as a cultural artifact and an object of study. The 90th- anniversary restoration and Blu- ray release in 2022 underscores that Rain continues to captivate new viewers with its stormy tale of passion and piety.

In hindsight, what was once deemed a misstep for Joan Crawford can now be appreciated as a courageous performance that challenged the limits of her star image. And in the larger context of film history, Rain endures as a reminder of a brief period when Hollywood dared to “let it pour” on subjects that would soon be forbidden on screen. 

Viewed through the lens of history, Rain (1932) stands as a compelling example of how timing, audience expectations, and censorship pressures can shape a film’s fate as much as its artistic ambition.

Initially rejected by critics and moviegoers for its grim tone, controversial themes, and Joan Crawford’s against-type performance, the film suffered both commercially and reputationally. Yet those very elements  - its frank treatment of sexual morality, its critique of religious hypocrisy, and its refusal to offer easy moral judgments  - are what give Rain its enduring significance today.  

As a product of the Pre-Code era, the film captures a brief moment when Hollywood dared to confront uncomfortable truths with unusual directness.  

While it may never escape comparisons to earlier and later adaptations of Somerset Maugham’s story, Rain has ultimately weathered its early storm, emerging as a valuable cultural artifact and an essential case study in the evolution of American cinema.  

What was once dismissed as a failure now endures as a testament to creative risk-taking in an era before the rules came crashing down.