MovieChat Forums > The Rainmaker (1956) Discussion > A Movie That Moved Me

A Movie That Moved Me

posted 18 years ago by iisolomiaii
4 replies | jump to latest

This is one of my favorite films. Perhaps most striking is the speech
where Lizzie confesses she doesn't want to be in her own skin anymore -
that she'd like to Lilly Anne Beasley. The character of Starbuck allows
her to walk in those shoes momentarily. Rather than becoming Lilly Anne
she becomes Melisande - a name of his choosing because it comes at a
time when Lizzie herself is too tired to build her own dream.
The beauty of the film is the flaw of each character in it.
Those on screen are so utterly human it's almost painful to watch at times.
Each character seems to have at least one scene leaving them raw, naked, and
exposed.

A father is forced to question the way he's raised his daughter. A
younger brother struggles to learn to say no after a lifetime of yes.
An older brother has to come to terms with the fact that taking care of
his family is no longer his job. The proud sheriff cannot find
happiness without first finding the courage to admit he is unhappy. The
comsumate conman is shocked to discover not all of his words are lies
and, for maybe the first time, he can believe in what he is saying.
Last but not least is a woman balancing logic and dreams whose final
scene is choosing between the magical Melisande and the un-extraordinary
Lizzie.

In those moments of desperation she turns to her family: fists
clenched, begging for advice she never wanted before. Her father says
the one thing that makes sense in the moment. "You can't say you ain't
never been asked." That bit of knowledge gives Lizzie the strength to
choose.

[–] squallseedre4 17 years ago

I like it too.

[–] Harold_Robbins 17 years ago

And very adult for its time, considering that the Production Code was still very much in effect and compromising films such as THE BAD SEED - amazingly, Lizzie's father literally pushes her towards what he knows will be a sexual encounter with Starbuck in the tack-room, yet it was apparently done tastefully enough to satisfy the Code. I don't think audiences of the day could not have known what transpired.

"I don't use a pen: I write with a goose quill dipped in venom!"---W. Lydecker

[–] mdonln 8 years ago

Harold_Robbins says > amazingly, Lizzie's father literally pushes her towards what he knows will be a sexual encounter with Starbuck in the tack-room, yet it was apparently done tastefully enough to satisfy the Code.

While watching the movie I did not get the impression Lizzie had a sexual relationship with Starbuck. I would find it hard to believe, given her character, background, goals, and intelligence, that she would go that far.

I'm not saying it couldn't be interpreted that way; I just don't buy it. I think if she had slept with him, it would have bonded her to Starbuck giving him a far greater advantage over File than he had. They kissed but, as she told him, it was not the first time. Sex would have been a first and a whole lot more intimate. The most she had done with File was touch his leg.

Being a practical 'girl', Lizzie would have had many more things to consider when deciding between the two men. If she had sex with Starbuck she could conceivably (pun intended) become pregnant. File may have been warming up to the idea of another marriage but with a ready made baby in tow, hmm, not so much.

I think people assume because they 'spent the night together' in the tack room that they went 'all the way'. Being alone together was, in itself, a big step. When their father tells Noah to leave them alone I don't think he was assuming they were having sex. He knew his daughter.

Lizzie wanted children but she wanted a husband as well. Having sex with Starbuck might yield a child but he was not exactly husband material and it would have further jeopardized her chances of finding a husband. On her own, she had no means of support. She was worried, on her own, her sister-in-law might not be hospitable for too long.

Her father told her she always had a home but it was the drought and things were so tough in town he was willing to pay to have Starbuck make it rain so there were no guarantees. She wanted romance but she could not be swept so far off her feet that she'd forget all that.

Noah always had to keep Jim and Snookie apart because he worried Jim would let things go too far and end up trapped; meaning he'd have to marry Snookie. He knew Lizzie wasn't stupid. What worried about was what Starbuck could tell her that might keep her disillusioned and hopeful; not that they'd have sex. Also, if her father or Noah thought she might be having sex with Starbuck they would put an end to it immediately. They knew enough about him to know she'd end up more hurt than she'd ever been before. She'd feel duped, used, and hopeless.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

[–] HarlowMGM 13 years ago

I was surprised how moving the final reels of the film were when Lizzie is blatantly hit with the truth of her unlikelihood of ever having a husband and her later scenes of vulnerability in the barn with Starbuck. The early part of the film was a pretty sharp comedy so the shift to tenderness was a little unexpected.