Miracle in the Rain
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/dd/MiracleInTheRain.jpg/220px-MiracleInTheRain.jpg)
Miracle in the Rain | |
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A Warner Bros. - First National Picture | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 108 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Miracle in the Rain is a United States home front during World War II-themed novella by veteran screenwriter Ben Hecht, published in the April 3, 1943 issue of The Saturday Evening Post weekly magazine[1] then, within six months, issued in booklet form[2] and, thirteen years later, following four live television productions (in 1947, 1949, 1950 and 1953) which reduced the story to plot essentials, was adapted by him into a Warner Bros. feature film released on March 31, 1956.[3]
Film version
Hecht's
The film was produced on location,
The film earned an estimated $1.4 million in
Opening narration
"Champion of all the cities of the Earth is the towering golden city of New York. It looms higher than any town of man before. Within its giant walls, its steel sinews, are more enterprises, more people, more mystery and more music than were ever known before. Its windows are like the leaves of a mighty forest and its streets are filled with wonder. Our story begins on a spring morning in May 1942 as the people of this remarkable city start to live and work another day."
Plot
A few months after America's entry into World War II, secretary Ruth Wood (Jane Wyman) lives quietly in Manhattan with her physically and emotionally fragile mother, Agnes (Josephine Hutchinson). Ruth's co-workers at Excelsior Shoe Manufacturing Company are her best friend Grace Ullman (Eileen Heckart) and Millie Kranz (Peggie Castle), an attractive blonde involved in an affair with her married boss, Stephen Jalonik (Fred Clark). Also in the office is Monty (Arte Johnson), a young shipping clerk classified by the draft as 4-F, who monitors the war's campaigns on a world map pinned to the wall.
One evening after work, when a cloudburst forces Ruth and other pedestrians to take shelter in the vestibule of an office building, Arthur Hugenon (
Later, Ruth tells Art that Agnes tried to kill herself after Harry left and still hopes for his return. Art arrives late for their next Sunday date, but brings the lyrics he and Dixie have written to Harry's music, entitled "I'll Always Believe in You", which he sings together with Ruth. As they go out and walk through Central Park, Ruth voices fears about the war and Art tells her she must have faith. They then encounter Sergeant Gil Parker (
For three months, Ruth writes to Art every day, but receives no letters in return. Finally, a
Ruth has been returning to the statue of St. Andrew and talking to the cathedral's young priest (Paul Picerni). Losing interest in life, she ignores a cold, which turns into pneumonia. Mrs. Hamer, the upstairs neighbor who has often helped Ruth care for Agnes, now helps Agnes nurse the bedridden Ruth. One rainy night, while Agnes has dozed off near her bedside, the feverish Ruth leaves the apartment just before Harry finally musters the courage to walk in with the intention of asking Agnes' forgiveness for leaving. Stunned at seeing him, Agnes also realizes that Ruth is missing, just as Grace telephones. Upon being told that Ruth has left her sickbed, Grace realizes that she must be heading for the cathedral.
Standing on the cathedral steps, consumed by fever, Ruth hears Art's voice speaking her name. Delirious, she sees Art materialize and slowly approach close enough for an embrace or a kiss as he tells her that love never dies. No longer possessing earthly means of holding on to the Roman coin she gifted to him, Art returns it to Ruth. A moment later, in the midst of the heavy, late evening rain, the priest finds Ruth unconscious on the steps, just as Grace arrives. Seeing the coin clasped in Ruth's hand, he shows it to Grace, who recognizes it and realizes that, for a brief moment, Art had returned to Ruth, whose own tenuous hold on life remains clouded in uncertainty at the final fadeout.
Closing narration
"Thus, a story of New York — and of an antique Roman coin. That's the way we heard it. We'd like to believe it's true."
Cast
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Unbilled speaking roles (in order of appearance)
- Walter Kingson [Unseen narrator: "Champion of all the cities of the Earth is the towering, golden city of New York."]
- Marian Holmes [Mrs. Sara Rickles, receptionist at Ruth's workplace: "Your wife called two minutes ago."]
- Ray Walker [Mr. McGuire, salesman at Ruth's workplace: "Hiya, slaves. I'm tackling Poughkeepsie today."]
- Minerva Urecal [Delicatessen proprietress: "A corned beef, fresh. Eh, you like some baloney? It's a good."]
- Frank J. Scannell [Auctioneer: "Seventy seven, the luckiest number in the world. Now we have something special — a genuine Roman coin."]
- Peter Mamakos [Headwaiter at Café Normandy: "We don't take reservations on Saturday night. You know that."]
- Jess Kirkpatrick [Andy, bartender at Café Normandy: "Whatsa matter, Harry? You got a little pale."]
- Norbert Schiller [Doctor Zero, eccentric character seen pacing in outer office of The New York Times city editor: "Phfft, phfft."]
- Charles Meredith [The New York Times representative: "Doctor Zero? Our city editor asked me to tell you that The New York Times has no interest in stories about the end of the world."]
- Grandon Rhodes [Mr. Baldwin, The New York Times city editor: "I hear you ran into a story in the park. Rowboat turn over?"]
- Harry Harvey, Jr. [The New York Times office boy: "It's right in the second drawer."]
- Paul Smith [Dixie Dooley, Art's Army buddy: "We can't stay more than three minutes, Art."]
- Michael Vallon [Flower vendor passing in a horse-drawn wagon: "Fresh flowers, nice fresh flowers."]
- Glen Vernon [Emcee at The Garden of Bali, 52nd Street: "Come on, come on, let's bring the little lady back, no extra charge. Here she is, Arlene Witchy."]
- Malcolm Atterbury [Special Delivery man with letter from the battlefield: "Miss Ruth Wood? Special Delivery for you."]
- Roxanne Arlen [Attractive new secretary who has been hired to replace Millie Kranz: "Yes, Miss Ullman."]
Song
"I'll Always Believe in You", music by Ray Heindorf and M. K. Jerome, lyric by Ned Washington is used within the plot to represent the melody by Ruth's father, to which Art adds words and turns into a song.
Evaluation in film guides
Assigning 2 stars (out of 5), The Motion Picture Guide (1987 edition) opined that "Ben Hecht was usually a lot more cynical than what he showed in his novel and screenplay for this hankie-grabber". Evaluating that the presentation has "a bit of comedy from comic King and Nichols, as a stripper, but it's otherwise heavy going", the write-up decides that "too many secondary stories and not enough on-screen time between Wyman and a living, breathing Johnson, are what detract from the picture".[14]
Among British references, veteran critic and
Television productions
NBC Television Theater (1947)
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, at the start of a period in American TV which was subsequently characterized as the
On Sunday, February 23, 1947, from 9:05 to 9:50, presentation records indicate a sponsored (by Borden) production of Ben Hecht's Miracle in the Rain, adapted by NBC's resident director and head of the network's drama division, Fred Coe. The records are missing details regarding members of the cast or whether Coe also directed the episode.[15]
Chevrolet on Broadway (1949)
The second presentation of the story aired as the February 14, 1949 episode of
Art was portrayed, in his TV debut, by
Studio One (1950)
The following year,
The role of Ruth Wood was given to Joy Geffen, a New York stage actress with a number of undocumented appearances during TV's earliest days and at least six confirmed roles in live dramas airing between 1949 and 1953. The on-screen credits also list
Tales of the City (1953)
Just over three years later, on August 20, 1953, another production of the story, once again pared down to a half-hour, was presented by a live drama showcase based on the stories of the novella's original author. A seven-episode CBS summer series, referenced as Tales of the City, but bearing the official title, Willys Theatre Presenting Ben Hecht's Tales of the City, used Hecht as the unseen narrator, setting the scenes at the opening of his stories, filling in gaps, and offering closing comments. Miracle in the Rain, the fifth episode, adapted, as were all the others, by Hecht, and directed by Robert Stevens, starred, as Art and Ruth, two familiar TV faces, William Prince and Phyllis Thaxter.
Prince, who served in World War II, and briefly appeared as a serviceman in one of 1944's highest-grossing films, the wartime morale booster
References
- ^ "The FictionMags Index: Stories, listed by author". Philsp.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-16. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
- ^ Sherman, Beatrice (1943-10-17). "Sherman, Beatrice. "Soldier From Heaven; MIRACLE IN THE RAIN by Ben Hecht. 52 pp. New York: Alfred Knopf. $2" (The New York Times, October 17, 1943, Book Review section, p. BR4)". Select.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
- ^ "TWO PERFECT GIFTS: Miracle in the Rain / The Snow Goose (The Montreal Gazette, November 27, 1943, p. 10)". 1943-11-27. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
- ^ Davis, Ronald L. (2001) Van Johnson: MGM's Golden Boy, pages 173–74. University Press of Mississippi
- ^ THOMAS M. PRYOR Special to The New York Times. (1955-01-11). "Pryor, Thomas M. "WARNERS TO FILM A STORY BY HECHT; Studio Wants Van Johnson Opposite Jane Wyman in Miracle in the Rain (The New York Times, January 11, 1955. p. 21)". Select.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
- ^ A.H. Weiler (1956-04-02). "Weiler, A. H. "The Screen: 'Miracle in the Rain'; Saccharine Love Story at Loew's State: Van Johnson and Jane Wyman Starred" (The New York Times, April 2, 1956, page 18)". Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
- ^ ""Show Time in Girardeau". The Southeast Missourian, June 14, 1956, page 3". 1956-06-14. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
- ^ ""Mitch Woodbury Reports on New Paramount Headliner 'Miracle in the Rain'" (Toledo Blade, April 27, 1956, page 28)". 1956-04-27. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
- ^ Godbout, Oscar (1955-05-29). "Godbout, Oscar. "PASSING A MANHATTAN 'MIRACLE IN THE RAIN'; Noted City Sites Are 'Sets' for Jane Wyman, Van Johnson and Company" (The New York Times, May 29, 1955, page 53)". Select.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
- ^ Berger, Meyer (1955-05-09). "Berger, Meyer. "Movie Will Be Shot at Night in St. Patrick's — Ill Luck Dogs Statue of Abundance" (The New York Times, May 9, 1955, page 25)". Select.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
- ^ "The Top Box-Office Hits of 1956". Variety. January 2, 1957.
- ^ ""When Marilyn Leaves, 2 Others Take Her Place" (Daytona Beach Sunday News Journal, January 8, 1956, page 7A)". 1956-01-08. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
- ^ Thomas, Bob. "Marilyn Not Sexy as a Corporation" (Tri-City Herald, May 2, 1956, page 2)
- ^ The Motion Picture Guide (Chicago, 1987), volume V, page 1963
- ISBN 0-7864-0905-3.
- ^ "Miracle in the Rain", the February 14, 1949 episode of Chevrolet Tele-Theater at IMDb
- ISBN 0-7864-0905-3.
- ^ "Miracle in the Rain", the May 1, 1950 episode of Westinghouse Studio One
- ^ "All-Time Top grossers". Variety. January 8, 1964. p. 69.
- ^ Miracle in the Rain, the August 20, 1953 episode of Willys Theatre Presenting Ben Hecht's Tales of the City
External links
- Miracle in the Rain at IMDb
- Miracle in the Rain at the TCM Movie Database
- Miracle in the Rain at AllMovie
- Miracle in the Rain at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Miracle in the Rain at TV Guide (1987 slightly revised write-up was originally published in The Motion Picture Guide)
- Miracle in the Rain at DVD Verdict
- Miracle in the Rain at Classic Film Guide at the Wayback Machine (archived 20 March 2015)
- Miracle in the Rain at Cinema Crazed
- Miracle in the Rain at Ozus' World Movie Reviews
- Miracle in the Rain at Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings at the Wayback Machine (archived 3 March 2016)
- Miracle in the Rain at The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review
- Miracle in the Rain {along with 1945's The Clock, 1988's Crossing Delancey and 1959's A Summer Place} at Reel Film Reviews
- screen captures from Miracle in the Rain at DVD Beaver