The bond of friendship between a worldly-wise Army Master Sergeant and his naive worshiper.The bond of friendship between a worldly-wise Army Master Sergeant and his naive worshiper.The bond of friendship between a worldly-wise Army Master Sergeant and his naive worshiper.
Diane Sayer
- Blonde in Bar
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the beginning, Eustis Clay is seen admiring a parked sports car. It is a 1962 or early 1963 Shelby AC Cobra, one of the first cars Carroll Shelby made, and extremely valuable.
- GoofsAs mentioned above in another goof note, Sergeant Maxwell Slaughter may be a combat veteran of two wars. Unless he rose up in ranks within 10 years (this movie is copyright 1963,) his ribbons and awards on his chest do not reflect the two Korean awards he should be wearing. The Korean War Medal for serving within Korea. And/or Korean War Service Medal for serving anywhere during the conflict dates.Additionally, he should also be awarded The United Nations Service Medal for Korea (UNKM).
- Quotes
Bobby Jo Pepperdine: [after Sgt. Slaughter has manhandled an annoying soldier] You know what you were like? You were like Randolph Scott on the late, late movies... A fat Randolph Scott!
Slaughter: [Bemused] "A fat Randolph Scott"?... Miss Pepperdine, you certainly have a faculty for searching out and selecting *just* the right compliment.
- ConnectionsFeatured in TCM Guest Programmer: Richard Kind (2016)
- SoundtracksListen to the Mockingbird
(uncredited)
Music by Richard Milburn
[Background source music as an instrumental at county fair]
Featured review
Ralph Nelson's "Soldier in the Rain" is a wonderful movie about the true power of friendship. But it is also Blake Edwards' film. He may only be the writer and producer, but it is as personal as his best films.
The movie features two exceptional performances from Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen, each cast against type here. The stunt works: Gleason is tender and convincing and McQueen is surprisingly funny and sensitive. I've read that the duo were real life friends and I think that adds another dimension to this film. We really believe that they could be friends and it makes the ending of this film, which I will only describe as a real surprise, even more effective. Like I stated before, Edwards only wrote and produced. But his script (co-written with Maurice Richlin, his co-writer on "The Pink Panther", "The Great Race" among others) doesn't preoccupy itself with the plot. It is content to simply observe these characters and Ralph Nelson has directed it well enough to make it a strong and honorable film.
More over, this film confirmed that "Days of Wine and Roses" was no fluke; that Blake Edwards was a talent that was here to stay. After making a string of disappointments ("Operation Petticoat" was a good film, but Edwards had no hand in the script and was only a contract director there), "Days" showed us a great new talent and "Soldier in the Rain" confirms it. After this, he would write and direct "The Pink Panther", which would make him bankable. "Soldier" is better than "Panther", but lesser known. Perhaps people bought into the mystique of "Panther" but wouldn't want to see a movie about character rather than plot. Hollywood must of thought the same, because "Soldier in the Rain' received zero nominations from the usual gang of idiots we call the Academy. Too bad.
"Soldier in the Rain" is not available on home video at this moment, unfortunately. It is a shame that some of Edwards' lesser films are easily available ("Switch", "High Time")but this neglected masterpiece isn't. I think that smart audiences that want to laugh, cry and think will love this tender little masterpiece. It airs often on AMC in both pan-and-scan and letterboxed versions. Tape it when you get a chance. You never know if it'll ever be seen again.
**** out of 4 stars
The movie features two exceptional performances from Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen, each cast against type here. The stunt works: Gleason is tender and convincing and McQueen is surprisingly funny and sensitive. I've read that the duo were real life friends and I think that adds another dimension to this film. We really believe that they could be friends and it makes the ending of this film, which I will only describe as a real surprise, even more effective. Like I stated before, Edwards only wrote and produced. But his script (co-written with Maurice Richlin, his co-writer on "The Pink Panther", "The Great Race" among others) doesn't preoccupy itself with the plot. It is content to simply observe these characters and Ralph Nelson has directed it well enough to make it a strong and honorable film.
More over, this film confirmed that "Days of Wine and Roses" was no fluke; that Blake Edwards was a talent that was here to stay. After making a string of disappointments ("Operation Petticoat" was a good film, but Edwards had no hand in the script and was only a contract director there), "Days" showed us a great new talent and "Soldier in the Rain" confirms it. After this, he would write and direct "The Pink Panther", which would make him bankable. "Soldier" is better than "Panther", but lesser known. Perhaps people bought into the mystique of "Panther" but wouldn't want to see a movie about character rather than plot. Hollywood must of thought the same, because "Soldier in the Rain' received zero nominations from the usual gang of idiots we call the Academy. Too bad.
"Soldier in the Rain" is not available on home video at this moment, unfortunately. It is a shame that some of Edwards' lesser films are easily available ("Switch", "High Time")but this neglected masterpiece isn't. I think that smart audiences that want to laugh, cry and think will love this tender little masterpiece. It airs often on AMC in both pan-and-scan and letterboxed versions. Tape it when you get a chance. You never know if it'll ever be seen again.
**** out of 4 stars
- How long is Soldier in the Rain?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Compañeros de armas y puñetazos
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,090,000
- Runtime1 hour 28 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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